Validate Email

Validate email addresses to ensure they’re properly formatted and potentially deliverable. The action performs multiple independent validation checks and returns detailed results for each check, giving you complete visibility into email quality.

Overview

The Validate Email action checks email addresses against multiple validation criteria and returns detailed results for each check. All checks are run independently, so you can see exactly which validation criteria passed and which failed. Use it to maintain data quality, prevent bounces, and segment contacts by email validity.

Configuration

Input Fields

Email (Required)

The email address to validate. Select a contact’s email property or enter a static value.

Example:

contact.email (property token)
john.doe@company.com

Output Fields

All output fields return "TRUE" or "FALSE" as strings.

valid (String)

Returns "TRUE" if the email passes all validation checks, "FALSE" if any check fails.

validFormat (String)

Returns "TRUE" if the email has a valid format according to RFC standards (e.g., user@domain.tld).

validDomain (String)

Returns "TRUE" if the email has a domain part after the @ symbol.

validDns (String)

Returns "TRUE" if the email domain has valid MX (mail exchange) DNS records, indicating it can receive email.

notDisposable (String)

Returns "TRUE" if the email does not use a known disposable/temporary email domain. Returns "FALSE" for disposable domains like mailinator.com, tempmail.com, etc.

Examples

Example 1: Filter Invalid Emails

Scenario: Only process contacts with fully valid email addresses.

Workflow Setup:

1. Add Validate Email action with the contact’s email property
2. Add If/Then branch: valid equals "TRUE"
3. Continue workflow for valid emails only

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Example 2: Flag Disposable Emails

Scenario: Mark contacts using disposable emails for review.

Workflow Setup:

1. Validate the email
2. If notDisposable equals "FALSE":
   • Set contact property “Email Quality” to “Disposable”
   • Add to “Review Needed” list

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Example 3: Handle Format Issues Separately

Scenario: Take different actions based on what’s wrong with the email.

Workflow Setup:

1. Validate the email
2. If valid equals "FALSE":
   • If validFormat equals "FALSE": Create task “Fix email format”
   • Else if notDisposable equals "FALSE": Create task “Contact using disposable email”
   • Else if validDns equals "FALSE": Create task “Email domain has no mail server”

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Example 4: Email Deliverability Check

Scenario: Verify emails can actually receive messages before sending campaigns.

Workflow Setup:

1. Validate the email
2. Check both validFormat and validDns:
   • If both are "TRUE": Tag as “Deliverable”
   • Otherwise: Tag as “Undeliverable”

Validation Checks

All checks are performed independently. If one check fails, the remaining checks still run and return their results.

Check	Field	Description	Example Passes	Example Failures
Format	validFormat	Valid email syntax per RFC standards	user@domain.com	notanemail, @domain.com, user@
Domain	validDomain	Has a domain after @ symbol	user@company.com	user@, useratcompany
DNS Records	validDns	Domain has valid MX records	user@gmail.com	user@fake-domain-xyz.com
Not Disposable	notDisposable	Not a temporary/disposable email	user@company.com	user@mailinator.com, user@tempmail.org

Disposable Email Domains

The action checks against hundreds of known disposable email domains using the mailchecker library, including:

• mailinator.com
• tempmail.com
• guerrillamail.com
• 10minutemail.com
• throwaway.email
• And hundreds more…

DNS Validation

The DNS check performs an MX (Mail Exchange) record lookup on the email domain with a 5-second timeout. This verifies that:

• The domain exists
• The domain is configured to receive email
• Mail servers are set up for the domain

Note: A passing DNS check doesn’t guarantee the specific email address exists, only that the domain can receive mail.

Understanding Check Results

Since all checks run independently, you can get granular insights:

Scenario	validFormat	validDomain	validDns	notDisposable	valid	Meaning
Perfect email	TRUE	TRUE	TRUE	TRUE	TRUE	Email is fully valid
Disposable email	TRUE	TRUE	TRUE	FALSE	FALSE	Valid but temporary service
Typo in format	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	Syntax error caught early
Non-existent domain	TRUE	TRUE	FALSE	TRUE	FALSE	Domain doesn’t receive mail
Missing @ symbol	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	FALSE	Basic format issue

Best Practices

• Validate on form submission — Catch bad emails before they enter your CRM
• Don’t delete contacts — Flag invalid emails for review instead of auto-deleting
• Use granular checks — Take different actions based on which specific check failed
• Handle disposables carefully — Disposable emails may still be useful for certain campaigns
• Consider DNS failures — Could be temporary or configuration issues
• Combine with other data — Use email validation alongside other quality signals

Use Cases

Lead Quality Scoring

• Deduct points if valid equals "FALSE"
• Deduct points if notDisposable equals "FALSE"
• Add points if validDns equals "TRUE" (domain has mail server)

Email Campaign Prep

• Only send to contacts where validFormat and validDns both equal "TRUE"
• Reduce bounce rates and improve sender reputation
• Flag contacts with notDisposable = "FALSE" for exclusion

CRM Hygiene

• Periodic validation of existing contacts
• Identify records where validFormat = "FALSE" for cleanup
• Create workflows to fix or remove invalid records

Smart Routing

• Route contacts with validDns = "FALSE" to data quality team
• Route contacts with notDisposable = "FALSE" to review queue
• Auto-approve contacts where valid = "TRUE"

Technical Details

Validation Process

1. Format Check: Uses the validator library’s isEmail() function with RFC standards
2. Disposable Check: Checks against the mailchecker database of known disposable domains
3. Domain Check: Extracts and verifies the domain portion exists
4. DNS Check: Performs MX record lookup with 5-second timeout

Performance

• Format, disposable, and domain checks: < 1ms
• DNS check: 10-500ms (depends on network, cached after first lookup)
• Total execution time: Typically 10-500ms per email

Related Actions

• Parse URL — Similar validation for URLs with DNS checks
• Match Regex — Custom pattern matching for emails
• Text Transform — Normalize email formatting