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554 5.7.1 [HM07]: iCloud Mail refused your message

554 5.7.1 [HM07]iCloud Mail policy rejection (HM07)Permanent: retrying will not helpFrom iCloud Mail

Typical wording
554 5.7.1 [HM07] Message rejected due to local policy

What it means

HM07 shows up less often than CS01 or HM08, and the exact text around it varies. It typically reads like a 554 5.7.1 local policy refusal with the [HM07] tag in brackets. The enhanced code says the message was refused for policy reasons (RFC 3463), and the tag is Apple’s internal pointer to which rule fired.

We will be straight with you: there is no public source that says precisely what separates HM07 from HM08. Senders who report it usually describe the same family of problems as HM08, such as identity and header issues, sometimes mixed with a poor sending history. The honest way to handle it is to treat it as a diagnosis exercise. Find what differs between mail that Apple accepts from you and mail it refuses.

Like the other tags, it is permanent. Your MTA will not retry, and the iCloud user cannot do anything from their mailbox settings to let the message in.

Likely causes

  • A web form or app that sends with the visitor’s address in From, which is spoofing from Apple’s point of view.
  • An envelope sender (Return-Path) on a domain that publishes no SPF record at all.
  • A brand new domain or a domain registered very recently, sending its first mail to Apple users.
  • Sending from a cloud VPS range that Apple treats with suspicion, without reverse DNS set by the hosting company.
  • Many iCloud recipients in a single message, which looks like list mail from a source that is not set up for it.

How to fix it

  1. Collect one accepted and one refused message from the same system and compare the From, Return-Path, DKIM d= domain, and connecting IP.
  2. Change form and app mail to send from your own domain, and put the visitor’s address in Reply-To instead of From.
  3. Publish SPF for the envelope domain, for example `v=spf1 ip4:203.0.113.5 include:_spf.example.net -all`, and sign with DKIM.
  4. Ask your hosting company to set a PTR record for the server IP, or route outbound mail through an established relay.
  5. Split large recipient lists into separate messages and warm a new domain up slowly before mailing many Apple users.
  6. If refusals continue after those fixes, email Apple’s postmaster team at icloudadmin@apple.com with your company name, sending domain, the affected IP addresses, the SMTP errors, and when the problem started.

Checks that apply

  • SPF Check Evaluates the SPF record of your envelope domain and flags a missing record or one that exceeds the lookup limit.
  • Reverse DNS (PTR) Shows whether a VPS address has a meaningful reverse DNS name or only the hosting company’s generic default.
  • Domain Health Grades the sending domain end to end, which helps when you do not yet know which piece Apple dislikes.
See the example diagnosed

The classification runs without network lookups and we never store your paste.

FAQ

Does Apple publish what HM07 means?
No. Apple publishes general guidance for senders, but not a list of its bracket tags, so any precise definition you read online is a guess.
Is HM07 worse than HM08?
There is no evidence that one is more severe. Both are permanent refusals, and both are usually cleared by fixing sender identity and authentication.

Community-sourced: the provider does not publish this code; the wording is based on reports from senders and the related pages below.

Sources:Postmaster information for iCloud Mail (Apple Support)Checked 2026-10-18

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