My project is ready to launch, but I'm still waiting for SES production access so I can leave the sandbox. I submitted the request about 36 hours ago, and AWS asked for additional information. I replied immediately with the requested details, but there has been no update since. Previous requests I made were approved within 12–24 hours, so I'm wondering whether review times have become slower. Has anyone applied recently, and how long did approval take after answering AWS's follow-up questions?
3 Answers
Keep watching the support case in case AWS asks for more details. They commonly want a clear description of the use case, expected daily or monthly volume, the domains you’ll send from, how recipients opt in, and how you’ll handle bounces, complaints, and unsubscribes. In several cases, approval arrived a few days after the follow-up—often around three to five days, though it can be longer.
Before following up, make sure the account and domain look production-ready: verify the sending identity, confirm DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are configured correctly, and avoid using a questionable From address. Having delivery logs, bounce and complaint processing, and suppression handling ready can also help demonstrate that the service is legitimate.
Approval times seem highly variable. Some established domains and accounts get access almost immediately, while newer accounts can take several days or even around a week and a half. Thirty-six hours after sending the extra information is frustrating, but it isn’t especially unusual yet.
That matches what I’m seeing. I received the follow-up email quickly, answered it right away, and then the review went quiet. It eventually took about a week and a half for approval.