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AWS SES Setup

🧱 Service Inputs​

📧 SES From Address (Template)​

Create the following email alias in Hostinger before continuing with AWS SES setup.

Alias:

dev.noreply

Hostinger Email Domain:

shelvera.com

📌 Purpose:

  • Used as the From identity in AWS SES
  • Environment-safe (no prod prefix)
  • Prevents accidental cross-environment email usage

AWS SES Configuration Steps​

1. Open the AWS Access Portal and Start SES Setup​

1.1 Open the AWS Access Portal​

Open the AWS Access Portal:

https://d-90663e88c9.awsapps.com/start

1.2 Sign in with IAM Identity Center User​

Login using the following IAM Identity Center username:

se.dev.iam01

Select the region N. Virginia (if not selected already).

Assign Keeper MFA device

1.3 Navigate to Amazon SES​

After login, navigate to Amazon Simple Email Service (SES).

AWS SES console home

1.4 Click “Get started”​

Click Get started to begin SES setup.

AWS SES Get Started

1.5 Enter From Email Address​

Enter the following From email address:

dev.noreply@shelvera.com

Click Next to continue.

AWS SES enter from email address

1.6 Add Sending Domain and Configure MAIL FROM​

1.6.1 Add Your Sending Domain​

Add the following Sending domain in Amazon SES:

shelvera.com

1.6.2 Configure MAIL FROM Domain​

Configure the MAIL FROM settings as follows:

  1. MAIL FROM domain: 

    mail

  2. Behavior on MX failure: 

    Reject message

Click Next to continue.

AWS SES - MAIL FROM domain configuration

1.7 Configure Deliverability Enhancements​

1.7.1 Disable Account-Level Deliverability Options​

Turn OFF the following deliverability options:

  1. Optimized shared delivery: 

    OFF (account level)

  2. Engegement tracking: 

    OFF (account level)

  3. Virtual Deliverability Manager: 

    OFF (account level)

Click Next to continue.

AWS SES - Disable optimized shared delivery and open/click tracking
AWS SES - Disable optimized shared delivery and open/click tracking

1.7.2 Create Dedicated IP Pool​

Create your Dedicated IP pool with default settings.

  • Leave all options unchanged

Click Next to continue.

AWS SES - Dedicated IP pool

1.7.3 Tenant Management​

Leave Tenant management settings unchanged.

Click Next to continue.

AWS SES - Tenant management

1.7.4 Review and Get Started​

Review the configuration summary.

Click Get started to finalize the SES setup.

AWS SES - Review and get started

2. Domain Verification​

2.1 Open SES Identity​

  1. Go to Amazon SES
  2. Click Identities
  3. Click the newly created domain identity
AWS SES - Domain identity selected

2.2 Locate DKIM DNS Records​

Scroll down to DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and click Publish DNS records.

AWS SES - DKIM publish DNS records

2.3 Login to Cloudflare​

Login to Cloudflare:

https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/

Select the following domain:

shelvera.com
Cloudflare domain selection

2.4 Add DKIM CNAME Records in Cloudflare​

  1. Go to DNS → Records
  2. Click Add record

Create all CNAME records exactly as shown in Amazon SES.

For each DNS record:

  1. Type: 

    CNAME

  2. Name / Target: 

    Copy exactly from SES

  3. Comment:

    SE SES DEV
  4. TTL → Auto
    5. Cloudflare add DNS record
    Cloudflare add DNS record
  5. Do the same for Custom MAIL FROM domain (if the DNS records are not present already)
    6. Cloudflare add DNS record
  6. Do the same for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) (if the DNS records are not present already)
    7. Cloudflare add DNS record

2.5 Wait for DKIM Verification​

Return to Amazon SES and wait for the domain verification status to change to:

Verified

This may take a few minutes. No further action is required once verified.

2.6 Create Email Identity (Alternate Approach)​

Create a new Email identity in Amazon SES.

2.6.1 Create New Identity (Email)​

  1. Click Create identity

  2. Identity type: 

    Email address

  3. Enter email address:

    dev.noreply@shelvera.com

  4. Click Create identity

AWS SES - Create email identity

2.6.2 Verify Email Address​

A verification email will be sent to the provided email address.

  1. Open the verification email
  2. Click the verification link

The email identity should be verified immediately after clicking the link.

AWS SES - DKIM verified

2.6.3 AWS SES Production Access – Support Request Response​

AWS SES - Production Access Support Request
AWS SES - Production Access Support Request
AWS SES - Production Access Support Request
AWS SES - Production Access Support Request

After verifying the email identity, submit a request to move Amazon SES out of the sandbox and increase sending limits. Use the following response if further details are asked by the AWS Team.

Service: SES Sending Limits

Region: us-east-1

Limit Name: Desired Daily Sending Quota

New Limit Value: 50,000 emails/day

Use Case:
Transactional emails for user sign-up, login verification, password reset,
and essential application notifications for our product Shelvera.
No marketing or bulk campaigns are sent.

Compliance:
We fully comply with AWS Service Terms and the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).
All emails are triggered by explicit user actions within the application,
and we enforce strict authentication and sending policies.

Recipient Consent:
Emails are sent only to users who have explicitly registered and verified
ownership of their email address within the application.
No purchased, scraped, or third-party mailing lists are ever used.

Bounce and Complaint Handling:
We configure Amazon SNS notifications for bounces and complaints and
automatically suppress affected email addresses to prevent repeated sends.

Mail Type: Transactional

Thank you for your support.

AWS typically reviews and approves legitimate transactional use cases within 24–48 hours.