I requested Amazon SES production access about a year ago and was rejected almost immediately. Since other people seemed to be running into the same issue, I switched to Resend, which has been pleasant to use thanks to its clean interface and simple setup. However, my current use case needs several custom domains, and the extra costs are starting to add up.
SES would be much more affordable, so I'm considering applying for production access again. My product now has real users, the website has been active for about a year, and the emails we send are legitimate and permission-based. Does the age of the website help during the review, and what information can I provide to show that my sending practices are trustworthy?
1 Answer
Approval can still feel a bit opaque, but the age of your website probably isn’t the deciding factor. AWS is more likely to focus on your specific sending use case, expected volume, how users opt in, how you handle bounces and complaints, and whether unsubscribe requests are processed reliably. Explain those details clearly, verify your domain and identities, and request a realistic initial sending limit rather than presenting vague or overly large numbers. It also helps to describe the types of messages you send, your monitoring and alerts, and how you prevent unwanted mail. If the request is rejected again, use the feedback to tighten the explanation and apply again instead of creating a new account.
Thanks, that helps a lot. I’ll make the use case and sending safeguards much more specific this time.