Understanding verification results
What each of the 10 verification statuses means, and whether you should keep, review or remove those addresses.
When a verification job finishes, each address gets one of 10 statuses. The Progress card on the job page shows a colored bar and a count for each one.
The 10 statuses
| Status | What it means | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| Valid | The address is well formed and its domain accepts mail. With an external provider connected, the mailbox itself was also confirmed. | Keep and send. |
| Invalid | The address can't receive mail. | Remove. |
| Mailbox error | The domain exists, but the mailbox was rejected (for example, it doesn't exist). | Remove. |
| Domain error | The domain has no DNS records that can receive mail. | Remove, or fix obvious typos such as "gmial.com". |
| Syntax error | The address is malformed (missing @, invalid characters). Not charged. | Remove, or fix by hand. |
| Disposable | The address uses a temporary, throwaway email service. | Remove. |
| Role-based | A shared inbox such as info@, sales@ or support@. It works, but these inboxes often have several readers and can see higher complaint rates. | Keep only if the address opted in. |
| Risky | The address may be deliverable but has a warning sign, such as a domain with no MX record. | Review. Send carefully or leave out. |
| Unknown | We couldn't get a definite answer, for example because the mail server didn't respond. | Review. Retry later or treat as risky. |
| Duplicate | The address appeared more than once in your input. Only one copy is checked. Not charged. | No action. |
How results are grouped
The job list and the downloads use three groups:
- Verified: valid
- Invalid: invalid, syntax error, domain error, mailbox error
- Risky: risky, unknown, disposable, role-based
How results affect your campaigns
When a job finishes, InboxRoads saves the new status on any matching contacts in your account. The Verification column on Contacts shows it, and you can filter by it.
Contacts marked invalid, syntax error, domain error, mailbox error or disposable are left out of campaigns automatically, so you don't spend credits on them. Risky, unknown and role-based contacts are still included. To leave those out too, create a segment on Verification status and exclude it from your campaign.
A note on catch-all domains
Some domains accept mail for any address, so a mailbox can't be confirmed from outside. These often show as risky or unknown. Read more in catch-all email addresses.
Why this matters
Sending to invalid addresses causes hard bounces, and bounces hurt your sender reputation. See hard bounce vs soft bounce.
Key takeaways
- Send to valid addresses. Remove invalid, mailbox error, domain error, syntax error and disposable.
- Review risky, unknown and role-based before including them.
- Undeliverable statuses are excluded from campaigns automatically.
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Contact supportLast updated September 9, 2026