Email Verification statuses and metadata

Request ?metadata=true to include the details behind an email verification. Metadata is included at no extra cost, for both single checks and batch files. It does not add a charge per field or change the price of a result.

Verification results and credits

The primary status determines the verification charge on both PAYG and AYCE. AYCE includes unlimited contact retrieval; email verification uses the credit prices below on either plan.

`status`	Meaning	Credits per result
`Valid`	The check found evidence that the email account exists.	1 credit
`Invalid`	The check found that the account or its mail domain is unavailable.	1 credit
`Unknown`	The check could not reach a reliable conclusion. Keep this separate from Invalid.	Free 0 credits

These values are case-sensitive. Use status as the result of the check and reason to understand it. Requesting metadata keeps the same prices. For example, 100 checks that return 70 Valid, 20 Invalid, and 10 Unknown cost 90 credits, with or without metadata. An unsuccessful check can return only email and status: "Unknown", even when you requested metadata. Treat missing details as unavailable.

Metadata fields

Field	Values or type	How to interpret it
`domain`	String	The domain of the submitted address.
`timestamp`	String	When the verification result was produced. A timestamp without a timezone does not identify a UTC offset.
`mx_record_present`	Boolean	Whether an MX record was detected. This describes domain routing; use the primary status to decide how to handle the email.
`mx_record_checked`	String	The MX hostname that was checked, such as `aspmx.l.google.com`. This is a hostname, not a verification status or timestamp.
`email_provider`	`Google`, `Microsoft`, or `Unknown`	The detected email provider. Provider `Unknown` means the provider was not classified; read `status` separately.
`security_gateway`	String	A detected mail gateway or routing service, such as Proofpoint or Mimecast. Empty, null, or `Unknown` means no gateway was identified.
`reason`	String	An explanation of the primary result. See the common reasons below.

Fields can be empty or null when the information is unavailable. An MX record or a recognized provider alone does not confirm that an individual mailbox exists.

Use email_provider to group recipients for outbound campaigns. If you send at high volume with Smartlead or Instantly, match your sending inbox to the recipient’s provider when possible:

Send to Microsoft recipients from Microsoft inboxes.
Send to Google recipients from Google inboxes.

Smartlead and Instantly support provider matching to help improve inbox placement. Customers have anecdotally reported deliverability improvements of 25% or more with this approach. These are customer reports, rather than a measured benchmark; results vary by campaign. Provider Unknown cannot be used to make this match.Request metadata=true on your original verification call to get email_provider at no extra cost.

Common reasons

reason is an open string. Handle unrecognized values without failing your integration; this table describes common values returned by the verifier.

`reason`	Meaning	Suggested handling
`user_account_found`	The check detected the account.	Read the accompanying status before using the address.
`user_account_not_found`	The check did not find the account.	Exclude an Invalid result from your send list.
`user_account_could_not_be_detected`	The check could not determine whether the account exists.	Keep the result as inconclusive; retry later if needed.
`consumer_email`	The address uses a personal email domain, outside the verifier’s business-email checks.	Treat the Unknown result as unverified.
`domain_does_not_exist`	The domain could not be found in DNS.	Review the address and domain spelling.
`no_mx_records_found`	No mail exchange records were found for the domain.	Review the domain’s mail setup.
`no_nameservers_found`	The DNS lookup could not find usable nameservers.	Review the domain and its DNS setup.
`unknown_mx_records`	The MX lookup could not complete reliably.	Treat the routing information as unresolved.
Empty, null, or `N/A`	No more specific reason was supplied.	Use the primary status; do not infer another result.

Batch output

For CSV output, status uses Valid, Invalid, and Unknown. The JSON batch output can also contain Error when an individual check fails. Treat that value as inconclusive; it adds 0 verification credits. A row’s verification status is separate from its job’s processing status. For example, a COMPLETED job can contain Unknown results. A job status of ERROR describes a failed batch, rather than an Invalid email address.

Next steps

Verify one address with metadata=true.
Upload a file with the same option for metadata in each output row.
Read the batch workflow for status polling and downloads.

Getting Started

Contact API

Contact Endpoints

Company Endpoints

Email API

Utilities

Email Verification statuses and metadata

Verification results and credits

Metadata fields

Common reasons

Batch output

Next steps

​Verification results and credits

​Metadata fields

​Common reasons

​Batch output

​Next steps

Verification results and credits

Metadata fields

Common reasons

Batch output

Next steps