Understanding Email Validation Statuses
What each status technically means and how to interpret them in list validation and real-time API
Priscila G.
Last Update 11 days ago
They are used both in email list validation and in the real-time verification API, following the same technical criteria.
The statuses should not be interpreted as absolute guarantees, but as technical indicators that aid in decision-making, protecting the sender's reputation, and improving email marketing results.
What validation statuses represent (and what they do not represent)
What the statuses represent- The technical existence of the email address
- The behavior of the destination server at the time of verification
- The degree of risk associated with sending
- The potential impact on the sender's reputation
- Guaranteed delivery to the inbox
- Guaranteed recipient engagement
- Sending authorization or proof of opt-in
Deliverability is the ability of a message to effectively reach the recipient's inbox, passing through spam filters, provider policies, and reputation mechanisms.
Email validation acts on the first pillar of deliverability: quality and reliability of the contact database.
Valid email ≠ good deliverability (inbox)
Timely delivery ≠ technical validity
✅ VALID Email
Address with correct syntax, valid domain, and positive confirmation from the server regarding the existence of the mailbox.
Practical impact:
Low technical risk.
Recommended action:
Can be used in campaigns.
⚠️ LOW DELIVERABILITY
Technically valid address, but with limited capacity to receive messages from the email provider.
Practical impact:
Higher chance of rejections, delays, or filtering.
Recommended action:
Use with caution.
❌ INVALID email
The destination server explicitly reported that the mailbox does not exist.
Practical impact:
Very high risk of hard bounce.
Recommended action:
Remove immediately from the database.
❌ INVALID DOMAIN
The domain does not exist or does not have valid MX records.
Practical impact:
Delivery impossible.
Recommended action:
Remove from the database.
❌ SYNTAX ERROR
The address does not follow the valid email format, according to technical composition standards.
Common examples:
- Absence of the @ character (e.g., joao.email.com)
- Incomplete or invalid domain (e.g., maria@company)
- Unallowed characters (e.g., ana@@company.com, test@company.com)
- Spaces in the address
Practical impact:
Delivery impossible.
Recommended action:
Remove from the database.
👤 ROLE-BASED
Address associated with roles or departments (e.g., info@, contact@, sales@), typically used as a shared email inbox for multiple users.
Practical impact:
Lower engagement and higher risk of antispam filtering.
Recommended action:
Avoid use unless essential.
🗑️ DISPOSABLE/TEMPORARY
Address created for temporary or single use. These are usually disposable emails with a very short lifespan—from a few minutes to a few hours—created to hide the user's real email address in registrations, tests, or one-time accesses.
Practical impact:
High risk and low value.Recommended action:
Always delete.
🚫 SPAMTRAP
Addresses that function as traps (spam traps), created or reused by providers and organizations to identify unauthorized mailings. They never voluntarily register and should not receive campaigns.
Practical impact:
Severe risk of blacklisting.Recommended action:Never send messages.
Recommended action:
Never send messages.
🧹 JUNK
Addresses identified as low quality, usually created with swear words or low-quality combinations that indicate a lack of legitimate use.
Practical impact:
High risk of blocks and spam filters.
Recommended action:
Do not use in campaigns.
❓ UNCERTAIN (Catch-all or Reject-all)
It is not possible to confirm the existence of the mailbox due to the destination server's policy.
In catch-all environments, the server is configured to accept messages for any value before the @, without confirming whether the mailbox actually exists.
In reject-all environments, the server automatically rejects verification attempts, preventing confirmation of the address's existence.
Practical impact:
Unpredictable delivery.
Recommended action:
We do not recommend use.
⏳ PENDING
Temporary status indicating that the analysis has not yet been completed, usually due to the difficulty in recognizing a clear technical status at the time of verification, which requires more time to complete the evaluation.
Recommended action:
Wait for the verification to be completed.
One-time delivery may occur due to:
- Temporary server cache
- Forwarding
- Temporary permissive policies
Valid emails with low deliverability
An email classified as valid during verification may, at the time of sending, return a soft bounce or a false hard bounce. This happens when the destination server is temporarily unable to accept the message, even though the mailbox exists.
Common reasons include:
- Temporarily full inbox
- Temporary receiving limits imposed by the provider
- Instability or delays on the destination server
- Severe blocks to the sender, which in more serious scenarios can result in the rejection being classified as a hard bounce
Invalid: should be removed
Risk/Uncertain: evaluate according to strategy
Disposable/Spamtraps: always delete
Interpreting them correctly is essential to reduce risks, protect your reputation, and improve email marketing results.