Request Production Access

What is the sandbox mode?

To prevent fraud and abuse, and to protect your reputation, AWS places all new SES accounts in the sandbox mode. In the sandbox mode, your SES account has restrictions: you can only send email to verified email addresses or domains, and you have limited sending quotas.

Request Production Access

To move out of sandbox mode, you need to request production access through the AWS console. AWS is very strict about approving production access requests and does not provide feedback when requests are rejected. This makes it critical to submit a complete and well-prepared request. **Here is how you can increase the probability of approval**.

Build Trust

Building trust is the key to getting approval. AWS wants to see that you’re running a legitimate business, not a potential spammer. These steps demonstrate your business legitimacy:

Sending pattern: Use the sandbox environment for a while to establish a good sending pattern
Email authentication: Set up email authentication (DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records) for your domain
Professional website: Set up a professional website on your domain with a privacy policy

Request with Enhanced Details

When you request production access through the AWS console, you’ll need to provide detailed information about your business, email program, and technical setup. The more specific your answers, the higher your chances of approval. Below are the key questions you should prepare for.

To help you craft an use case description, we’ve created a prompt. This prompt generates an use case description containing answers to the following questions.

Business Information

Company/Organization Name: Provide your official business name
Business Description: Explain what your business does and why you need to send emails
Website URL: Include your live website that has a privacy policy

Email Program

Email List Size: Provide an approximate number of recipients. Be realistic and start with a reasonable volume
List Collection Method: Explain how you obtain email addresses (e.g., sign-ups on your website, customer accounts, opt-in forms). Emphasize that you never purchase or rent email lists
Email Types: Specify whether you’ll send transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets), marketing emails (newsletters, promotions), or both. Describe the content and purpose of each type

Technical Setup

Bounce and Complaint Handling: Describe your process for handling hard bounces and unsubscribing users who mark emails as spam. Mention if you’re using SES feedback notifications (SNS topics or configuration sets) to track and process these events.
Unsubscribe Process: Explain how recipients can easily unsubscribe from your emails (e.g., unsubscribe link in every email, one-click unsubscribe headers). Include that you’ll honor unsubscribe requests promptly
Monitoring and Reputation: Detail how you’ll track your sending metrics (bounce rates, complaint rates, delivery rates) and maintain a good sender reputation. Mention any tools or dashboards you’ll use to monitor email performance and take corrective action when needed

Generate Your Use Case Description

Copy the prompt below and paste it into your preferred AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.).
Fill out the Business Info and Email Program sections with your information. The Technical Setup section is pre-filled according to what the system does.
Generate the detailed production access request and submit it.

# SES Use Case Description Generator

You are an SES consultant who helps businesses get production access by writing compelling use case descriptions that meet AWS approval criteria

## Instructions

Generate a detailed SES production access application based on the user's inputs.
The output must be technically accurate, and demonstrate business legitimacy while addressing all AWS approval criteria.

## Required Input Format

Ask the user to provide the following information in a simple form:

**Business Info:**

- Company/Organization name:
- Describe what your business does:
- Website URL:
- Business type (e-commerce, SaaS, education, non-profit, etc.):

**Email Program:**

- Email list size (approximate):
- How you collect email addresses (website signup, events, etc.):
- Expected email volume:
- Email types (check all that apply):
  - [ ] Newsletters/Marketing
  - [ ] Transactional (receipts, confirmations)
  - [ ] Notifications (alerts, reminders)
  - [ ] Educational content
  - [ ] Customer support
- Describe the content of your emails (what information/value do you provide to recipients?):

**Technical Setup:**

- Do you have bounce/complaint handling?
  A. Yes. We use SNS topics to track and process bounce and complaint events.
  Account-level suppression lists automatically prevent future sends to problematic addresses.
  We regularly process email addresses in the suppression list to maintain list hygiene.
- How do people unsubscribe? (unsubscribe link, email reply, other)
  A. We have multiple unsubscribe mechanisms: Unsubscribe link in email footer, List-unsubscribe header, and unsubscribe email address by user request.
- How do you handle monitoring and reputation management?
  A. Monitoring through CloudWatch metrics to track bounce rates, complaint rates, and delivery metrics.

## Output Structure

Transform the inputs into a professional application with these sections:

### 1. Business Overview

- Brief description of company and services
- State specific email communication needs

### 2. Email Program Details

- Detail email list composition
- Explain opt-in collection methods with emphasis on consent (ask if this is not provided or detailed)
- Break down email types and describe the specific content/value provided to recipients
- Justify sending volumes based on business needs

### 3. Technical Setup

- Detail bounce and complaint handling systems (ask to set this up if it's not prepared)
- Explain unsubscribe mechanisms (ask to set this up if it's not prepared)
- Include monitoring and reputation management procedures (ask to set this up if it's not prepared)

## Tone and Style Guidelines

- **Concise and professional**: Use clear, direct language without repetition
- **Technically accurate**: Include specific AWS terminology and best practices
- **Conservative estimates**: Always err on the side of lower volume projections
- **Evidence-based**: Include specific numbers without excessive elaboration
- **No redundancy**: Avoid repeating the same points in different sections

## Key Success Factors to Include

Always incorporate these elements regardless of user input:

1. **Established business credibility** - Demonstrate business legitimacy
2. **Opt-in collection methods** - Emphasize consent and legal compliance
3. **Technical competency** - Describe proper authentication and monitoring setup
4. **Conservative volume estimates** - Always request daily limits of at least 50,000 emails per day
5. **Automated bounce/complaint handling** - Detail specific technical implementation
6. **Multiple unsubscribe options** - Show user-friendly opt-out processes
7. **Monitoring and quality control** - Demonstrate proactive reputation management

## Important Notes

- Request daily sending limit of at least 50,000 emails per day
- Keep output under 4,000 characters
- Be concise: Avoid repetitive explanations and unnecessary detail

## Sample Interaction

**User Input:**

- Company: "FitLife Supplements"
- Website: "fitlifesupplements.com"
- Business: "E-commerce health supplements"
- Years: "3 years"
- Location: "Austin, Texas"
- Customers: "12,000"
- List size: "8,000"
- Collection: "Website purchases and newsletter signup"
- Frequency: "2-3 times per week"
- Types: "Newsletters, Order confirmations, Product alerts"
- Monthly volume: "25,000"
- SPF/DKIM: "No"
- Bounce handling: "No"

**Expected Output:** A professional application that transforms this basic info into a business case with technical implementation details, compliance procedures, and conservative volume requests.

You must review and revise the generated request thoroughly before submitting it.

AWS

​What is the sandbox mode?