Exchange 2003 SMTP Error - 'Is Restricted'

Question

We're getting the following Error when emailing a client.

There was a SMTP communication problem with the recipient's email server.  Please contact your system administrator.
            <mail.ourdomain.com #5.5.0 smtp;553 mailbox jwxxx@theirdomain.com is restricted (Mode: normal)>

The SMTP logs aren't much better:

OutboundConnectionResponse SMTPSVC1 ourserver - 25 - 553+mailbox+jwxxx@theirdomain+is+restricted+(Mode:+normal) 0 0 67 0 265 SMTP - - - -

OutboundConnectionCommand SMTPSVC1 ourserver - 25 RSET - - 0 0 4 0 265 SMTP - - - -

I believe the error is on their end, but I was curious what the 'is restricted' error message meant. I haven't seen that before, and quick google search didn't return and concrete answers.

Answer 1

The message is originating from their end as a 553 response from their mail server. The remote server probably has the account set to be able to receive mail from local users only and not messages from the Internet. If they want this user to receive mail from the outside they will need to update the account settings on their end.

Answer 2

At a guess, their mail-box wasn't configured to allow just anyone to mail to it. I've seen similar problems when attempting to send to a group that has the "authenticated users only" flag set on it in Receive Restrictions. Some organizations also use such settings to 'disable' accounts before deletion.

Answer 3

Also possible is that the recipient's mailbox is full, and the recipient server is set to stop accepting mail when that happens.

I suggest contacting the administrator at the other end.

Good luck.