How concerned should I be about SPFBL DNSBL for email deliverability to Brazil?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 3 Jun 2025
Updated 14 Aug 2025
7 min read
Summary
SPFBL DNSBL is a real-time blacklist (RBL) primarily used in Brazil to combat spam and ensure legitimate email traffic. While it can impact senders targeting Brazilian and Russian regions, its overall global influence on email deliverability appears to be limited for many. For businesses sending a significant volume of emails into Brazil, understanding SPFBL's nuances can prevent potential delivery issues and maintain sender reputation.
Key findings
Regional impact: SPFBL primarily affects email deliverability to internet service providers (ISPs) in Brazil and Russia. Its reach extends predominantly within these geographical areas.
Low global bounce rate: Many senders report a very low percentage of bounces attributed specifically to SPFBL listings, indicating limited global adoption or impact.
Authentication importance: Proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration remains crucial for deliverability, regardless of SPFBL status.
Payment for delisting: Historically, there have been reports of SPFBL requiring payment for delisting, a practice considered contentious within the email deliverability community, as noted by some experts.
Key considerations
Monitor bounces: Continuously check your bounce logs for SPFBL-specific rejection messages, especially if you send large volumes to Brazil.
Understand bounce codes: Different SPFBL return codes indicate permanent blocks, greylisting, or compliance issues with RFCs.
Remediation paths: SPFBL documentation outlines steps for delisting, though the process may involve fees.
WHOIS visibility: Some blocklists, including SPFBL, may consider WHOIS privacy settings when evaluating legitimacy, potentially impacting deliverability.
Email marketers often weigh the impact of less prominent blocklists (or blacklists) like SPFBL against their overall sending volume and target audience. For those with significant email traffic to Brazil, SPFBL can be a minor, but consistent, source of bounce concerns. However, the consensus often leans towards its limited overall effect compared to other, more widely used blacklists.
Key opinions
Minimal concern: Many marketers express minimal to zero concern about SPFBL due to its limited global impact on deliverability.
Regional focus: SPFBL primarily affects email delivery within Brazilian and occasionally Russian regions, making it a niche concern.
Low bounce volume: Compared to total bounce rates, SPFBL-specific rejections generally represent a very small fraction of overall bounces.
Maintenance questions: Some marketers question whether SPFBL is actively maintained or widely adopted by major internet service providers.
Key considerations
Segment by region: Senders primarily targeting Brazil or Russia should pay closer attention to SPFBL listings and bounce trends due to its regional concentration.
Client-specific issues: If a client has a history of deliverability problems, any blacklist or blocklist listing, even minor ones like SPFBL, warrants investigation, as detailed in our guide on assessing unknown blocklists.
Evaluate bounce data: It is essential to analyze actual bounce data and attribution to SPFBL to determine its real impact on your specific campaigns. This helps understand what happens when your IP is blocklisted.
Compare against total bounces: The absolute number of SPFBL bounces should always be considered in proportion to total email volume and other reasons for bounces, as highlighted by discussions on the Cloudron Forum.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks indicates minimal concern regarding SPFBL, stating that the level of concern should be zero. They also question if the blacklist is still actively maintained.
19 Dec 2019 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Cloudron Forum asks if dnsbl.spfbl.net is legitimate because they were asked to pay $2 for IP delisting, which is an unusual practice for a blacklist.
02 Apr 2023 - Cloudron Forum
What the experts say
Deliverability experts generally advise a pragmatic approach to SPFBL, acknowledging its regional impact but emphasizing its relatively minor global significance compared to major blacklists. The focus for experts remains on core deliverability practices, robust infrastructure configuration, and careful monitoring of specific bounce codes to understand the root cause of any rejections.
Key opinions
Low global impact: Experts largely agree that SPFBL has a very limited global impact on email deliverability for most senders, often recommending to not be overly concerned.
RFC compliance: Some SPFBL listings, particularly those with specific bounce codes (e.g., 127.0.0.3), suggest issues with a Mail Transfer Agent's (MTA) compliance with RFC 5321.
Transient vs. hard bounces: Experts differentiate between greylisting (transient errors that allow retries) and permanent blocks (hard bounces that indicate deeper issues requiring attention).
Remediation available: Even for hard blocks, a remediation path exists for delisting from SPFBL, providing a way to resolve issues.
Key considerations
Prioritize major blacklists: Senders should prioritize monitoring and remediating listings on more influential blocklists that have a broader impact on deliverability.
Inspect bounce codes: Understanding the specific SPFBL bounce codes is crucial for diagnosing the root cause of rejections and applying targeted fixes.
Check WHOIS information: Some experts advise reviewing WHOIS records, as a lack of public information can sometimes lead to blocklist entries, a practice deemed questionable by some.
IP reputation: A clean IP history and consistent sending practices are the best defense against any blocklist, including SPFBL. Learning about factors affecting IP reputation is important.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks unequivocally states that SPFBL should be of zero concern for senders, implying its minimal impact on broader email deliverability.
19 Dec 2019 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from SpamResource explains that many blacklists, including some like SPFBL, are primarily focused on addressing regional spam issues, which makes their overall impact on deliverability largely localized.
10 Jan 2023 - SpamResource
What the documentation says
SPFBL's own documentation details various response codes, providing senders with insights into why their mail is being rejected or greylisted. These codes indicate reasons such as bad sender reputation, non-compliance with RFCs, or the identification of residential connections. Understanding these specific codes is crucial for diagnosing the nature of the block and initiating the correct resolution steps through their feedback mechanism.
Key findings
Specific return codes: SPFBL provides distinct return codes (e.g., 127.0.0.2, 127.0.0.3, 127.0.0.4) that clarify the precise reason for a block or flag.
Bad reputation: A code of 127.0.0.2 indicates blacklisting due to a bad reputation and confirmed anonymous complaints.
RFC non-compliance: The code 127.0.0.3 can signify difficulty identifying the responsible party for abuses or an MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) not complying with RFC 5321.
Residential/NAT connections: A 127.0.0.4 code suggests the address is a NAT router, a residential connection, or that no email service was identified running at that address.
Query limits: An rcode REFUSED means the query limit was exceeded, indicating an issue with how the DNSBL is being queried rather than a direct block.
Key considerations
Parse bounce messages: Senders should parse bounce messages to identify the specific SPFBL return code and its meaning, enabling accurate diagnosis.
MTA compliance: Ensure your mail server (MTA) is fully compliant with relevant RFCs, especially RFC 5321, to avoid 127.0.0.3 listings.
IP type verification: Confirm that your sending IP is not flagged as a residential connection or NAT router if you receive 127.0.0.4 errors.
Feedback mechanism: SPFBL provides a feedback link at spfbl.net/en/feedback for understanding blocks and initiating delisting. For general SPF compliance, refer to what SPF means in email.
Technical article
Documentation from SPFBL.net states that a 127.0.0.2 response signifies that an IP address is blacklisted due to a poor reputation, which has been confirmed by anonymous complaints.
01 Jan 2020 - SPFBL.net Documentation
Technical article
Documentation from SPFBL.net indicates that the return code 127.0.0.3 flags an address if there is difficulty in identifying the party responsible for abuses or if the Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) is not in compliance with RFC 5321 standards.
