What does Yahoo bounce code RL02 mean?

10 Marketer opinions 3 Expert opinions 3 Technical articles 2 Resources

Summary

The Yahoo bounce code RL02 indicates that an email was rejected due to content issues, policy violations, or sender reputation problems. This generally signifies the email was classified as spam or violated Yahoo's policies. Factors contributing to the rejection can include spam trigger words, suspicious links, excessive images, poor sender reputation, authentication failures (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and content filtering issues. Resolutions involve reviewing email content, improving sender reputation, and adhering to Yahoo's email sending policies and guidelines. Some suggest the error might relate to older, less documented error codes.

Key findings

Content Policy Violation: RL02 indicates the email's content violates Yahoo's policies. The message contains characteristics that Yahoo won't accept.
Content-Related Rejection: A 554 delivery status notification with RL02 indicates a content-related rejection; the message was classified as spam.
Poor Sender Reputation: RL02 can be triggered by a poor sender reputation, complaint rates, and low engagement data.
Authentication Issues: Rejections can arise due to failures in authentication checks.
5xx SMTP Error: Documentation suggests that the 5xx SMTP error codes signifies a permanent failure; the message cannot be delivered in its current form due to a server policy.

Key considerations

Review Email Content: Examine email content for spam triggers, suspicious links, and excessive images, to fix potential content issues.
Improve Sender Reputation: Improve sender reputation by implementing proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), managing complaint rates, and improving engagement.
Adhere to Yahoo's Policies: Ensure email practices align with Yahoo's sending guidelines to avoid triggering rejections.
Check for Blacklisting: Check for blacklisting as blacklisting can be a reason for bouncing.
Check Domain Reputation: Monitor and maintain a good domain reputation using sender support services.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

The Yahoo bounce code RL02 indicates that an email was not accepted due to content policy violations. Possible reasons include spammy language, suspicious links, excessive images, poor sender reputation, authentication failures, and general content filtering issues. It's also suggested that the error may be related to old or undocumented error codes.

Key opinions

Content Issues: RL02 primarily relates to email content triggering Yahoo's filters. This could include spam trigger words, suspicious links, or excessive images.
Sender Reputation: Poor sender reputation (IP and domain) can contribute to RL02 errors. Ensuring proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial.
Policy Violations: The email's content may violate Yahoo's policies. Reviewing Yahoo's guidelines is essential to avoid triggering the RL02 error.
Authentication: RL02 can also result from failing an authentication check.

Key considerations

Content Review: Thoroughly review your email content for spam trigger words, broken or suspicious links, and excessive images or attachments.
Sender Reputation Management: Monitor and improve your sender reputation by implementing proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), managing complaint rates, and ensuring high engagement rates.
Yahoo's Policies: Familiarize yourself with Yahoo's email sending policies and guidelines to ensure your emails comply with their requirements.
Bounce Message: Always read the full bounce message for more clues on the nature of the problem.

Marketer view

Email marketer from GlockApps indicates that content can cause email to bounce and that this can be because of spam trigger words, or bad links in the email.

April 2021 - GlockApps

Marketer view

Email marketer from Yahoo! Mail Postmaster states that RL02 means the message content was not accepted for policy reasons. It indicates that the content of your email triggered a filter or policy violation within Yahoo's systems.

August 2021 - Yahoo! Mail Postmaster

Marketer view

Email marketer from SendGrid answers that common reasons for bouncing include; the email address doesn't exist, the recipient server is down or too busy, or the email was blocked.

December 2023 - SendGrid

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Deliverability Blog suggests RL02 often points to issues with email content that Yahoo deems unacceptable, such as spammy language, suspicious links, or mismatches with authentication.

January 2025 - Email Deliverability Blog

Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog responds that there are several reasons that might cause a bounce. From spam trigger words, to blacklisting or failing an authentication check. They suggest reading the bounce message for clues.

June 2024 - Mailjet Blog

Marketer view

Email marketer from StackExchange responds that RL02 is likely a content filtering issue. They recommend checking your email's HTML code for errors, removing any suspicious scripts, and ensuring your content aligns with Yahoo's policies.

February 2024 - StackExchange

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains RL02 can be triggered by poor sender reputation. Improving your IP and domain reputation, along with proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), can help.

December 2022 - Email Marketing Forum

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that they received the same bounce code and believe it may be related to old error codes.

September 2022 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks says all they were able to find was "Bad content".

November 2024 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that they encountered RL02 when sending emails with excessive images and links. Reducing the number of images and re-evaluating the links helped resolve the issue.

July 2024 - Reddit

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

The Yahoo bounce code RL02 generally indicates that an email was rejected due to content issues or policy violations. Specifically, Yahoo considers the message to have characteristics that violate their policies, often related to spam or undesirable content. Factors like sender reputation, complaint rates, and engagement also play a role in triggering bounces and blocks.

Key opinions

Content-Related Rejection: RL02 signifies that the email's content is the primary reason for rejection, indicating a violation of Yahoo's policies.
Policy Violation: Yahoo's policies are the reason for content rejections and must be followed to stop rejections.
Reputation and Engagement: Sender reputation, complaint rates, and engagement data influence email deliverability and can contribute to bounces.

Key considerations

Examine Email Content: Carefully review email content for potential spam triggers or policy violations.
Monitor Reputation: Track and improve sender reputation by managing complaint rates and engagement metrics.
Align with Yahoo's Policies: Ensure that email practices align with Yahoo's sending guidelines to avoid rejections.

Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that a 554 delivery status notification (DSN) with code RL02 from Yahoo indicates a content-related rejection. This generally signifies that the email message was classified as spam or otherwise violating Yahoo's policies, requiring senders to examine their email content for problematic elements and potentially modify their sending practices.

March 2022 - Spam Resource

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks guesses that the Yahoo bounce code RL02 likely means “The message contains characteristics that Yahoo won’t accept for policy reasons.

January 2023 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise responds that bounces and blocks can be triggered by numerous reputation based signals including complaint rates and engagement data.

October 2023 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
3Technical articles

The documentation indicates that Yahoo bounce code RL02, which manifests as a 5xx SMTP error or a 554 error, signifies a permanent delivery failure due to the email violating server policies. Resolving these deliverability issues involves reviewing email content, sending practices, and authentication methods, along with checking domain reputation and adhering to sender support guidelines.

Key findings

Permanent Failure: 5xx SMTP errors indicate a permanent failure in delivering the message in its current form.
Policy Violation: SMTP 554 errors generally mean the email was rejected because it violated a server policy.
Deliverability Issues: Deliverability problems leading to these errors can often be addressed by checking domain reputation and following sender guidelines.

Key considerations

Review Content and Practices: Carefully review email content and sending practices to ensure they comply with server policies.
Check Domain Reputation: Monitor and maintain a good domain reputation using sender support services.
Implement Authentication: Ensure proper email authentication methods are in place to improve deliverability.

Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that 5xx SMTP error codes indicate a permanent failure, suggesting the message cannot be delivered in its current form due to server policy.

November 2022 - RFC

Technical article

Documentation from Postmark Support indicates that SMTP 554 errors generally mean the email was rejected for policy reasons. Senders need to review their content, sending practices and authentication methods.

July 2024 - Postmark Support

Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft support shares that issues in email deliverability and SMTP errors such as content being blocked can often be resolved by checking your domain reputation with Sender Support services and following the guidelines.

December 2023 - Microsoft Support