List verification
Verification verdicts
What safe, catch-all, role, disposable, inbox full, disabled, invalid and unknown mean on an EmailPal verification result — and whether you should send to each one.
The eight answers
EmailPal does not reduce a list to valid vs invalid. A catch-all is not valid. A greylist is not valid. A full mailbox is not "try again as valid." Each row gets its own verdict so you can make a policy instead of guessing.
In the API, the results come back as the status strings below (safe, catch_all, role_account, disposable, inbox_full, disabled, invalid, unknown). safe is what other tools call valid. A sub_status narrows invalid and unknown further. List results also count suppressed and duplicate rows, which describe the file rather than the mailbox.
| Verdict | What we learned | Send? |
|---|---|---|
| Safe | The server rejected an impossible mailbox, then accepted this one. | Yes |
| Catch-all | The domain accepts anything, invented or not. | Risky — do not treat as confirmed |
| Role | A function (info@, support@, sales@), not a person. | Usually skip for cold email |
| Disposable | A throwaway-mail domain from our list of known providers. | No |
| Inbox full | Exists, cannot receive now. | No — bounce waiting to happen |
| Disabled | Gone or switched off. | No |
| Invalid | Rejected outright, malformed, or at a domain with no mail server. | No |
| Unknown | Greylist, timeout, or a server that will not talk. Never rounded up. | Unverified — skip or retry |
The product that produces these rows: List verification by EmailPal. How to run a CSV: How to verify an email list before sending.
Safe
The distinctive check ran. We asked about a mailbox that cannot exist; the server said no. We asked about your contact; the server said yes. That yes means something.
Safe is the only row where SMTP evidence says "this mailbox exists and the domain is not a catch-all." Send these from a mailbox that is warmed up or from a pre-warmed lease.
Catch-all
The domain said yes to a mailbox that cannot exist. Your contact's yes carries no information. They might be real. A typo might also be "accepted."
What is a catch-all email? and Catch-all detection.
Many teams drop every catch-all. Some mail a subset that matched LinkedIn or a recent reply, at lower volume. Either is a policy. Calling them safe is how bounce rates show up a week later.
Role
info@, hello@, support@, sales@, admin@ — addresses that belong to a function. Shared inboxes, more readers, more likely to be filtered, more likely to complain.
Role is not "invalid." It is a different kind of risk. Skip for cold email unless that function is literally the buyer.
Disposable
The domain is a throwaway-mail provider on our list. The list is curated, not exhaustive, so a missing domain does not prove an address is permanent. Whatever a disposable address accepts today, nobody is reading it next month.
Inbox full
The mailbox exists and cannot take mail right now. Sending today creates a bounce tomorrow, on your reputation. Wait and re-verify, or drop the row.
Disabled
The account is gone or switched off. There is no version of a campaign where this address should be sent to.
Invalid
The server rejected the address, it is malformed, or its domain has no mail server. These bounce. The sub_status says which.
Unknown
The server greylisted the probe, timed out, or refused to hold the conversation. Unknown stays unknown. We will not invent a clean rate by rounding it up.
EmailPal's sequencer skips Unknown leads by default. Most Unknown addresses turn out to be bad, so sending to them is how a bounce rate climbs. Such a lead stays in the campaign and shows as Skipped with the reason Skipped: Unknown result. The server would not confirm this address. when its turn comes. A campaign can send to them anyway with its Email unknown addresses setting. Importing leads and verification, Lead states and stop rules.
Skip them, or check them again later. There is no recheck button for Unknown yet, and an address keeps its Unknown status until it is checked again, so to retry a batch open a ticket. A whole domain of unknowns is often greylisting, not a broken CSV. Send the domain in the ticket rather than blasting the list.
FAQs
Why is a real person at a catch-all company marked catch-all?
Because we cannot distinguish them from a typo. The domain said yes to a mailbox that cannot exist. The honest label is catch-all.
Is role always bad?
It is a different kind of risk: one inbox, many readers, more likely to be filtered or to trigger a complaint. Not the same as disabled.
Can a safe address become disabled later?
Yes. Lists go stale. Re-verify after a few months or whenever you buy a new file.
How does EmailPal's own sequencer use these verdicts?
A lead's result is saved on the lead and checked again at send time. Safe is saved as Valid and sent. Disabled, disposable and invalid are saved as Invalid and never sent. Role and inbox full are saved as Risky. Catch-all stays Catch-all. Risky and catch-all leads are sent only when the campaign has Email risky addresses on. Unknown leads are skipped unless the campaign has Email unknown addresses on. Leads that were never verified are still sent, but a launch check warns you about them. Importing leads and verification.
Can I send to Unknown addresses anyway?
Yes, one campaign at a time. In the campaign's Settings, under Advanced options, turn on Email unknown addresses. It sits next to Email risky addresses, which only covers catch-all and risky leads. You are asked to confirm a warning first, because most Unknown addresses turn out to be bad.
The campaign still pauses itself when 5% of its emails bounce, once it has sent at least 200. That only works while Bounce protection is on, so turning on Email unknown addresses keeps it on. Auto-pause on bounces.
The launch check also lists how many Unknown leads will be skipped, and offers Remove them from this campaign or Send to them anyway.
Do Instantly / Smartlead use the same labels?
No. Their verifiers have their own taxonomies. EmailPal will not map their "valid" onto ours if they skipped the impossible-mailbox probe.