Validate a single email address

Use this endpoint to validate a single email address and evaluate its deliverability and risk profile.

API at a glance

Description: This API checks if an individual email address is valid, risky, disposable, or role-based. It helps you improve deliverability by validating emails before sending campaigns.

Validation logic & best practices

Authentication & testing - Email validation

Testing the API on this page

How to try it here

  • Use your Email Validation Key as the Username (leave Password blank).
  • Select the appropriate API endpoint based on your Blueshift region.
  • API - Select Region
  • Enter the necessary parameters and click Try It to run the request.
Authentication using Base64 encoding

Note for developers

API requests require authentication using HTTP Basic Authentication with the Email Validation Key (contact your CSM for this key). The Email Validation Key serves as the username, while the password field should be left empty. The format to encode is: your_api_key: (note the trailing colon).

This string must be Base64-encoded and included in the request's Authorization header as follows:

Authorization: Basic encoded_value

You can generate the encoded value using a trusted Base64 encoder.


Postman collection

Try it with Postman: Explore the API using Blueshift's Postman collection.


Things to know before you start

  • This endpoint supports only one email address per request.
  • The API returns details such as:
    • Whether the email is valid
    • If it belongs to a disposable or role-based service
    • The risk level associated with the address
  • The maximum request rate may be limited based on account settings.

Request parameters

Check out the request parameters

Email validation parameters

Note: This API supports only one parameter.

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
emailstring✅ YesThe email address to validate.
Example: [email protected]
(Maximum: 512 characters)

Example requests & responses

Request example
curl --request GET \
     --url 'https://api.getblueshift.com/api/v1/emails/validate?email=janedoe%40acme.com' \
     --header 'accept: application/json' \
     --header 'authorization: Basic YWNlZDZlNGYxMWExYWVhOTZmNTJkNDg4M2ZmMjI4Mjg6'
{
  "result": {
    "address": "[email protected]",
    "engagement": {
      "engaging": true,
      "is_bot": false
    },
    "is_disposable_address": false,
    "is_role_address": false,
    "reason": [],
    "result": "deliverable",
    "risk": "low"
  }
}
API error responses
Status codeDescriptionExample response
400 Bad RequestMissing or invalid email address.{ "errors": { "email": ["can't be blank or is invalid"] } }
401 UnauthorizedAPI authentication failed due to an invalid or missing API key.{ "message": "Not authorized" }
403 ForbiddenThe API key does not have sufficient permissions.{ "message": "Permission denied" }
404 Not FoundThe requested API endpoint does not exist.{ "message": "Endpoint not found" }
429 Too Many RequestsThe request limit has been exceeded.{ "message": "Rate limit exceeded" }
500 Internal Server ErrorAn unexpected server error occurred.{ "message": "Internal Server Error - Please contact support for more information." }
502 Bad GatewayThe server received an invalid response.{ "message": "Bad Gateway - Please retry the request." }
503 Service UnavailableThe service is temporarily unavailable.{ "message": "Service Unavailable - Try again later." }
504 Gateway TimeoutThe server took too long to respond.{ "message": "Gateway Timeout - Retry with exponential backoff." }
Query Params
string
required

The email address to validate.

Responses

Language
Credentials
Basic
base64
:
URL
LoadingLoading…
Response
Click Try It! to start a request and see the response here! Or choose an example:
application/json