Gmail 550 5.1.1
Account does not exist
Gmail 550 5.1.1 means: account does not exist. It is a permanent failure, so do not retry it unchanged. The Gmail or Google Workspace account does not exist. Check for a typo, then remove the address; retrying counts against you.
Gmail’s exact wording
Quoted from Google Workspace Admin Help: Gmail SMTP errors and codes, checked 2026-11-05. Placeholders are Gmail’s own.
Reply text
The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please double-check the recipient's email address for typos or unnecessary spaces. For more information, go to Fix bounced or rejected emails.
| Who sends it | Gmail and Google Workspace |
|---|---|
| Basic code | 550: Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable (e.g., mailbox not found, no access, or command rejected for policy reasons) (RFC) |
| Enhanced code | 5.1.1: Bad destination mailbox address |
| Permanent or temporary | Permanent (5xx) |
| Verifying the list prevents it | Yes, verification catches this |
In practice
This is the reply Gmail and Google Workspace send when the account before the @ does not exist on that domain. For gmail.com it usually means a typo, a deleted account or an invented address from a signup form. For a Workspace domain it often means the person left the company and their account was deleted. Google tells the sender to check for typos and unnecessary spaces. If the address is spelled correctly, it is gone, and every further send to it adds to the bounce count Google and other providers associate with your domain.
What the sender should do
The Gmail or Google Workspace account does not exist. Check for a typo, then remove the address; retrying counts against you.
Would verifying the list have prevented Gmail 550 5.1.1?
Yes, verification catches this
A mailbox check asks the recipient's server whether the address and domain can receive mail, without sending anything, so the address is flagged before the send instead of bouncing against your domain.
Common questions
- What does Gmail 550 5.1.1 mean?
- Gmail 550 5.1.1 means: account does not exist. It is a permanent failure, so do not retry it unchanged. The Gmail or Google Workspace account does not exist. Check for a typo, then remove the address; retrying counts against you.
- Should I retry after Gmail 550 5.1.1?
- No. It is a permanent (5xx) failure, so the same message to the same address will fail again. Fix the cause first. The Gmail or Google Workspace account does not exist. Check for a typo, then remove the address; retrying counts against you.
- Would verifying my list have prevented Gmail 550 5.1.1?
- Yes, verification catches this. A mailbox check asks the recipient's server whether the address and domain can receive mail, without sending anything, so the address is flagged before the send instead of bouncing against your domain.
The same code elsewhere
Sources
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Gmail SMTP errors and codes (checked 2026-11-05)
- IANA: SMTP Enhanced Status Codes registry (checked 2026-11-05)
- RFC 5321: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, section 4.2.3 (reply codes) (checked 2026-11-05)
Registry and provider wording is quoted exactly; guidance is written by the SimpleVerifier Team.
SimpleVerifier Team · Last checked against the sources 2026-11-05