Add an email address

Overview

This article explains how to add a fully hosted email address to your domain.

Understanding the different types of email addresses

The following table explains each type of email address that can be created in the panel.

Email type	Function
Fully hosted	Includes an active mailbox. Mailbox size up to 25GB. Incoming emails cannot be redirected.
Forward-only	Does not include an active mailbox. Redirects all incoming emails to up to 10 email addresses. To create or manage a forward-only address, see this article.
Garbage	Does not include an active mailbox. Deletes all incoming emails automatically without generating bounce backs or notifications. To create or manage a garbage email address, see this article.

How to add or delete an email address

A fully hosted email address has an active mailbox that you can log in to and send or receive messages.

Adding a new email address

1. Navigate to the Manage Email page.
2. Click the Create Email button.
3. Select your domain from the Select a domain dropdown menu under Email Address.
4. Enter the name of your new email address in the text box that appears.
5. Select Fully Hosted Email under Mailbox Type and click the Continue button.
6. Enter a mailbox name (this can be your name or something that describes the mailbox's purpose).
7. Click the Generate strong password button to generate a password (or enter one of your own choosing if you prefer).
8. Click the Create Email button at the bottom of the page to save the new information. After the email is created, a success message displays.

Deleting an email address

1. Navigate to the Manage Email page.
2. Click the Manage button to the right of your email address.
3. Click the red Delete button, then click it once more to confirm the deletion request.

New email address FAQs

How long does it take before my new email address works?

The time it takes for a new email address to begin working depends on the following:

• If it's the first address added to a domain — If this is the first email created for the domain, the domain will need some time for the mail record DNS to propagate, which can take up to 6 hours for each record. During this time, messages sent to your user will be rejected with a bounce notification containing the following error:

  Recipient Address Rejected

  Until the DNS resolves, the messages sent to your user will continue to be rejected. However, your user should be able to send messages even when the DNS has yet to resolve.
• If it's an additional address added to a domain — If your domain is already configured with email addresses, the newly created address should be fully active within 15 minutes of it being created.

What email address names should I use?

You can name an email address as you choose, but Internet standards specify that you create the following specific email addresses, which every domain should have and use for the following purposes:

Address	Purpose
postmaster@example.com	Contact for any email issues. This should exist for any domain that has an email service.
webmaster@example.com	Contact for any website issues. This should exist for any domain that has a website or HTTP service.
hostmaster@example.com	Contact for any DNS issues. This should exist for all domains since they all use DNS for everything.
abuse@example.com	Contact for any "inappropriate public behavior" related to the domain.

Can I forward email from my newly created email address?

Newly created email addresses can only receive email. It's not possible for an email address to both receive and forward to another address. If you need to forward email, you must create a Forward-Only address instead.

If you previously configured an email address to forward to another inbox, this feature will remain active until the address is edited. At that point, you will need to select between Forward-Only or Fully Hosted.

I have a large number of addresses and cannot create a new one — what should I do?

If you have a large number of addresses already created, you may see an error message that reads:

Your account cannot create additional e-mail addresses at this time. This is usually a temporary situation and should be resolved within 24 hours. Please contact Support if you have any questions.

If you receive this message, please contact support.

Troubleshooting

The following provides general information that can help you resolve common errors related to email.

Login issues

Visit the following URL to connect to your email address using webmail:

• https://webmail.dreamhost.com/

If any error occurs, visit the Contact Support page to submit a support request.

Resetting a password

To reset the password of an email address in the panel, see this article.

Email delivery failures

Email delivery can fail due to a variety of reasons, which may require a review by DreamHost's support team. To investigate any error that you encounter, first gather relevant information by following the instructions in this article.

Once you have gathered all of the appropriate information, navigate to the Contact Support page to submit your support request.

How to verify your MX records and DNS propagation status

You can check where your domain's DNS records currently point on the DNS Settings page:

1. Open your site's DNS Settings page.
2. Click the DNS Checker button.

   The DNS Propagation Checker page opens.

3. Click a record you wish to view and then click the Refresh or Go button.

For more information about reviewing your DNS configuration, see this article.

See also

• Add a forward-only email address
• Create a garbage email address
• Email client configuration overview