How to solve "Domain has exceeded the max defers and failures per hour"
What Does This Error Mean?
You may receive an error similar to:
"Domain host4geeks.com has exceeded the max defers and failures per hour (5/5 (100%)) allowed. Message discarded."
This error means your domain has generated too many failed or delayed email deliveries within a short period, causing the mail server to temporarily stop sending additional emails from your domain.
This is a protection mechanism designed to prevent spam, protect server reputation, and reduce the chances of mail servers becoming blacklisted.
When emails are sent from your domain, the server continuously monitors whether messages are delivered successfully. If too many emails fail or become delayed within a short timeframe, outgoing email sending is temporarily restricted until the failure rate decreases. cPanel evaluates outgoing mail activity over approximately the previous hour when applying these protections.
Important Things To Remember:
• The restriction is temporary and usually clears automatically.
• Repeated failed email attempts during the restriction period may extend the block duration.
• Continuing to send emails to invalid recipients may trigger the restriction again.
• If you suspect that an email account has been compromised or is sending emails without authorization, investigate immediately.
Common Reasons Why This Happens
This issue is most commonly caused by:
• Sending emails to outdated or invalid recipients
• Compromised email accounts sending spam
• Contact forms generating excessive emails
• Mailing lists containing inactive recipients
• Incorrect email forwarding rules
• Autoresponders replying to spam or invalid addresses
• Large numbers of bounced marketing emails
• Excessive remote email forwarding generating failures or spam rejections
How Long Does The Restriction Last?
In most situations, the restriction is temporary. Once enough failed or deferred messages fall outside the monitoring window, outgoing email automatically begins working again.
Most customers typically regain email sending access after approximately one hour if no additional failures continue occurring.
Example:
If failed emails begin at 1:10 PM and continue until 1:45 PM, the restriction may remain active until sufficient failed attempts fall outside the rolling one-hour monitoring period.
How To Fix The Issue
Step 1: Stop Sending Additional Emails
Avoid repeatedly attempting to resend emails immediately.
Continuing to generate failed deliveries may extend the restriction period.
Step 2: Review Email Delivery Reports
Login to cPanel.
Navigate to:
Email → Track Delivery
Review recent activity and look for:
• Failed deliveries
• Deferred messages
• Bounce notifications
• Repeated delivery failures
This often identifies which mailbox, script, or application is causing the issue.
Step 3: Check For Compromised Email Accounts
If you notice unusual email activity:
• Change mailbox passwords immediately
• Update passwords for all email accounts if necessary
• Scan connected computers and devices for malware
• Review recent outgoing email activity
Spam sent from compromised mailboxes is one of the most common causes of this restriction.
Step 4: Review Website Contact Forms And Scripts
If your website sends emails automatically:
• Check contact forms for abuse or spam submissions
• Review plugins that send emails
• Verify mailing scripts are functioning correctly
• Investigate unusual spikes in outgoing email activity
Step 5: Check Forwarders And Autoresponders
Incorrect forwarders and autoresponders frequently generate delivery failures.
Review:
• Email Forwarders
• Autoresponders
• Mailing Lists
• Remote forwarding rules
Forwarding emails to external providers without proper configuration may increase delivery failures.
Shared & Reseller Hosting Customers
If you are hosted on our Shared Hosting plans and continue experiencing this issue after resolving the underlying cause, please contact our support team.
Our administrators can review the situation and reset restrictions where appropriate after verifying that the root cause has been addressed.
VPS And Dedicated Server Users
If you manage your own server and have root access, restrictions can typically be removed manually after identifying and resolving the underlying issue.
Once a blockage is on, a file is created within /var/cpanel/email_send_limits/ with the name max_deferfail_domain.tld
All you need to do to "unsuspend" the account is to delete that file.
You can do so by simple doing:
rm /var/cpanel/email_send_limits/max_deferfail_the-domain.tld
For example, if the domain name is “host4geeks.com“, the command to execute would be :
rm /var/cpanel/email_send_limits/max_deferfail_host4geeks.com
Just to be clear, to be able to do this you need to have root access to the server.
Also, keep in mind that you should first fix the root cause in order to prevent your server from getting blacklisted.
Important:
Simply removing the restriction without fixing the cause may result in recurring blocks, spam complaints, or mail server blacklisting. cPanel documentation specifically recommends fixing the source rather than simply removing limits.
How To Prevent This From Happening Again
• Regularly clean mailing lists
• Remove invalid email addresses
• Use strong passwords for email accounts
• Monitor email delivery reports regularly (Track Delivery)
• Keep websites, plugins, and contact forms updated
• Avoid sending bulk emails to unverified recipients
• Investigate unusual outgoing email spikes immediately
• Review forwarders and autoresponders periodically
Conclusion
The "Domain Has Exceeded The Max Defers And Failures Per Hour" message is a temporary protection mechanism that prevents excessive failed email activity from affecting server reputation and email deliverability.
By reviewing delivery logs, securing email accounts, and identifying the source of failed emails, this issue can usually be resolved quickly and prevented from occurring again.
Updated on: 08/06/2026
Thank you!