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A valid email address is one that is properly formatted, exists on a real mail server, and can successfully receive emails. Validity encompasses multiple factors: correct syntax following email format rules, a domain that exists and has mail server (MX) records, and a mailbox that exists and is not full or disabled. Knowing whether an email is valid before sending prevents bounces and protects sender reputation.
Sending to invalid email addresses causes bounces that damage sender reputation. Email providers track bounce rates as a key signal of list quality and sender trustworthiness. High bounce rates lead to spam folder placement or blocking. Invalid addresses also waste marketing budget - you pay your ESP to attempt delivery to addresses that will never receive your message. From an analytics perspective, invalid addresses skew your metrics, making it harder to understand true campaign performance. Ensuring your list contains only valid addresses is foundational to email marketing success.
Email validity is determined through several verification steps. First, syntax validation checks that the address follows RFC 5321 standards - having a local part, @ symbol, and domain in the correct format. Second, domain validation confirms the domain exists in DNS and has MX records indicating it can receive mail. Third, mailbox validation connects to the receiving mail server and checks whether the specific mailbox exists without actually delivering a message. An email is considered valid only when it passes all these checks. Additional quality checks may flag valid but risky addresses like disposable emails or role-based addresses.
Studies show approximately 22.5% of email addresses become invalid each year due to job changes, abandoned accounts, and provider closures. A typical unsanitized list may contain 10-30% invalid addresses. New addresses collected without verification often have 5-15% invalid entries due to typos and fake submissions.
Yes. An address that was valid at verification time can later bounce due to: the mailbox being deleted, the mailbox becoming full, the domain expiring, temporary server issues, or the receiving server rejecting messages based on content or reputation. This is why ongoing verification and bounce processing are important.
A catch-all (or accept-all) domain accepts email for any address at that domain, whether or not a specific mailbox exists. This makes it impossible to verify if a specific address is truly valid. Verification services typically mark these as 'unknown' or 'catch-all' rather than valid or invalid, indicating higher risk.
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