// how to fix
High SpamAssassin spam score
SpamAssassin scores the content of your email. Above 5, it is treated as spam. Learn what raises the score and how to bring it down.
What it means
SpamAssassin is a widely used spam filter. It runs hundreds of small tests on your email: the text, the links, the images, the technical headers, the authentication. Each suspicious sign adds points. Good signs can remove points.
The lower the score, the better. The usual spam threshold is 5. Above it, many servers send the email to spam.
Why it matters
Gmail and Outlook use their own filters, but they look for many of the same signs. A high SpamAssassin score is a good warning that your content or setup looks like spam.
How to check
Send the exact email you want to test (your newsletter, your invoice email, your sales email) to your Delivmail test address from the home page. The report shows your score and the main rules that added points.
How to bring the score down
1. Fix authentication first
Failed SPF, missing DKIM or a sending IP on a blacklist all add points. Fix those first: they are often the biggest part of the score.
2. Clean up the wording
- Avoid typical spam phrases: "FREE", "100% guaranteed", "act now", "click here", "no risk", "winner".
- Do not write in ALL CAPS, and do not use many exclamation marks or dollar signs.
- Write a clear, honest subject line that matches the content.
3. Balance text and images
- Do not send an email that is just one big image. Spam filters cannot read it, and spammers do this to hide words.
- Keep real text in the email, and add alt text to images.
4. Send a plain-text version
Good emails contain both an HTML version and a plain-text version. Most newsletter tools do it automatically; make sure the option is on. An HTML-only email adds points.
5. Check your links
- Avoid public URL shorteners. Link to your own domain.
- Do not show one address and link to another (for example showing
yourdomain.combut linking to a tracking domain). Use the custom tracking domain option of your tool if it exists. - Remove links to sites that may be on a blacklist.
6. Clean HTML
Emails copied from Word or built by hand can contain broken or messy HTML. Use a template from your email tool, and avoid tiny or invisible text, or text with the same color as the background.
7. Include the usual business details
- A real sender name and a reply address that works.
- For marketing emails, a visible unsubscribe link and your postal address.
Reading the rules in the report
Each rule has a short name and a description. Focus on the ones with the most points. Rules with negative points are good signs. A score of 0 to 2 is excellent, 2 to 5 is acceptable, above 5 needs work.
Check that it is fixed
Change one thing at a time and send a new test from the home page. Watch which rules disappear and how the score moves. Keep the version that scores lowest while still saying what you need.
Check that it is fixed
DNS changes can take from a few minutes to a few hours. Then send a new test email or scan your domain again.
Related guides
- Gmail and Yahoo bulk sender requirementsSince 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require large senders to authenticate their emails, offer one-click unsubscribe and keep spam complaints very low. Here is the checklist.
- Your emails land in Gmail's spam folderWhen Gmail sends your emails to spam, the cause is almost always authentication, reputation or content. Here is how to find which one and fix it.
- Add a List-Unsubscribe header (one-click unsubscribe)The List-Unsubscribe header lets Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook show an Unsubscribe button next to your sender name. Bulk senders must offer it in one click.
- Invalid HELO/EHLO hostnameYour server introduces itself with a name that is not valid, such as localhost or a bare IP. Spam filters distrust this. Give it a real name that matches reverse DNS.
- Links that hurt deliverabilityURL shorteners, link text that shows one address but points to another, and links to blacklisted domains are classic spam signs. Use plain links to your own domain.