555
SMTPERRORCommonClient ErrorHIGH confidence

MAIL FROM/RCPT TO parameters not recognized or not implemented

What this means

The 555 code is a permanent failure indicating that the server does not recognize or implement the parameters supplied with the `MAIL FROM` or `RCPT TO` commands. This is similar to 504 but specific to the mail transaction commands.

Why it happens
  1. 1The client is attempting to use an ESMTP extension on the `MAIL FROM` or `RCPT TO` command that the server does not support (e.g., `SMTPUTF8`).
  2. 2The parameters are syntactically valid but are not implemented by the receiving MTA.
How to reproduce

A client that supports SMTPUTF8 tries to use it with a server that does not.

trigger — this will error
trigger — this will error
MAIL FROM:<sender@example.com> SMTPUTF8
555 5.5.4 Unsupported option: SMTPUTF8

expected output

555 MAIL FROM/RCPT TO parameters not recognized

Fix

Query Server Extensions

WHEN You control the SMTP client

Query Server Extensions
// Check the EHLO response to see if an extension is supported
const features = getFeaturesFromEhlo(response);
if (features.includes("SMTPUTF8")) {
  // It's safe to use the SMTPUTF8 parameter
}

Why this works

Proactively checking for server support prevents the client from using unsupported parameters and getting rejected.

What not to do

Retry the command with the same parameters

The server has permanently rejected this parameter; it must be omitted or changed for the command to succeed.

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