What happens when an ESP suspends your account for compliance issues?

When an ESP suspends your account for compliance issues, your email marketing stops immediately. You can't send campaigns, triggered emails may fail, and scheduled sends won't go out. For businesses dependent on email marketing, this disruption can mean lost revenue, broken customer communications, and operational chaos. ESP suspensions are often more immediately damaging than regulatory fines because they directly interrupt your ability to operate.

Common triggers for suspension include: high complaint rates (typically above 0.1-0.3%); excessive bounces (indicating poor list quality); spam trap hits (evidence of bad list sources); content policy violations (prohibited content, phishing characteristics); authentication failures (improper DKIM/SPF setup); and abuse reports from recipients or blocklist operators. ESPs monitor these signals because sender behavior on their platform affects their shared sending infrastructure and reputation.

Resolving a suspension requires addressing root causes, not just requesting reinstatement. You'll need to explain what happened, demonstrate what you've done to fix it, and often agree to additional monitoring or restrictions. Some suspensions result in permanent account termination, particularly for repeated or severe violations. If terminated, you face the challenge of finding a new ESP (who will scrutinize your history), migrating subscriber data, and rebuilding sending reputation on new infrastructure. ESP suspension isn't just inconvenient. It ucan derail your email program for weeks or permanently, making compliance a business survival issue, not just a legal one.