GoHighLevel + Amazon SES Setup: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Why AWS SES for GoHighLevel

Cost. At $0.10 per 1,000 emails, SES is dramatically cheaper than Mailgun ($35/mo for 50K) or SendGrid ($19.95/mo for 50K). For GHL agencies sending high volume across multiple sub-accounts, the savings compound fast.

The trade-off: more setup complexity and less hand-holding than Mailgun or SendGrid. For a provider comparison, see best SMTP for GHL.

Step 1: AWS Account and SES Setup

1. Create an AWS account at aws.amazon.com
2. Navigate to Amazon SES in the AWS Console
3. Select your preferred region (us-east-1 is most common)

Step 2: Verify Your Sending Domain

1. In SES Console → Verified identities → Create identity
2. Select Domain and enter your sending domain
3. SES provides DNS records to add:

Type	Name	Value
CNAME	_amazonses.yourdomain.com	SES verification string
CNAME	DKIM selector 1	DKIM value 1
CNAME	DKIM selector 2	DKIM value 2
CNAME	DKIM selector 3	DKIM value 3

4. Add all records to your DNS
5. Add SPF include to your domain:

v=spf1 include:amazonses.com [other includes] -all

6. Add DMARC if not already present:

_dmarc.yourdomain.com  TXT  v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]

7. Wait for DNS propagation → verify in SES console

Step 3: Exit Sandbox Mode

This is the step most people get stuck on.

New SES accounts are in sandbox mode: you can only send to verified addresses. To send to anyone:

1. SES Console → Account Dashboard → Request Production Access

2. Fill out the form:

   • Mail Type: Transactional / Marketing (select your primary use)
   • Website URL: Your business website
   • Use case description: Be specific: "We send marketing campaigns and transactional notifications to opted-in subscribers via GoHighLevel CRM. We process bounces via SNS and maintain suppression lists."
   • Expected daily sending volume: Be honest
   • How do you handle bounces and complaints: Describe your process

3. Submit and wait 24-48 hours for approval

Tips for approval:

• Mention bounce handling and suppression list management
• Mention compliance with CAN-SPAM/GDPR
• Be specific about use case — vague descriptions get denied
• If denied, resubmit with more detail

Step 4: Create SMTP Credentials

1. SES Console → SMTP Settings
2. Click Create SMTP Credentials
3. This creates an IAM user — note the SMTP username and SMTP password
4. Save these immediately — the password is shown only once

SMTP Settings for your region:

Region	SMTP Endpoint
US East (N. Virginia)	email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
US West (Oregon)	email-smtp.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
EU (Ireland)	email-smtp.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
EU (Frankfurt)	email-smtp.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com

Step 5: Connect to GoHighLevel

1. GoHighLevel → Settings → Email Services → Add SMTP
2. Enter:

Field	Value
Host	email-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com (your region)
Port	587
Username	SES SMTP username
Password	SES SMTP password
Encryption	STARTTLS

3. Test the connection
4. Send a test email and verify headers show SPF/DKIM/DMARC pass

Monitoring (Important — GHL Won't Show This)

SES delivery data lives in the AWS Console, not GoHighLevel. Set up monitoring:

1. SES Console → Reputation Dashboard: Shows bounce rate, complaint rate, send volume
2. CloudWatch Metrics: Set up alarms for bounce rate > 5% or complaint rate > 0.1%
3. SNS Notifications: Configure bounce and complaint notifications to process programmatically

Critical thresholds: SES automatically suspends your account if:

• Bounce rate exceeds 10%
• Complaint rate exceeds 0.5%

Monitor these actively. GHL won't warn you before SES suspends your sending.

Practitioner note: SES sandbox exit is the hurdle. Be thorough in your application — mention specific compliance measures, bounce handling, and suppression lists. Generic applications get denied. I've helped clients resubmit 2-3 times before getting approved because their initial description was too vague.

Practitioner note: For GHL agencies managing 10+ clients, SES is the most cost-effective option at scale. The setup is more complex per-domain, but at $0.10/1K vs Mailgun's $2/1K (Flex plan), the savings at 100K+ monthly emails per client are substantial.

If you want AWS SES configured for your GoHighLevel agency without the AWS learning curve, schedule a consultation — I handle SES setup, sandbox exit, and monitoring configuration.

Sources

• AWS: SES Getting Started
• AWS: SES SMTP Interface
• AWS: SES Production Access

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v1.0 · March 2026