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Check your first email

Check one address on the Check page, read the result card, and see what it cost. No email is sent to the recipient.

A check connects live to the recipient's mail server and asks whether the mailbox exists. No email is sent, and the person on the other end sees nothing. Here is how to run your first one.

Run a check

  1. Open the Check page. It is the first item in the sidebar and the page you see after signing in.
  2. Type or paste one address into the box, for example name@company.com.
  3. Click Check email. The button changes to Checking while BounceOwl talks to the mail server. Most checks finish in a few seconds. Slow servers can take up to two minutes.
  4. The result card appears below the box.

Read the result card

The card has three parts:

  • The verdict in the top corner: Valid, Bounce, Catch-all or Unknown, with a one-line summary under the address.
  • The evidence trail: four steps showing what was checked. These are the mail server, the connection, the mailbox answer and the catch-all test.
  • The footer: when the address was checked, how long it took, how many credits it used, and any flags such as a role address, a disposable inbox or a personal email provider.

If the verdict is Catch-all, the card also offers a Run catch-all check button. That is optional and costs 5 credits for a clear answer. See Catch-all check.

What it costs

A live check with a real answer uses 1 credit. The footer tells you exactly what happened. It shows the credits used, or No credit used, or a free reason such as Free: already checked on BounceOwl in the last 7 days.

These results are always free:

  • Unknown results, where the server gave no clear answer.
  • Addresses with invalid syntax or on a domain with no mail server.
  • Addresses anyone on BounceOwl checked in the last 7 days. You see that result with its original date.

Find it again later

Your latest checks are listed under Recent checks on the Check page. Click one to open its result card again, or click See all to open History. History lists every check from the app, your lists, the API and MCP. You can search it by exact email or by domain and filter by verdict.

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Last updated November 6, 2026