Valid Email
What is Valid Email?
An email address that has passed RFC 5322 syntax validation, resolves to an active domain with live MX records, is not a temporary disposable or shared role-based address, is not masked by a catch-all wildcard, and has received an explicit `250 OK` confirmation for that specific mailbox via SMTP.
Why Valid Email Matters in Production
`VALID` is the gold-standard status for cold outreach, newsletter broadcasts, and high-priority sales follow-ups. Mailing exclusively `VALID` addresses keeps hard bounce rates near the ~0.3%–0.5% natural floor (caused only by strict enterprise firewall rules or same-day employee churn).
Engineering & Sender Best Practices
- • Route `status: "VALID"` contacts to your primary warm sending domains and highest-priority sales sequences.
- • Even with 100% `VALID` lists, budget for a natural 0.3%–0.5% bounce floor due to post-SMTP content filters or same-week job changes.
- • Re-verify `VALID` B2B contacts if more than 60–90 days have elapsed since the last check.
- • Pair `VALID` recipient lists with properly authenticated (`SPF`, `DKIM`, `DMARC`) sending domains.
Engineering Around the 0.3%–0.5% Post-Verification Bounce Floor
An enterprise outbound team verified 200,000 B2B contacts on MailVeri ($118) and isolated 142,000 `status: "VALID"` addresses. When they mailed all 142,000 over 3 weeks, 540 emails (0.38%) still bounced—390 due to content/link filters (`550 5.7.1`) and 150 due to employees who left their company during the 3-week campaign window. Understanding the 0.5% post-verification floor allowed the team to keep total bounces well inside their 1.0% SLA.
Technical Implementation & Wire Example
{
"error": 0,
"email": "[email protected]",
"status": "VALID",
"is_deliverable": true,
"credits_used": 1,
"expected_bounce_risk": "<0.5%"
}Addresses returning VALID are confirmed deliverable individual mailboxes safe for primary cold outreach and marketing flows.
MailVeri 7-Status Verification Reference & Sender Action Matrix
Keep Campaign Bounces < 2%| Status | Technical Meaning | Bounce Risk | Recommended Sender Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| VALID | Mailbox exists and actively accepts mail | < 0.5% (Safe) | Safe for cold outbound, newsletters, and transactional sends |
| INVALID | Syntax error, dead MX, or 550 mailbox does not exist | 100% Hard Bounce | Suppress immediately; block at signup |
| DISPOSABLE | Temporary burner address (100,000+ tracked domains) | High / Fake User | Reject at signup form; purge from CRM |
| CATCH_ALL | Domain accepts all mail regardless of local-part | 12–28% Deferred | Isolate to secondary sending domains; allow on SaaS signup |
| ROLE_ACCOUNT | Verified shared inbox (info@, support@, sales@) | Complaint Risk | Skip in 1-on-1 cold email; allow if opted in |
| FULL_INBOX | Recipient mailbox exceeded storage quota (452 / 552) | Soft / Hard Bounce | Pause sends for 30 days and re-verify before mailing |
| UNKNOWN | Transient mail server deferral or timeout (0 credits billed) | Unverified | Fail open on signup; re-verify via bulk batch before cold blast |
Why Do Verified VALID Emails Still Bounce? (The 0.5% Floor Explained) →
Understand why even a 100% SMTP-verified VALID email can occasionally bounce due to content blocks, sender reputation, or same-day churn.
Free Verification & Address Types Tools & Workflows
Frequently Asked Questions About Valid Email
Why can an email verified as `VALID` still bounce when I send my campaign?
Three reasons account for the ~0.3%–0.5% natural floor: (1) the employee left the company between the day you verified the list and the day your sequence step fired, (2) the receiving gateway accepted `RCPT TO` but rejected your email body/links during `DATA` (`550 5.7.1`), or (3) your sending domain is on a DNSBL blocklist.
How long does a `VALID` verification result stay fresh for B2B vs. consumer emails?
B2B corporate emails decay at ~1.5%–2% per month due to job changes, so `VALID` B2B leads should be mailed within 14–30 days (and re-verified after 60 days). Consumer `gmail.com` or `icloud.com` addresses decay slower but can transition to `FULL_INBOX` when storage fills up.
Does `VALID` include catch-all or role-based addresses on MailVeri?
No. Unlike basic verifiers that lump catch-all and role accounts into "Valid", MailVeri strictly separates `CATCH_ALL` and `ROLE_ACCOUNT` into their own dedicated statuses so your `VALID` file contains only confirmed individual mailboxes.
Closely Related Terms
Explore All Email Verification Terms (A–Z)
Glossary Index →Ready to start verifying emails?
Get 1,000 free credits when you sign up. No credit card required.