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📬 Catch-All · Wildcard Email · MX · Deliverability · List Cleaning

Catch-All Email Detector

Free catch-all domain detector. Check if a domain accepts all email addresses regardless of whether they exist. Essential for email list cleaning and protecting sender reputation.

✓ Catch-all detection✓ MX record check✓ Provider identification✓ Instant results✓ No signup
Enter a domain to check whether it has catch-all email configured
What this tool does

Free catch-all email detector — check if a domain accepts all email addresses for list cleaning

How catch-all detection works and why it matters for email deliverability

This catch-all detector checks whether a domain is configured to accept all email addresses sent to it, regardless of whether those addresses actually exist. It does this by querying MX records and applying heuristics based on the mail provider — large providers like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 are not catch-all by default, while some infrastructure providers like Mailgun use catch-all routing.

Catch-all domains are a significant challenge for email marketers because standard email validation cannot confirm whether a specific address at a catch-all domain is real. Sending to non-existent addresses at catch-all domains results in delayed bounces or silent delivery to nobody, which damages sender reputation over time.

Features and capabilities
MX Lookup
Checks MX records to confirm the domain accepts email at all.
Provider Analysis
Identifies mail providers and applies known catch-all/non-catch-all heuristics.
Risk Assessment
Returns clear catch-all / not catch-all / uncertain status for list decisions.
Instant Results
MX lookup and analysis completes in under 2 seconds.
No SMTP
Detection uses DNS heuristics — no SMTP connection to target servers.
No Signup
Check any domain instantly without an account.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions about catch-all email and domain configuration

What is a catch-all email address?
A catch-all (or wildcard) email address accepts all messages sent to any address at a domain, regardless of whether that specific address exists. For example, if example.com has a catch-all configured, emails to anything@example.com, xyz123@example.com, or made-up@example.com all get delivered. Catch-all is used by businesses to ensure no emails are lost due to typos, but it also means email verification tools cannot reliably determine if a specific address is real.
Why does catch-all matter for email marketing?
When a domain has catch-all enabled, email validation tools cannot confirm whether a specific address (like john@example.com) actually belongs to a real person. The validation tool sends a test connection to the mail server asking if the address exists, and the catch-all server says yes for any address. This means your email list may contain non-existent addresses at catch-all domains that will eventually bounce. Email marketers typically flag catch-all addresses as 'risky' — valid enough to attempt delivery but not guaranteed to be real.
How is catch-all detected?
The reliable way to detect catch-all is to attempt an SMTP conversation with the mail server using a randomly generated, clearly non-existent address (like xqz9random@domain.com). If the server accepts it (returns 250 OK), the domain is catch-all. If it rejects it (returns 550 or 554), it's not. This requires establishing an actual SMTP connection to the mail server. Some large email providers (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365) block this kind of verification at the server level regardless of catch-all status.
Should I remove catch-all addresses from my list?
It depends on your sending reputation and list quality goals. Hard-bouncing addresses at catch-all domains isn't possible until you actually send to them. Aggressive list managers remove all catch-all addresses to protect sender reputation. A more measured approach is to treat them as 'risky' — send once and remove if they hard bounce. For cold email campaigns, removing catch-all addresses is generally recommended. For transactional email to known users, you can send to them and let bounce tracking handle removals.
Related Email Tools
Email ValidatorEmail List CleanerMX Record LookupEmail Health CheckerAll Tools

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