Frequently Asked Questions

How Safilist works

Straight answers to the questions people ask most.

Getting started

How do I sign up?

Click "Sign up" from the top of any page. Provide your name, email address, and a password. You will be sent a verification email to confirm your account. That is all — no credit card, no phone number.

What is included in the free tier?

100 verifications every month, at no cost. This is enough to test the service on a small list or verify individual addresses on demand. The free tier includes core deliverability verdicts (Safe, Risky, Invalid). The full Intelligence layer — domain breakdowns, per-email analysis, and enrichment — is available on paid plans.

Uploading and verifying

What file formats can I upload?

Safilist accepts CSV and TXT files. Your file should contain email addresses one per line, or in a single column. Column headers are supported for CSVs. You can also paste emails directly into the upload box or verify one address at a time using the Lookup tool.

How long does verification take?

It depends on the size of your list. Small lists (under 100 addresses) usually complete within a minute. Larger lists take proportionally longer — verification runs multiple checks per address (syntax, MX records, SMTP handshake, catch-all detection, and more), and we deliberately rate-limit checks against destination servers to avoid triggering their spam defences.

Your job page updates live as verification progresses. You can close the tab and come back later — nothing will be lost.

Understanding your results

What do Safe, Risky, and Invalid mean?

• Safe — the address is deliverable. It exists, the domain accepts mail for it, and it passed every check we run.
• Risky — the address may be deliverable, but something in the check couldn't be confirmed. Common reasons include catch-all domains (which accept mail for any address), role-based mailboxes (like info@ or support@), or temporary server responses.
• Invalid — the address failed one or more critical checks. It is very unlikely to receive mail. Sending to it risks bounces and damage to your sender reputation.

Why is an email marked Risky?

Risky is not the same as bad. It means we could not fully confirm deliverability, usually because of one of these reasons:

• Catch-all domain — the mail server accepts every address at the domain, whether the inbox exists or not. We cannot tell real inboxes from fake ones on catch-alls.
• Role account — addresses like info@, sales@, or support@. These often work but are more likely to bounce or be filtered.
• Disposable domain — temporary or throwaway email providers.
• Server did not fully cooperate — some mail servers deliberately give ambiguous responses to verification attempts.

Our Intelligence tier explains exactly why each address earned its grade — including a confidence score that helps you decide which Risky addresses are worth keeping.

How accurate is Safilist?

Safilist runs the same core checks used by the industry's most trusted verification services — RFC syntax validation, MX record lookup, SMTP verification, catch-all detection, role and disposable filtering, and more. For addresses on standard mail servers, our results are highly accurate.

No email verification service can be 100% accurate. Catch-all domains, greylisting servers, and mailboxes that respond only to real mail are inherent limitations of the SMTP protocol — not of any particular verification tool. We are transparent about this, which is why we grade addresses Risky instead of guessing.

Downloads and integrations

How do I download my verified list?

Open the job page for the list you verified, click the Download button, and choose which verdicts to include (Safe, Risky, Invalid, or any combination). The file downloads as a CSV that you can open in Excel, Google Sheets, or your email marketing tool.

Can I export directly to my email marketing tool?

Yes — Safilist supports direct export to selected email platforms via the Integrations page. Connect your account once and export verified lists in a single click. The list of supported platforms is growing; if we don't yet support yours, you can always download a CSV and import manually.

Your data

How long do you keep my uploaded lists?

Uploaded email addresses are automatically deleted 7 days after verification. After the retention window, the original addresses are redacted from our database and only the aggregate statistics remain — no personal data is kept. See our Privacy Policy for full detail.

Support

How do I contact support?

Email info@safilist.com with your question or issue. We aim to respond within one business day.

For complaints about how your personal data has been handled, please email complaints@safilist.com.