How to remove your IP from ORVEDB

ORVEDB is an old open-relay list from ANTISPAM-UFRJ. Here is what a listing means, and why fixing your server is the whole job.

Check your domain free → ORVEDB removal tool ↗

What it is

The list, in plain terms.

ORVEDB — the Realtime Open-Relays Verifying Engine Database List — is one of three DNS blocklists run by ANTISPAM-UFRJ, the anti-spam project of the Signal Processing Laboratory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil. It is published as the DNS zone orvedb.aupads.org and lists the IP addresses of mail servers confirmed to be open relays.

A listing here is not an accusation of spamming. As the operator puts it, an open relay is usually run accidentally, through the inexperience of its administrator. The list is built and maintained entirely by an automated engine called ORVE, which tests a host, and adds it only if the host actually relays a test message back intact.

ORVEDB is a legacy list. Its own pages date to the early 2000s and reference services such as MAPS RBL and ORBS that have long since closed. Few mainstream receivers still consult it, so an ORVEDB listing on its own rarely causes widespread bouncing — but some blacklist checkers still query the zone, and the underlying problem it flags, a genuinely open relay, is worth fixing regardless.

Why you get listed

What a listing on ORVEDB means.

Your server is an open relay ORVE received a notification about your IP, connected to it and successfully relayed a test message through your MTA back to itself. That confirms the server will forward mail for unauthenticated third parties — the definition of an open relay, and the only thing this list flags.

A misconfiguration that looks like a relay The operator acknowledges that a misconfigured MTA, or a botched fix by an administrator, can occasionally get a host listed even when it is not truly an open relay. A fresh ORVE test resolves whether the server is genuinely closed.

How to get removed

Delisting, in order.

Removal is free. Fix the cause first — a listing you clear without a fix comes straight back.

1 Confirm the listing. Look your IP up with the ANTISPAM-UFRJ lookup tool at aupads.org/cgi-bin/ordb-lookup. A query on the zone returns 127.0.0.3 when the IP is listed. There is no cost and no account.
2 Close the open relay. This is the real work and everything else depends on it. Reconfigure your MTA to require authentication for outbound mail and to reject relaying for hosts outside your own networks. Removal is impossible while the server still relays, because ORVE simply re-lists it.
3 Let ORVE re-test, or request a re-test. ORVEDB has no manual delist form. The engine re-tests each listed host every 90 days, or sooner if the administrator requests it via ANTISPAM-UFRJ. The re-test is a battery of 20 relay attempts.
4 Refuse all 20 relay tests. Only a host that refuses every one of the 20 relay tests is removed immediately. If any single test still looks suspicious, ORVE waits a further 90 days before removing you. So make sure the relay is fully and correctly closed before the re-test runs.
5 Do not firewall ORVE. Blocking the ORVE tester at your firewall does not clear the listing. If ORVE cannot connect at all, it keeps trying for two years before treating the host as non-existent and removing it. Let the test through against a properly closed relay instead.

The official route

Straight to the source.

Removal happens on ORVEDB's own tool — never through a paid service.

ORVEDB removal tool ↗

Return codes

127.0.0.3 Listed on ORVEDB (orvedb.aupads.org) — confirmed open relay

How long it takes

Removal is automatic, not instant. A listed host is re-tested every 90 days or on administrator request. Refuse all 20 relay tests and removal happens immediately after that re-test; if any test still shows suspicion, ORVE waits another 90 days. A host that blocks the tester entirely is only removed after two years of failed connection attempts.

Common questions

About ORVEDB, specifically.

Does ORVEDB charge to remove my IP? No. ANTISPAM-UFRJ runs ORVEDB for free and removal is automatic once your server passes the re-test. Any service offering paid removal from ORVEDB is a scam — no third party can influence the automated engine.

How do I delist from orvedb.aupads.org? There is no delist button. Close the open relay on your mail server, then ORVE re-tests the host — every 90 days automatically, or sooner if you request it — and removes you once the server refuses all 20 relay tests.

Why is my IP on ORVEDB if I never sent spam? ORVEDB does not list spammers. It lists open relays: servers that will forward mail for anyone. Yours relayed an ORVE test message back intact, which usually points to an accidental misconfiguration rather than deliberate abuse.

How long does ORVEDB removal take? It depends on the re-test cycle, not a fixed clock. Re-tests run every 90 days or on request. Pass cleanly and you are removed straight after that test; fail even one of the 20 relay checks and you wait another 90 days.

Should I worry about an ORVEDB listing? ORVEDB is an old list that few large receivers still use, so it rarely causes serious delivery problems on its own. But it flags a real open relay, which spammers will abuse and stronger blocklists will also catch, so close the relay regardless.

What return code does ORVEDB use? A listed IP returns 127.0.0.3 for the orvedb.aupads.org zone. Its sibling ANTISPAM-UFRJ zones use different codes — rsbl.aupads.org returns 127.0.0.2 and duinv.aupads.org returns 127.0.0.4 — so check which zone actually flagged you.

The bounce behind the listing.

554 5.7.1 message rejected → The permanent bounce a listing most often triggers — what it means and how to clear it. 550 5.7.1 blocked → A rejection on reputation grounds — usually the same listing, seen from the sender side. Blacklist checker → Re-check your domain and every sending IP once the cause is fixed.

Do not fix it blind.

See every list you are on and every authentication problem behind the listing in one 40-second check — then let monitoring tell you the day a listing comes back.

Check your domain free → See monitoring