I run a membership-based website where users create their own accounts. Every recipient completes double opt-in and verifies their email address before receiving further messages. I use Amazon SES only for transactional mail, including email verification, password resets, and account notifications. I do not send newsletters, marketing campaigns, purchased-list emails, or cold outreach.
I recently requested a sending limit increase in the Asia Pacific (Seoul) region. I explained the website, signup process, double opt-in flow, and intended email types, but AWS declined the request because of general concerns about sender reputation and deliverability. They did not point to any specific problem with my configuration.
What typically causes an SES quota increase to be denied? Are there particular trust signals or metrics AWS expects to see? Would it be better to build more sending history at the current limit and apply again later? I'd also appreciate hearing how long approval took for anyone who was initially rejected.
4 Answers
Make sure the basics are fully covered: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for the sending domain, plus monitoring for bounces and complaints in SES. Even with transactional-only mail, AWS will care about the sender’s overall reputation and whether bad addresses are removed quickly.
For the next request, explain the operational details rather than only saying the messages are transactional. Include the types of messages and sample subjects, how consent is collected, how recipients stop any non-essential mail, your bounce and complaint handling through CloudWatch or SNS, current suppression numbers, and why the requested limit matches your projected volume. If you have an approved account or region elsewhere, include the related support case information too.
Some senders have still been rejected despite using SES for account-management messages. If the domain or account is new, requesting a smaller increase that meets the immediate need may be more persuasive than asking for a large jump. Since password resets and account recovery are critical, it’s also sensible to have a backup email provider ready in case the quota appeal takes a while.
A brand-new domain or AWS account with very little sending history can make approval harder. It may help to stay within the existing quota for a while, keep bounce and complaint rates extremely low, and then reapply with screenshots or figures showing clean delivery metrics and properly configured authentication.
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