HubSpot bounce and complaint limits
From HubSpot's own help center and policies, checked November 1, 2026.
| Metric | Limit | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Hard bounce rate | 5% in a month | Can trigger a sending suspension. All marketing email stops, including workflow emails. Source |
| Spam report rate | 0.1% in a month | Can trigger a suspension. One report per 1,000 emails. Source |
| Unsubscribe rate | 3% in a month | Can trigger a suspension. Source |
| Probation | Varies by industry and volume | Comes before suspension; a high hard bounce rate is HubSpot's example trigger. Source |
How HubSpot handles bounces and imports
- After a hard bounce, HubSpot drops the contact from future marketing emails. HubSpot counts mailbox full as a hard bounce.
- A global bounce, a hard bounce in three or more HubSpot accounts, drops the address across all HubSpot accounts.
- Soft-bounced contacts stay eligible for future emails; a message not delivered within 72 hours becomes a soft bounce.
- Segments with high hard bounce rates can be quarantined, and contacts cannot be manually removed from a quarantined segment. HubSpot recommends validating quarantined lists with an external email validation service.
- Graymail suppression is on by default: contacts who never engaged with the last 11 emails, or stopped engaging for the last 16, are skipped.
Clean your HubSpot list with the integration
No exports. Results are written straight back to HubSpot.
- 1
In RocketVerifier, open Dashboard, Integrations, HubSpot and click Connect. Approve access in HubSpot.
- 2
Choose all contacts, or any static or active list.
- 3
Turn on write-back: status, sub-status, score and date go into contact properties. Optionally move contacts into a clean or review list.
- 4
Preview the breakdown, then sync now or on a schedule.
- 5
Turn on auto-verify so every new contact is checked within seconds of being created.
Or clean it by file
- 1
In HubSpot, open CRM, Contacts, pick a view such as All contacts and click Export. The download link arrives by email.
- 2
Upload the file to RocketVerifier as a bulk job and download the results.
- 3
Back in HubSpot, open Data Management, Data Integration, Import data. Map the email column to Email and the result columns to custom properties, and choose Update existing records only.
What to keep and what to remove
| Status | Sub-status | Action |
|---|---|---|
| deliverable | none, alias | Keep and send. |
| risky | catch_all, send_safe | Keep and send. |
| risky | catch_all, send_with_caution | Send to engaged contacts, or in smaller batches. |
| risky | role_based, mailbox_full | Keep only if they opted in and engage. |
| risky | catch_all avoid, possible_trap, toxic | Remove. |
| undeliverable | any | Unsubscribe or suppress. |
| unknown | greylisted, blocked, smtp_timeout | Hold and re-verify later. Never charged. |
Tips for HubSpot
- Never import addresses from rented, purchased or appended lists. HubSpot does not allow them in the marketing email tool.
- Use a RocketVerifier status property as a filter in every marketing list, so undeliverable and risky contacts never receive a send.
- Import past bounces and unsubscribes from your previous platform as opted out, as HubSpot recommends.
Sources
- HubSpot: Resolve email sending suspensions
- HubSpot: Resolve an email sending probation
- HubSpot: Understand and manage quarantined contacts
- HubSpot: Hard bounces and soft bounces
- HubSpot: Graymail and unengaged contacts
- HubSpot: Export your records
Last reviewed