The Email Verifier runs a series of checks on every email address before returning a result. Here's what each check does and what it means for the address you're verifying.

Hunter validates the format and ensures it isn't a temporary address or a webmail address. Then, it contacts the mail server (without sending any emails) to make sure there is indeed an email inbox for the requested address.

Here is a more detailed list of verifications that are made for every email processed in the Email Verifier tool:

First, we verify that the format of the email address is correct and looks something like "email@provider.com".

We ensure that the address doesn't look like a random email address. For example, 1e49cs1pb6@company.com doesn't pass the test.

We check if the email address has a domain name used for temporary email addresses.

We verify if the email address uses a webmail like Gmail or Yahoo.

We check if there are Mail Exchange (MX) records on the domain. In simple terms, an MX record points to the SMTP mail server used to receive the emails. If there are no MX records, emails sent to that domain can't be delivered.

This check is successful if we are able to connect to the SMTP server (indicated in MX records).

We test the email address to see if it exists. In case the SMTP server prevents us from performing this verification, we will mark the email as "Blocked".

We check if the server has a catch-all policy that accepts all incoming emails, even if the specified mailbox does not exist. An email address marked as "Accept-All" may still bounce in a minority of cases.

If an address comes back with a status you weren't expecting, our troubleshooting guide walks through common fixes: