Email List Checker: Syntax, MX, Disposable and Role Addresses

Check a list of email addresses in bulk for bad syntax, missing MX records, disposable-mail domains and role addresses such as info@ or sales@. Each address gets a status (ok, risky, invalid), a catch-all guess and a 0-100 score you can sort a CRM export by. Use it to clean a list before outreach and to flag the addresses that need a second look.

This actor does not do a mailbox-level SMTP check. It never contacts the recipient's mail server, so it cannot tell you whether a particular mailbox exists or whether a message will be delivered. It is a syntax, MX, disposable-domain, role-address and catch-all-heuristic checker.

What you can do with it

• Drop addresses with broken syntax or domains that have no MX records before you send.
• Flag disposable-mail domains in sign-up lists and lead exports.
• Separate role addresses (info@, support@) from personal ones.
• Spot domains whose mail host looks like shared web hosting, where catch-all setups are common.
• Join results back to your own records with a company_id that is echoed on every row.

What each check does

Check	Meaning
Syntax	Pattern check with extra rules: one @, no .., no leading or trailing dot in the local part, length limits, a top-level domain of 2 or more letters.
MX records	The domain's DNS MX records. mx_ok is true when at least one MX host is returned. A "null MX" (a single .) counts as none.
MX provider	Name derived from the MX host: google_workspace, microsoft_365, zoho, mailgun, sendgrid, amazon_ses, ionos, yandex, mail_ru, mimecast, proofpoint, fastmail, yahoo, or other.
Disposable	The domain, or a parent domain, is on the bundled list of disposable-mail services.
Role address	The part before the @ is exactly one of: info, contact, hello, sales, support, admin, hr, jobs, careers, noreply, no-reply, team, office, kontakt, marketing, billing, webmaster, postmaster, abuse.
Catch-all (heuristic)	A guess from the MX host name, never a test. Hosts of known mail providers give unknown. Hosts that look like shared web hosting give likely. The value is never no.

How the checks combine into status:

• invalid: bad syntax, no MX records, or a disposable domain.
• risky: a role address, or a likely catch-all.
• ok: none of the checks flagged the address. This does not mean the mailbox exists.

Input

Field	Type	Description	Default
emails	string[]	Email addresses to check. A single string, or several separated by commas or new lines, also works.	five sample addresses when both fields are missing
companies	object[]	Entries of { "company_id": "...", "emails": [...] }. The company_id is echoed on every output row.	none

Both fields can be used together. Addresses are trimmed and de-duplicated (same company and same address, ignoring case). An explicit empty list checks nothing and charges nothing.

Flat list:

{
  "emails": ["jane.doe@gmail.com", "info@apify.com", "throwaway@mailinator.com"]
}

With a company_id for join-back:

{
  "companies": [
    { "company_id": "acme-42", "emails": ["ceo@apify.com", "info@apify.com"] }
  ]
}

Output

One row per address, in input order. Fields:

Field	Description
company_id	Echoed from companies. Left out when the address came from emails.
email	The address as checked (trimmed).
status	ok, risky or invalid (see above).
syntax_ok	True when the address passes the syntax check.
mx_ok	True when the domain has at least one MX record.
mx_provider	Provider name derived from the MX host. Left out when mx_ok is false.
disposable	True when the domain is on the disposable list.
role_account	True when the local part is a role name.
catch_all	likely or unknown. A heuristic from the MX host name.
catch_all_method	Always heuristic: the mail server is not contacted.
score	0-100 for sorting a list, not a probability of delivery. invalid is 0 to 15, risky 40 to 55, ok 85 to 95.
checked_at	ISO 8601 timestamp of the check.

Sample row:

{
  "company_id": "acme-42",
  "email": "info@apify.com",
  "status": "risky",
  "syntax_ok": true,
  "mx_ok": true,
  "mx_provider": "google_workspace",
  "disposable": false,
  "role_account": true,
  "catch_all": "unknown",
  "catch_all_method": "heuristic",
  "score": 55,
  "checked_at": "2026-10-26T10:30:00Z"
}

Pricing

Pay per event:

Event	When it is charged	Price
enrichment-start	Once per run, after the first row has been delivered. A run that delivers nothing is not charged.	$0.001
enrichment-result	Per checked address delivered to the dataset.	$0.002

1,000 addresses cost $0.001 + 1,000 x $0.002 = $2.001. If you set a maximum total charge for the run, the actor stops delivering rows when the next row would exceed it and the run ends with the status "Stopped at the max charge limit. N emails delivered."

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Connect this actor to an MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop, Cursor or VS Code.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=santamaria-automations/email-verifier",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Example prompt: "Use email-verifier to check these 200 addresses and give me the ones with status ok."

FAQ

Does it tell me whether a mailbox exists? No. There is no mailbox-level SMTP check. ok means no check flagged the address, not that it will receive mail.

Why is catch_all never no? The mail server is not asked, so a catch-all setup can be suspected but not ruled out. likely is a guess from the MX host name.

Why is a typo domain like gnail.com marked ok? If the domain has MX records and is not disposable, no check flags it. Typo domains are not detected.

Why is example.com invalid? It publishes a null MX, which means it does not receive mail.

Can I stop at a budget? Yes, set a maximum total charge on the run. Rows stop at the limit and the status message says how many were delivered.

Related actors

• Website Email Scraper: pull emails and phones from company websites
• Website Contact Extractor: extract team members and decision-makers
• Google Maps Scraper: find local businesses with contact details
• GBP Completeness Audit: score Google Business Profiles for local SEO leads

Support

Questions or a bad result? Open an issue from the Issues tab of this actor and include the run link.