diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b461ae14..c15779b9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ If you are upgrading from v0.16.x, replace the binary (or run `docker pull`). If
 - ACME: 
   - Update `defaultCertificateId` when renewing a certificate that is currently set as default.
   - Perform `DNS-01` authorizations sequentially to avoid race conditions in some DNS providers.
-- Allow internal TLDs in e-mail addresses.
+- Allow internal TLDs and special characters in e-mail addresses.
 - Websocket: Perform case insensitive matching during upgrade.
 - LDAP: Synchronize accounts when expanding mailing list recipients.
 - Sieve: `replace` action adds an extra `From` header.
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/lib.rs b/crates/utils/src/lib.rs
index 82b627d2..bac3fdbc 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/lib.rs
@@ -213,10 +213,14 @@ pub fn sanitize_email(email: &str) -> Option<String> {
 
     for ch in chars.by_ref() {
         match ch {
-            '.' | '+' | '-' | '_' => {
-                if !last_ch.is_alphanumeric() {
+            '.' => {
+                if last_ch == NIL_CHAR || last_ch == '.' {
                     return None;
                 }
+                result.push('.');
+            }
+            '!' | '#' | '$' | '%' | '&' | '\'' | '*' | '+' | '-' | '/' | '=' | '?' | '^' | '_'
+            | '`' | '{' | '|' | '}' | '~' => {
                 result.push(ch);
             }
             ' ' | '\x09'..='\x0d' => continue,
@@ -288,10 +292,14 @@ pub fn sanitize_email_local(local: &str) -> Option<String> {
 
     for ch in local.chars() {
         match ch {
-            '.' | '+' | '-' | '_' => {
-                if !last_ch.is_alphanumeric() {
+            '.' => {
+                if last_ch == NIL_CHAR || last_ch == '.' {
                     return None;
                 }
+                result.push('.');
+            }
+            '!' | '#' | '$' | '%' | '&' | '\'' | '*' | '+' | '-' | '/' | '=' | '?' | '^' | '_'
+            | '`' | '{' | '|' | '}' | '~' => {
                 result.push(ch);
             }
             ' ' | '\x09'..='\x0d' => continue,