PTR error message when emailing a gmail address

Question

I am trying to email a gmail address from my own domain my company owns through outlook on an exchange server. It doesnt happen everytime but happens often to some gmail addresses. My domain I purchased from godaddy and have microsoft handling it. What is causing this issue?

Reason: There was an error while attempting to deliver your message with [Subject: "RE: taking payments via the website issue"] to [gmail.com]. MTA secureserver.net received this response from the destination host IP -550-5.7.25 The IP address sending this message does not have a PTR

550-5.7.25 record setup, or the corresponding forward DNS entry does not match

550-5.7.25 the sending IP. As a policy, Gmail does not accept messages from IPs

550-5.7.25 with missing PTR records. For more information, go to

550-5.7.25  https://support.google.com/a?p=sender-guidelines-ip

550-5.7.25 To learn more about Gmail requirements for bulk senders, visit

550 5.7.25  https://support.google.com/a?p=sender-guidelines smtp.

Answer 1

Hi @Mike Ferretti

Thank you for posting your question in the Q&A Forum. 

I completely understand how frustrating it is when email delivery issues disrupt your work. I’ve reviewed the details you provided, and I want to help clarify what’s happening so you can get this resolved smoothly. 

Based on the information you shared, this issue isn’t coming from Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online. The email is being routed through a GoDaddy outbound mail server, and Gmail is rejecting it because that server’s PTR (reverse DNS) record isn’t configured correctly. Gmail requires this record to confirm that the sending server is authorized to send mail for your domain. 

Since your Microsoft 365 services are managed through GoDaddy, the outbound mail flow and related DNS settings (including the PTR record) are maintained on their side. As moderators on the Microsoft side, we don’t have access to modify those configurations directly. GoDaddy’s Support Team will be able to review the sending IP and update the reverse DNS entry to resolve Gmail’s rejection. 

When you contact GoDaddy Support, please share the full error message with them. Since they manage the backend mail infrastructure that we don’t have access to, you can ask their team to review the configuration for the outbound server IP and update the missing PTR (reverse DNS) record. This will allow Gmail to properly validate the sending server. 

I hope this helps clear things up. Once GoDaddy updates the PTR record, your emails to Gmail should deliver normally. 

If you’d like help checking anything on the Microsoft side afterward, please feel free to reach out. I’m happy to assist. 

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Answer 2

The issue you are experiencing when emailing Gmail addresses is likely related to the absence of a PTR (Pointer) record for your sending IP address. Gmail requires that the sending IP address has a valid PTR record set up as part of its anti-spam measures. If the PTR record is missing or does not match the corresponding forward DNS entry, Gmail will reject the message, resulting in the error message you received.

To resolve this issue, you should ensure that your outbound IP address has a correctly configured PTR record that matches the A record for your domain. This is typically managed by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or hosting provider. You may need to contact them to set up or verify the PTR record for your sending IP address.

It's also important to note that some email servers check for these records as a basic anti-spam check procedure, so having a valid PTR record is a good practice to avoid message rejections.

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References:

• IP Address does not have a PTR record in DNS
• Recipient rejects mail from Exchange Online or Exchange Online Protection and host name does not match IP address error