Definition
Deliverability is a Setup page that controls the org's email sending settings and access levels. Administrators can configure the access level for sending email (No Access, System Email Only, or All Email), which determines whether users, workflows, and Apex code can send outbound emails from the Salesforce org.
Real-World Example
When setting up a new sandbox, the admin at CloudBridge Solutions navigates to Deliverability and sets the access level to "System email only" to prevent test automation from accidentally sending emails to real customers. Once user acceptance testing begins with test email addresses, she changes it to "All email" so testers can verify email functionality.
Why Deliverability Matters
Deliverability is the gatekeeper for all outbound email from a Salesforce org, offering three access levels: No Access, System Email Only, and All Email. This seemingly simple setting solves a critical problem - preventing sandboxes and test environments from accidentally blasting real customers with test emails. It also ensures that production orgs can be locked down during migrations or security incidents, giving administrators a single kill switch for all outbound email communication.
As organizations scale and add multiple sandboxes, partial-copy environments, and developer orgs, managing Deliverability settings across each environment becomes essential to release management hygiene. A common and costly mistake is refreshing a sandbox and forgetting that the default Deliverability setting may allow all email, causing automated workflows and triggers to fire emails to actual customers with test data. Establishing a standard operating procedure where Deliverability is verified immediately after every sandbox refresh protects your brand reputation and customer trust.
How Organizations Use Deliverability
- CloudBridge Solutions — CloudBridge's release manager includes a Deliverability check in their sandbox refresh checklist. After every refresh, the admin immediately sets Deliverability to System Email Only, ensuring that the 47 active workflow rules and 12 process builders that send customer-facing emails cannot reach real recipients during testing.
- Pinnacle Insurance Group — During a major data migration involving 2 million contact records, Pinnacle's admin temporarily sets production Deliverability to No Access. This prevents any triggered emails from firing during the migration window, avoiding a scenario where outdated welcome emails or renewal notices flood customer inboxes during the data load.
- Greenfield Nonprofits — Greenfield's admin toggles Deliverability to All Email only during scheduled campaign sends and keeps it at System Email Only otherwise. This approach ensures that only intentional marketing campaigns reach donors while preventing accidental emails from ad-hoc testing or misconfigured automations.