> Bounce (hard and soft): A message from the receiving server saying it couldn't deliver an email. A hard bounce is permanent (the address doesn't exist); a…

Source: https://vaartix.com/glossary/bounce

[Email glossary](https://vaartix.com/glossary)

# Bounce (hard and soft)

Also called: Non-delivery report

A message from the receiving server saying it couldn't deliver an email. A hard bounce is permanent (the address doesn't exist); a soft bounce is temporary (a full mailbox, or the server is busy).

## How this affects you

A hard bounce adds the address to Vaartix's suppression list for every customer, so no one sends to it again. A soft bounce is recorded as `delivery_delayed` and never suppressed. Both keep the receiving server's reply, word for word, in the email's timeline and webhooks. A team whose bounce rate goes above 4% over 7 days is paused, so clean your list before sending to it.

## Learn more

-   [Suppression](https://vaartix.com/docs/concepts/suppression/)
-   [Statuses and events](https://vaartix.com/docs/concepts/statuses-and-events/)

Related: [Suppression list](https://vaartix.com/glossary/suppression-list) · [Sender reputation](https://vaartix.com/glossary/sender-reputation) · [Complaint](https://vaartix.com/glossary/complaint)

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