In forcesince 1 Feb 2024 · Global · Gmail

Gmail enforces a 0.30 percent spam rate on bulk senders

Senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail must authenticate with SPF and DKIM, publish a DMARC record, keep the reported spam rate below 0.30 percent, and support one-click unsubscribe. Google asks senders to stay under 0.10 percent and treats 0.30 percent as the line you must never reach.

Who this applies to

Any domain sending over 5,000 messages a day to Gmail addresses.

What to do

Watch the rate in Google Postmaster Tools, and treat 0.10 percent as your ceiling rather than 0.30.
Remember the rate is reported by users, so it moves with list quality and frequency, not with content.
Note that Postmaster Tools v2 retired the domain and IP reputation dashboards, so spam rate is now the number that matters most.

What happens if you do not

Enforced silently and automatically through filtering rather than through notices. Validity's 2025 benchmark measured global inbox placement falling to 83.5 percent, with Gmail showing an unexpected decline of almost five percent, so the effect is visible in aggregate even when no individual sender is told anything.

Source

Google, Email sender guidelines
Published 1 Feb 2024Read it

History of this page

20 Jun 2026Noted the Postmaster v2 reputation dashboard retirement.
2 May 2026Added.