Amazon declined my request to use Simple Email Service, and I'm trying to understand why. I'd prefer to keep my infrastructure on AWS rather than pay another provider about $7 per month just to send email. My use case is limited to transactional messages such as registration confirmations and other service notifications, similar to a typical SaaS application. What can I do to get SES access approved, and is there anything specific I should include in a new request?
2 Answers
Keep the request specific and professional rather than just saying you want to send notifications. Include the website or application purpose, the sender address or domain you’ll use, the regions involved, approximate sending volume, and confirmation that you won’t send unsolicited mail. Make sure your domain authentication and email-handling plan are ready, including SPF, DKIM, bounce processing, and complaint monitoring. If the request is denied again, contact AWS support and ask what information is missing. Restrictions on outbound SMTP ports may also need to be addressed separately if you plan to send through an EC2 mail client, although using the SES API is usually simpler.
SES access is restricted because abused accounts can send large volumes of spam and damage the reputation of shared AWS IP ranges. AWS generally wants to see a clear, legitimate use case before moving an account out of the sandbox. Submit another request through the SES service- limit process and explain exactly what you’ll send, your expected daily or monthly volume, how users opt in, and how you’ll handle bounces, complaints, and unsubscribe requests. Mention that the messages are only transactional and not marketing email. A newer account, limited billing history, or an unclear request can also make approval less likely.
That helps explain the refusal, but it’s still confusing because I can’t really start using SES to build up that history while access is restricted.