Email gateways let you route outbound emails through your own SMTP server or through eCourtDate's built-in email infrastructure, giving your agency full control over email delivery.

### Overview

An email gateway connects your eCourtDate agency to an SMTP server for sending outbound emails. By configuring a gateway, you control how emails are delivered, monitor delivery failures, and manage sending rates.

- **What it does:** Routes outbound agency emails through a specified SMTP server rather than the default eCourtDate email service.
- **Why it matters:** Allows your agency to use its own email infrastructure for compliance, branding, or deliverability requirements.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators and IT staff responsible for email infrastructure.
- **Expected outcome:** Outbound emails from your agency are delivered through your configured SMTP server with full control over rate limits and failure notifications.

### Prerequisites

Before configuring an email gateway, make sure you have:

- Access to the [eCourtDate Console](https://console.ecourtdate.com) with a customer profile
- SMTP server credentials (host, port, username, password, encryption type) from your email provider
- At least one agency email address configured in your eCourtDate agency
- Admin access to your eCourtDate agency on [staging](https://staging.ecourtdate.com) or [production](https://app.ecourtdate.com)

### How-To Steps

#### Create a New Gateway

1. Log in to the [eCourtDate Console](https://console.ecourtdate.com).
2. Select your **Customer Profile** in the top left.
3. Click **Gateways** in the navigation menu.
4. Fill in the **Create Agency Email** and select **EMAIL** for the **Type** field.
5. Click the **Add** button.

You will be redirected to the newly created gateway configuration page.

![Demo Console SMTP Settings](https://ecdassets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/articles/console-demo-smtp-settings.png)

#### Configure SMTP Settings

Enter the following SMTP settings from your email provider:

- **SMTP Host:** Your mail server address (e.g., smtp.example.com)
- **SMTP Port:** The port number (common values: 587 for TLS, 465 for SSL, 25 for unencrypted)
- **SMTP Username:** Your authentication username
- **SMTP Password:** Your authentication password
- **SMTP Encryption:** Select **TLS**, **SSL**, or **None** based on your server's requirements

Click **Save** after entering your SMTP credentials.

#### Link Agency Emails to the Gateway

1. Log in to your agency on [staging](https://staging.ecourtdate.com) or [production](https://app.ecourtdate.com).
2. Navigate to **Admin** > **Settings** > **Agency Emails**.
3. Click the agency email you want to link to the gateway.
4. Select the configured gateway from the **Gateway** dropdown.
5. Click **Save**.

Return to the Console gateway configuration page and refresh. You should see the linked email(s) listed. All future outbound messages using that agency email will route through the linked gateway. There is no limit to the number of agency emails you can associate with a single gateway.

#### Configure Rate Limits

Rate limits prevent your agency from overwhelming your SMTP server with too many messages at once.

1. Open the gateway configuration in the Console.
2. Set the **Rate Limit** field to your desired messages-per-minute threshold.
3. Click **Save**.

By default, each agency can dispatch up to 50 messages per minute. You can also disable dispatching entirely in your agency's **General Settings** to pause all outbound email.

#### Set Up Failure Notifications

Failure notifications alert you when an outbound email fails to deliver through your gateway.

1. Open the gateway configuration in the Console.
2. Enter a comma-separated list of email addresses in the **Failure Emails** field to receive failure alerts.
3. (Optional) Enter a URL in the **Failure Webhook** field to receive failure payloads via webhook.
4. Click **Save**.

### What to Expect

After completing the configuration, all outbound emails sent from linked agency email addresses will route through your SMTP server. Delivery follows your configured rate limits, and any failures trigger notifications to the addresses or webhook you specified. Changes take effect immediately for new outbound messages.

### Best Practices

- Test your gateway configuration on a staging agency before deploying to production to avoid disrupting live email delivery.
- Use TLS encryption (port 587) for SMTP connections whenever possible to protect email content in transit.
- Set a conservative rate limit initially and increase it after confirming your SMTP server handles the volume without issues.
- Configure both **Failure Emails** and **Failure Webhook** to ensure you are notified promptly when delivery problems occur.
- Keep your SMTP credentials secure and rotate passwords according to your organization's security policy.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Can I use one gateway for multiple agency email addresses?**
A: Yes. There is no restriction on the number of agency emails associated with a single gateway. Link as many agency emails as needed.

**Q: What happens if my SMTP server is down?**
A: Outbound emails will fail to deliver, and you will receive failure notifications at the addresses or webhook you configured. eCourtDate will retry failed messages according to its retry policy.

**Q: Do I need a gateway to send emails from eCourtDate?**
A: No. eCourtDate provides a built-in email service by default. A custom gateway is only needed if your agency requires emails to route through its own SMTP server for compliance, branding, or deliverability reasons.

**Q: Can I configure different gateways for different agency emails?**
A: Yes. Each agency email can be linked to a different gateway. This is useful if your agency uses multiple SMTP providers or has different sending requirements for different email addresses.

**Q: What is the default rate limit?**
A: Each agency can dispatch up to 50 messages per minute by default. You can adjust this in the gateway's **Rate Limit** setting.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Outbound emails are not being delivered through the gateway.
**Symptoms:** Emails remain in a pending or failed state after configuring the gateway.
**Solution:**

1. Verify your SMTP credentials (host, port, username, password, encryption) are correct.
2. Confirm the agency email is linked to the gateway by checking the gateway configuration page in the Console.
3. Test the SMTP connection using a third-party tool (e.g., Telnet or an SMTP testing service) to rule out server-side issues.
4. Check the **Failure Emails** for error details.

**Issue:** Emails are being throttled or delayed.
**Symptoms:** Emails are delivered but with noticeable delays, or some emails are not sent within the expected timeframe.
**Solution:**

1. Check the **Rate Limit** setting on the gateway and increase it if your SMTP server can handle higher throughput.
2. Verify that your SMTP provider does not impose additional sending limits beyond what you configured in eCourtDate.
3. Review the agency's **General Settings** to confirm dispatching is enabled.

**Issue:** Failure notifications are not being received.
**Symptoms:** Emails are failing but you are not receiving alerts.
**Solution:**

1. Verify the **Failure Emails** field contains the correct email addresses, separated by commas.
2. Check your spam or junk folder for failure notification emails.
3. If using a webhook, confirm the **Failure Webhook** URL is correct and your endpoint is reachable.

> **Important:** If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How to Manage Agency Emails](/how-to-manage-agency-emails)
- [About eCourtDate Regions](/about-ecourtdate-regions)
- [Platform Architecture](/platform-architecture)
- [How to Create a Flow](/how-to-create-a-flow)