Email Verification
The Email Verification tool checks whether an email address is valid and deliverable. It runs a series of checks beyond simple format validation, helping you determine if an address is real, active, and suitable for communication.
Accessing the Tool
Navigate to Tools → Email Verification in the sidebar. Enter any email address into the input field and click Verify to begin the verification process.
Verification Checks
Each email address is run through five layers of validation, performed in sequence:
- Syntax Validation — Confirms the email address follows the correct format according to RFC 5321 standards. Catches typos such as missing
@signs, double dots, invalid characters, and malformed local parts or domains. - MX Record Lookup — Queries the domain's DNS records to verify that mail exchange (MX) records exist. A domain without MX records cannot receive email, which means any address at that domain is undeliverable.
- SMTP Verification — Connects to the recipient's mail server and simulates a delivery attempt without actually sending a message. This confirms whether the mailbox exists and is accepting messages. Some servers may not respond to this check, in which case the result is marked as inconclusive.
- Disposable Email Detection — Checks the domain against a database of known disposable and temporary email providers (e.g., Guerrilla Mail, Mailinator, Temp Mail). Disposable addresses are often used for throwaway signups and are unlikely to represent a real user.
- Role-Based Email Detection — Identifies addresses tied to a role rather than a specific person, such as
info@,support@,admin@,sales@, ornoreply@. Role-based addresses are typically managed by groups or automated systems and may have different engagement and deliverability characteristics.
Understanding Results
After verification completes, the tool displays a summary with an overall verdict and the results of each individual check. The overall verdict is one of:
- Valid — The email address passed all checks. The mailbox exists and is accepting messages.
- Invalid — The email address failed one or more critical checks. It either does not exist, has an invalid format, or the domain cannot receive email.
- Risky — The email address exists but has characteristics that may affect deliverability, such as being a role-based address or hosted on a disposable provider.
- Inconclusive — The mail server did not provide a definitive answer during SMTP verification. The address may or may not exist. This can happen with servers configured to accept all mail or reject SMTP probes.
Some mail servers are configured as "catch-all," meaning they accept email for any address at the domain regardless of whether the mailbox exists. In these cases, SMTP verification cannot determine if a specific address is valid. The result will be flagged as Catch-All Domain Detected.
Common Use Cases
The Email Verification tool is helpful for:
- Validating email addresses found in DMARC forensic reports to determine if they belong to real recipients
- Checking whether addresses on your domain are properly configured and receiving mail
- Identifying disposable addresses used in phishing or spam campaigns
- Verifying that your organization's role-based addresses (abuse@, postmaster@) are functional, as these are required by email standards
- Investigating suspicious sender addresses reported by your team
Email verification connects to third-party mail servers as part of the SMTP check. No actual email is sent during this process. The email address you verify is not stored or shared. Use this tool responsibly and only for addresses you have a legitimate reason to verify.
If you manage DMARC reports and see authentication failures from unknown senders, use Email Verification to quickly determine whether the sender address is legitimate or a throwaway address commonly used in spoofing campaigns.