Learn how to connect Amazon SES as a custom SMTP provider for emails sent from Crisp.

A custom SMTP routes outbound Crisp emails through your own email delivery provider instead of Crisp's default sending infrastructure. This guide focuses on Amazon SES, but the same idea applies to any provider that supports standard SMTP credentials.

In this guide:

• Before you start → requirements, provider notes, and Amazon SES pricing caution
• Create and verify an Amazon SES domain identity → verify your sending domain and test SES
• Create SMTP credentials and connect Crisp → generate SES credentials and add them in Crisp
• After setup → understand what the SMTP affects and what to monitor
• Frequently Asked Questions → common Amazon SES and Crisp SMTP questions

Before you start

Amazon SES is an email delivery service that can send and receive emails using your own domains and email addresses. SMTP is the protocol Crisp uses to hand outbound emails to Amazon SES so SES can deliver them to recipients.

A custom SMTP affects outbound emails sent from Crisp, including Inbox email replies, transcripts, automated Campaigns, and one-shot Campaigns.

Requirements

Before following this guide, make sure you have:

• Owner access in Crisp → members may not be allowed to configure email delivery settings
• A Custom Email Domain in Crisp → configure it first using this guide
• Access to your domain DNS records → for example through Cloudflare, OVH, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or your registrar
• An AWS account → with the permissions needed to manage Amazon SES identities and SMTP credentials
• Amazon SES production access → required before real email delivery can work properly outside the SES sandbox

Important note about other SMTP providers

Crisp can work with custom SMTP providers, but this article only documents the Amazon SES flow.

Providers such as Microsoft or Outlook may require additional authentication methods, OAuth flows, app passwords, or multi-factor authentication rules. If your provider cannot connect with standard SMTP server, port, username, and password details, use another provider that supports standard SMTP credentials compatible with Crisp.

Create and verify an Amazon SES domain identity

The first step is to create and verify an Amazon SES identity for the subdomain you use to send emails from Crisp.

Create the domain identity

1. Log in to the Amazon AWS console.
2. Open Services → Business Applications → Amazon Simple Email Service. You can also search for SES.
3. Go to Configuration → Verified Identities.
4. Click Create Identity.
5. Select Domain as the identity type.
6. Enter the sending subdomain used for Crisp, such as emails.mydomain.com.
7. Click Create.

Configure a Custom MAIL FROM domain

After the identity is created, open the Custom MAIL FROM domain section and click Edit. Enter a deeper subdomain, for example ses.emails.mydomain.com if Crisp sends from emails.mydomain.com.

A Custom MAIL FROM domain can help you:

• Improve deliverability alignment → SES sends with a domain that belongs to your setup
• Keep a consistent domain identity → recipients and inbox providers see your domain chain
• Handle bounces and complaints cleanly → SES can process feedback for that sending setup

Add the DNS records

Amazon SES will show DNS records to add for your domain identity and Custom MAIL FROM domain. These usually include DKIM records for the sending domain, plus MX and TXT records for the MAIL FROM subdomain.

Add the records in your DNS provider. This example uses Cloudflare, but the same principle applies to your own DNS manager.

DNS propagation can take time, and Amazon SES checks records periodically rather than on demand. It is normal for verification to take several hours, and sometimes more than 24 hours.

Send a test email from Amazon SES

While your SES account is still in sandbox mode, Amazon only lets you send emails to verified recipients. To test delivery:

1. Go back to Configuration → Verified Identities.
2. Click Create Identity.
3. Select Email address.
4. Enter a personal email address you can access.
5. Click the verification link sent by Amazon SES.
6. Return to your domain identity and click Send test email.
7. Choose a Custom scenario and send the test to your verified recipient.

If the test does not arrive, check that the domain identity is verified, the recipient email address is verified, and the DNS records are correct. For provider-specific issues, use the Amazon SES troubleshooting documentation.

Request production access

New Amazon SES accounts start in sandbox mode. In sandbox mode, sending is restricted to verified recipients and quotas are limited. Before connecting SES to Crisp for real customer emails, request production access from Amazon SES.

Create SMTP credentials and connect Crisp

Once Amazon SES is verified and production access is approved, create SMTP credentials and add them to Crisp.

Generate SMTP credentials in Amazon SES

1. In the AWS console, open Services → Business Applications → Amazon Simple Email Service.
2. Go to SMTP Settings.
3. Click Create SMTP Credentials.
4. Choose a username or keep the default one.
5. Create, copy, download, and securely store the SMTP credentials.

Add SMTP credentials in Crisp

Go to app.crisp.chat, then open Settings → Email Settings → Email Delivery → Custom Email SMTP.

Enter the SMTP server, port, username, and password from Amazon SES, then click Verify SMTP Credentials.

Test from Crisp

After the SMTP credentials are verified, create a new email conversation in Crisp and send a test message to an email address you control.

Open the received email and inspect the headers if you want to confirm that Amazon SES and your Custom MAIL FROM domain were used.

After setup

Your Amazon SES SMTP is now connected to Crisp. From this point, outbound emails sent from Crisp are routed through SES.

What the SMTP affects

The custom SMTP handles outbound emails emitted from Crisp, including:

• Inbox emails → email replies sent from Crisp conversations
• Conversation transcripts → transcripts sent by email
• Automated Campaigns → event-triggered Campaign emails
• One-shot Campaigns → Campaigns sent to selected recipients

Campaign recipient limits do not automatically change just because you connected Amazon SES. To understand recipient limits, see What are Email Campaigns recipient limits?

Useful Amazon SES features

Amazon SES provides additional tools that can help you monitor and improve email delivery.

Features worth reviewing include:

• Virtual Deliverability Manager → delivery insights and reputation recommendations
• Configuration Sets → sending metrics for deliveries, bounces, clicks, and opens
• Sending Limits → quota and rate controls for higher sending volumes

You can learn more in the Amazon SES documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions which were not covered in this article? Here is a collection of the most frequently asked questions on this topic.

Why is my Amazon SES domain identity still pending?

Domain verification can take up to 48 hours in some cases. Double-check every DKIM record, confirm they were added to the correct DNS zone, and disable any DNS proxying that could hide the records. If the identity remains pending, contact AWS support or your DNS provider.

Why is my Domain Identity verified, but not my Custom MAIL FROM domain?

Most Custom MAIL FROM issues come from incorrect DNS records, missing records, conflicting MX records, or DNS propagation delays. Review the MX and TXT records shown in Amazon SES and confirm they match exactly in your DNS provider.

Does the custom SMTP only route Campaigns?

No. The custom SMTP routes all outbound emails sent from Crisp, including Inbox email replies, conversation transcripts, automated Campaigns, and one-shot Campaigns.

Can Crisp support fix my Amazon SES DNS records?

Crisp support can help you understand where to configure the SMTP in Crisp, but Amazon SES verification and DNS hosting issues must be handled from AWS and your DNS provider.

Updated on: 03/05/2026