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Gmail 452 4.2.2 — Recipient Over Quota

The recipient’s Gmail or Workspace mailbox is out of storage. Gmail defers delivery and retries for a period; if space is not freed the message eventually bounces.

Diagnose your exact bounce Email Infrastructure Digital Twin

What the bounce says

Exact wording as it appears in the rejection or NDR. Placeholders such as x.x.x.x and example.com stand for your own address and domain.

452-4.2.2 The email account that you tried to reach is over quota. Please direct the recipient to https://support.google.com/mail/?p=OverQuotaTemp

552-5.2.2 The email account that you tried to reach is over quota. Please direct the recipient to https://support.google.com/mail/?p=OverQuotaPerm

The recipient has used all of their Google storage, which is shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos. Gmail defers delivery with 452 and retries for a while; if the recipient does not free space, the deferral becomes a permanent 552 and the message bounces.

Reviewed 2026-09-08. Provider wording and requirements change; the provider reference below is authoritative.

Most common causes

  • The recipient used all Google storage across Gmail, Drive and Photos
  • A Workspace account reached its plan limit
  • Large attachments filled the mailbox quickly

What to verify next

  1. The recipient must free space or upgrade storage
  2. Retry later; your server queues automatically
  3. Send without large attachments if urgent
  4. Do not treat as permanent unless it converts to 552

Shared storage

A full Drive fills the mailbox too. Recipients are often unaware because they stopped receiving mail rather than seeing an error. The temporary code gives them a window to clear space.

Your mail server queues the message and retries automatically; nothing is needed from the sender except patience.

  • Storage is shared across Google services.
  • 452 is temporary; 552 is the permanent form.
  • The sending server retries automatically.

Reach the recipient

If the message matters, contact the recipient by another channel and let them know their storage is full. Send a smaller message without attachments once they have cleared some space.

For Workspace administrators

Check storage usage in the admin console and consider a larger plan or storage cleanup policies if users hit the limit regularly.

Best diagnostic path

Live analysis

Mail Failure Doctor

Classify the complete rejection and preserve provider-specific diagnostic context.

Open analysis → Live analysis

Email Infrastructure Digital Twin

Map the domain’s public mail infrastructure and provider relationships before remediation.

Open analysis →

Known limits

  • Only the recipient can free space.
  • The retry window before 552 is Gmail’s and not published precisely.

Common questions

Will the message eventually be delivered?

Only if the recipient frees space during the retry window. Otherwise it bounces with 552.

Should I resend?

Not while 452 is being returned; your server is already retrying. Resend after a 552 once space is freed.

Does deleting emails help immediately?

After emptying Trash, yes. Deleted items still count until Trash is emptied.

Why the exact message matters

The same status family can be triggered by different conditions, and providers frequently add diagnostic text that narrows the issue. Use the complete rejection text rather than treating the numeric code as a complete diagnosis.

Provider reference

For the provider-defined meaning and current requirements, review Gmail SMTP errors and codes.