Table of content
Email verifier gives every address one of four verdicts. Here is what each means, whether to send to it, and what it costs.
The four verdicts
| Valid | The mail server confirmed the mailbox exists. | Yes. |
| Invalid | The mailbox does not exist or is no longer active, or the address is badly formed. | No. It will bounce. |
| Accept-all | The domain accepts mail for any address, so the mailbox cannot be confirmed. Also called catch-all. | With care. See Accept-all email addresses. |
| Unknown | The mail server did not answer, for example because it was down, blocking checks, or the mailbox was full. | Only if your sending setup tolerates some bounces. Try verifying again later. |
If you send through a provider with a strict bounce limit, send only to Valid addresses. With your own mail server, Accept-all and Unknown addresses can be fine in small numbers, depending on the health of your list.
Which statuses cost a credit
| Single verify, Valid or Invalid | 1 verification credit |
| Single verify, Accept-all or Unknown | Free |
| Bulk verify | 1 verification credit per unique, well-formed address, whatever the verdict |
| Bulk duplicates and badly formed addresses | Free |
Statuses on people you find or save
Emails from the GetProspect database are delivered only when they passed our verification, so tables and exports have no status column. Verification lowers bounce risk but can't guarantee delivery. In rare cases, such as an older saved address, an email carries a small warning mark. That means it is Accept-all or Invalid; check it in Email verifier before sending.
The old app also showed two finder statuses that are not verdicts:
- Not found: we searched and found no valid email. It cost nothing. Today this shows as a dash in tables and No email in the person panel.
- Not checked: we had not searched yet, usually because the workspace was out of credits. Today, the app blocks a save you cannot pay for; only an API save that runs out of credits partway withholds emails. Once you have credits again, click Reveal email on the person.
FAQ
Where is the Valid or Accept all label I used to see next to emails?
It is gone because we deliver only emails that passed our verification. To see a verdict for an address you got elsewhere, use Single verify.
Unknown results for emails I know are correct?
The receiving server did not answer our check. Verify again later; a single check with an Unknown verdict is free.