Message bounced due to a policy rule

If your organization has set up policy rules that filter email messages for content compliance, and a user in your organization sends an email that violates a rule, the email bounces. The user gets an error message that a rule has been violated. As a Google Workspace administrator, you can use the error message to resolve and prevent policy violations.

Policy violations and solutions

Compliance, routing, or custom error message

You might have a policy rule that prevents users from sending messages containing credit card numbers. Similarly, you can have a policy that prevents users from sending messages with .zip attachments. If a message bounces because it violates a routing, compliance, or objectionable content rule, you’ll see one of these messages:

• Default rejection message—For example, Rejected due to policy associated with sender.

• A custom message—You can enter a custom message when you set up the rule.

How do I fix the problem?

If there’s a custom message, follow the directions to fix the problem. If there’s no custom message, you need to examine the logs. For details, see Display information on triggered settings.

Related topics

• Set up routing for your domain or organization
• Set up rules for content compliance
• Set up rules for objectionable content
• Set up rules for attachment compliance

Encryption error message

If you have a policy rule that requires outgoing messages be S/MIME encrypted or signed and Gmail can’t get a recipient’s public key, encryption fails. When encryption fails, you’ll see A policy required encryption but was unable to encrypt the message.

How do I fix the problem?

Ensure that S/MIME keys are exchanged prior to rule enforcement. For details, see Enable hosted S/MIME for enhanced message security.