How to set or change your publication's reply-to address

Every beehiiv publication must have a designated reply-to address, which determines where subscriber replies will be directed. Having this address set is not only required but also important for ensuring successful email delivery and maintaining direct communication with your audience.

You can find the reply-to email address in the header data of any email.

Your reply-to email address differs from other types of email settings in your beehiiv account. Here’s a breakdown of these different aspects and their purposes:

The reply-to email address is separate from your account email, which is used solely for logging into your beehiiv account. If a reply-to address is not set, your account email will automatically become the default reply-to address (due to the requirement). You can update your account email anytime in your profile settings.

Your sender name is what appears in the ‘From’ field of your emails. For a more personal approach, avoid using an email address as your sender name. Instead, use a name that resonates with your brand or identity, like in the image example above, where the sender name is ‘Tyler from beehiiv.’ This can drive engagement and strengthen your relationship with subscribers. You can adjust your sender name in your account settings, in the same area you update your reply-to address.

The email username is the address your subscribers will see your newsletters being sent from. Each publication is automatically assigned a working email username that can be updated anytime in Settings > Domains.

Auto-replies and out-of-office responses are generated by the recipient's own mailbox provider (for example, Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo) and are delivered directly to whatever address you've set as your reply-to address. beehiiv does not receive, filter, or manage these responses, since they never pass through beehiiv's systems at all. If these types of responses become frequent or disruptive, consider changing your reply-to email address, as outlined below.

1. From the left hand panel dashboard, scroll down and select Settings.
    
2. Your publication settings will open. Click Emails from the left panel.
   
   
   

3. In the Email Sending Details section, you’ll find options to update your sender name or reply-to address. Enter your designated email in the reply-to field. If you’re updating to a new address, simply replace the old email with the new one.
   
   If the new reply-to address is not already associated with a team member on your publication, you will be prompted to verify ownership of that address before it becomes active. Check the inbox of the new address for a verification email. If you don't receive it, see the Verifying your reply-to address section below.
   
   

   
   Reminder: If you don’t set a reply-to email address, it will automatically default to your account email due to the requirement.
4. Your changes will save automatically and will be displayed in the preview below.
   
   
   

After you enter a new reply-to address, beehiiv sends a verification email with a confirmation link (sometimes called a verification code or verification link) to confirm you own that address before it becomes active. If you don't receive this email or the link doesn't work, follow the steps below.

This verification step applies whenever you update your reply-to address to one that is not already associated with a team member on your publication.

If you don't receive the verification email (also called a confirmation email or verification code email) within a few minutes, try the following steps in order:

1. Check all email folders: Look in spam, junk, promotions, social, and forums tabs, since verification emails can be filtered by your email provider. If you're using a business or custom domain email address, also check any quarantine or security filtering folders your organization's email administrator may have configured.
2. Safelist your publication's sending address: Verification emails come from either your publication's custom sending domain (if you have one configured) or its standard beehiiv subdomain, in the format [email protected]. To check which custom domain, if any, is configured for your publication, go to Settings > Domains. Safelist that address with your email provider so the verification email isn't filtered.
3. Resend the verification email: After safelisting your sending domain, go back to Settings > Emails and click Resend next to the pending address (this also appears in the verification modal). You can resend up to three times in 24 hours.
4. Test with a different email address: If one provider (Gmail, Outlook, a corporate domain) is consistently blocking the verification email even after safelisting, try verifying with an address from a different provider or your custom domain to confirm whether the issue is provider-specific.
5. If the verification link doesn't work when you click it (for example, a connection timeout, the link doing nothing, or an error message), first check that you're logged into the correct beehiiv account that has access to this publication. If the link still fails after confirming you're logged in, try the alternative verification method below.

If the steps above don't resolve the issue, you can verify your reply-to address by inviting that email as a team member instead. Team invitation emails come from beehiiv's domain, which is far more likely to reach the inbox than a verification email sent from your publication's sending domain. Accepting the invitation automatically verifies any matching pending reply-to address with no separate verification email required.

For step-by-step guidance on adding team members, read How to add team members to your publication or workspace.

If you no longer need that email address to have team member access once verification is complete, you can remove it from your team. The reply-to address will remain verified.

Once the confirmation link is clicked (or the team invitation accepted), your new reply-to address will be active for future sends.