Is 550 5.7.25 permanent or temporary?

550 5.7.25 is a permanent (5.x.x) failure — the server will not accept the message as-is, and retrying without changing anything won't help. You need to fix the underlying cause.

Is this my problem or the recipient's?

It depends on the cause — you send from your own server or vps is the most common. Work through the causes below to find which applies to you.

How do I check my sending setup?

Run a free EmailHealth check on your domain — it verifies SPF, DKIM, DMARC, blacklist status, and more in a couple of seconds, which covers the most common causes of delivery failures.

550 5.7.25 — Gmail: sending IP has no PTR record

550 5.7.25 is a permanent SMTP reply meaning gmail: sending ip has no ptr record. Gmail requires every sending IP to have a PTR record whose hostname resolves back to that IP (forward-confirmed reverse DNS). Without it, mail is blocked.

What 550 5.7.25 means

Gmail requires every sending IP to have a PTR record whose hostname resolves back to that IP (forward-confirmed reverse DNS). Without it, mail is blocked.

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This is a 5.x.x permanent failure — the message will keep bouncing until you fix the cause. Retrying the same message unchanged won't help.

Common causes

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You send from your own server or VPS

Most common

Cloud providers do not set a PTR for you. You must set it in the provider panel.

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The PTR hostname does not resolve back

Common

The PTR says mail.example.com, but mail.example.com has no A record for that IP.

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IPv6 is used without its own PTR

Less common

The server sends over IPv6, and only the IPv4 address has reverse DNS.

How to fix 550 5.7.25

1
Set the PTR record
In your hosting or IP provider panel, set reverse DNS for the sending IP to a hostname you own, such as mail.yourdomain.
2
Add the matching A or AAAA record
Make that hostname resolve to the same IP, so forward and reverse DNS match.
3
Use the same name in HELO
Set your mail server HELO/EHLO name to the same hostname, then check the IP with the free blacklist and SMTP tools.

Confirm your domain is set up correctly

Most delivery failures — permanent or temporary — trace back to authentication or reputation. Run a free EmailHealth check to confirm SPF, DKIM, DMARC, blacklist status, and TLS are all healthy for your sending domain. If you send in volume, free daily monitoring will alert you before a small issue becomes a flood of bounces.

Gmail: sending IP has no PTR record