How eEvidence Improves Handling of DSN Messages for Reliable Registered Email Delivery

When sending an email through eEvidence, it becomes our responsibility to deliver it to the intended recipient. If we cannot fulfill this task—whether because the recipient’s address is wrong, the destination server rejects the email, or the server is unavailable—you will receive an email from us informing you that the email has not been delivered and that the eEvid certificate has not been obtained.

Errors may occur at different stages of email delivery. Sometimes a bounce message (DSN) comes from the sender’s mail server, while other times it comes from the recipient’s mail server. By definition, when a mail server accepts a message for delivery, it is responsible for generating a Delivery Status Notification (DSN) if delivery ultimately fails.

However, not all DSN messages are actual errors. Some are triggered by:

• “Out of office” auto-replies.
• Confirmations of delivery to a recipient’s mailbox.
• Notifications of further relay to another server.

The challenge is that there is no reliable way to automatically determine if a DSN reflects a real delivery failure or just an informational notice.

Until recently, eEvidence treated all DSN messages as errors. This meant that even a harmless “Out of office” reply could cancel an eEvid Cert—an approach that was too strict.

The solution

We’ve upgraded our system for handling DSN messages:

• Every DSN is saved and forwarded to you for transparency.
• The eEvid Cert is updated in our database to reflect that a DSN has been associated with it.
• If you ever need us to confirm an eEvid Cert, we first review the DSN to determine if it was error-related. If it was a real delivery failure, the certificate is invalidated; otherwise, it remains valid.

This way, non-error DSN messages (like out-of-office replies) no longer cancel valid delivery certificates, while genuine errors are still properly flagged.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a DSN (Delivery Status Notification)?
A DSN is an automated message generated by mail servers to report the outcome of email delivery, including errors, delays, or simple status updates.

Why do DSN messages cause confusion?
Because they don’t always indicate failure—some DSNs are confirmations or auto-replies, not errors. Treating all DSNs as errors leads to false cancellations of valid certificates.

How does eEvidence handle DSN messages now?
We forward the DSN to you, store it in our system, and only invalidate the eEvid Cert if the DSN reflects a real delivery problem.

What should I do if I receive a DSN?

• If it’s a harmless notification (e.g., out-of-office), you can ignore it.
• If it’s an error, you may need to resend the email, contact the recipient, or take other corrective action.

Conclusion

With this improvement, eEvidence ensures that only real delivery failures affect the validity of your registered email certificates. By forwarding DSN messages to you and filtering out non-error replies, we maintain both legal certainty and practical reliability in your certified communications.

This means fewer false alarms, stronger compliance, and complete transparency—so you can trust that your registered email certificates always reflect the true delivery status.