What does a Zerobounce report contain?
Updated on 1 Oct 2026: We clarified the export fields and added how Verify+ can change catch-all results before download.
A ZeroBounce report contains the checked email address, a top-level validation status, a more specific sub-status when available, and supporting fields such as account, domain, suggested typo correction, free-email flag, catch-all-domain indicator, MX data, SMTP provider, and processing timestamp. Names, gender, domain age, and activity data can also appear when available or selected. Location data is derived from a supplied IP address when available. A bulk download is packaged as a ZIP with an all-results CSV, separate CSV files grouped by result type, the original uploaded file, an overview PDF, and a rejected-rows CSV when records were not processed.
Treat the report as a decision file, not a guarantee that every accepted address will receive mail. The valid or invalid label is only the first layer. The sub-status and operational fields explain why an address landed in a category, especially catch-all, role-based, disposable, greylisted, mailbox not found, and temporary mail server results.
- Main statuses: Valid, Invalid, Catch-All, Spamtrap, Abuse, Do Not Mail, and Unknown are the main routing labels.
- Detailed reasons: Sub-statuses explain the reason behind the label, such as mailbox not found, possible typo, role-based, disposable, or greylisted.
- Next checks: After validation, review the sending domain's health because list quality and sender setup are separate deliverability controls.
What the report contains
The report contains both a summary view and row-level validation data. The summary tells you how much of the list sits in each category. The row-level file tells you what to do with each address. If you only look at the count of valid addresses, you miss the operational clues that help reduce bounces, suppress risky contacts, and route uncertain contacts into a cautious workflow.
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
Email | The checked address. | Keep as the row key. |
Status | The main result label. | Segment the list. |
Sub-status | The detailed reason, when provided. | Decide action. |
Suggested correction | A possible fix for a typo. | Review, do not auto-replace. |
Account | Mailbox local part. | Find roles. |
Domain | Mailbox domain. | Group risk. |
Name data | Optional name and gender data. | Enrich records. |
Location | City, region, zip, and country derived from a supplied IP address, when available. | Check context. |
Free email | Free mailbox flag. | Separate B2B. |
Catch-all domain | True, false, or unknown domain-level indicator. | Separate uncertain mailboxes. |
MX found | Whether the domain has an MX record. | Review alongside other DNS routing data. |
SMTP provider | Detected mail host, when available. | Spot patterns. |
Domain and activity | Optional domain age and activity recency fields. | Prioritize review. |
Common ZeroBounce report fields and how to read them.
The short version
A ZeroBounce report tells you whether each address looks safe, unsafe, risky, or unverifiable at the time of checking. It does not prove inbox placement, engagement, DMARC domain match, or that the recipient server will accept the next real message.
Files in the download
ZeroBounce results screen showing validation categories and download options.
The bulk export is the part most teams mean when they ask for an example report. A connected app can show a smaller subset of the same information, but the downloaded export gives the clearest view of every processed row and reason code. The final columns vary with the selected data appends and the data available for each address. Select the appends you need before downloading; Activity Data must be selected separately if you want its fields in the export.
- All results: The _all_results.csv file contains the processed list with status, sub-status, and selected appended fields.
- Status files: Separate CSVs group contacts into Valid, Invalid, Catch-All, Spamtrap, Abuse, Do Not Mail, and Unknown; the Do Not Mail file is named _donotmail.csv.
- Original file: The _original.csv file preserves the upload so you can reconcile changes and retain columns that were not part of validation.
- Overview file: The _overview.pdf file summarizes status counts and percentages, data appends, top domains, and available geolocation. It is useful for reporting but not enough for suppression logic.
Illustrative exported columnsCSV
Email Address,ZB Status,ZB Sub Status,ZB Account,ZB Domain,ZB First Name,ZB Last Name,ZB Gender,ZB Country,ZB Free Email,ZB MX Found,ZB MX Record,ZB SMTP Provider,ZB Processed At
Rejected rows and reconciliation
The all-results CSV can contain fewer rows than the original upload. When ZeroBounce rejects records before validation, a _rejected.csv file appears in the ZIP. It can contain duplicate addresses, malformed addresses, rows without an address, and addresses with non-ASCII characters. If no records were rejected, this file does not appear.
- Compare counts: Reconcile the original file, processed results, and rejected rows before replacing a source list.
- Keep a row ID: Add a stable identifier before upload because processing order can differ from the source order.
- Separate invalid from rejected: Invalid rows were processed and failed validation. Rejected rows were excluded before a validation result was produced.
- Retain the archive: ZeroBounce keeps downloadable results for 30 days. If password-protected downloads are enabled, each download gets a new password by email.
Do not import by row position
Match records by email address or a preserved row ID. Deduplication and rejected rows can change both the row count and the order of the results.
How to read the statuses
The status is the first filter. It answers the broad question: should this contact stay in the sendable list, be removed, be reviewed, or be tested with a lower-risk workflow? The sub-status is the second filter. It explains what made the result risky or uncertain, though some results have no sub-status.
Usually sendable
- Valid: The address passed validation. Keep its sub-status because Valid can include aliases, alternate addresses, or other useful qualifiers.
- Free email: The address can still be valid, but it changes segmentation for B2B campaigns.
- Accept-all: ZeroBounce can return a vetted accept-all domain as Valid. This differs from the standalone Catch-All status and still warrants engagement monitoring.
Remove or review
- Invalid: Remove these addresses before sending because they are the most direct bounce risk.
- Do Not Mail: Review the sub-status for role-based, disposable, toxic, global suppression, forwarding, or possible trap results, then suppress by policy.
- Unknown: Do not treat uncertainty as approval. Retry later, route to a small test segment where appropriate, or suppress it.
The important nuance is that valid does not mean high intent, recent activity, or inbox placement. It means the address passed the checks ZeroBounce ran. Compare the send results against the acceptable bounce rate threshold for the specific campaign type.
Catch-all results
The standalone Catch-All status causes the most confusion. A catch-all domain accepts mail for many or all addresses at the domain during the validation check, so the verifier cannot prove that the individual mailbox exists. Treat that result as a deliverability risk category. A Valid result with the accept_all sub-status is different: ZeroBounce uses that label for vetted accept-all domains with its own delivery history, but the sub-status should remain attached to the record. The catch-all-domain field is a separate domain-level indicator, so an address can have a Valid or Invalid status while that field says the domain is catch-all.
Do not flatten catch-all into valid
If you need to send to contacts with the standalone Catch-All status, review the additional catch-all validation results when available, or isolate those contacts in a cautious test segment. The standard report can identify unresolved catch-all addresses, but it cannot turn every catch-all into a confirmed mailbox.
Flowchart showing how to move from ZeroBounce status results to a cautious send test.
The right action depends on why you are validating. If the issue is mostly known business domains and you only need a quick B2B list sample, catch-all detail can be less important than the invalid, no DNS, role-based, and disposable rows. If you are sending volume, catch-all handling matters more because hidden bad mailboxes can raise your bounce rate.
When Verify+ changes catch-all results
When Verify+ is enabled for a bulk list and the first pass finds at least 10 catch-all addresses, ZeroBounce starts a second catch-all validation phase. Some unresolved addresses can change to Valid or Invalid; the rest stay Catch-All. The results screen shows phase-two progress, which can take up to 12 hours.
- Check whether the second phase ran and completed before applying final suppression rules.
- Download the completed results to capture the latest classifications; an earlier phase-one export can have different status counts.
- Keep any remaining Catch-All rows separate, and monitor bounces even for addresses reclassified as Valid.
How to use the report before sending
Use a conservative process. Let the report reduce risk before a campaign, then use real send diagnostics to catch problems the verifier cannot see. A list cleaner can test address quality, but it cannot confirm that your message, domain, authentication, and reputation will perform well in the inbox.
- Suppress high-risk rows: Remove Invalid, Spamtrap, and Abuse rows; review Do Not Mail sub-statuses and apply your suppression policy before import.
- Review uncertain rows: Put Catch-All and Unknown rows into a separate file with limits, throttling, and clear bounce tracking.
- Check domains: Group by domain to spot repeated no-DNS results, temporary server errors, or one provider causing most uncertainty.
- Test the message: Send a real campaign-style email to a diagnostic inbox before sending to the cleaned list.
After cleaning, test a real campaign-style message before trusting the list at campaign volume. That test checks the message and authentication path, which a validation report cannot see.
Email tester
Send a real email to this address. Suped shows a results button when the test is ready.
?/43tests passed
If the test passes but the campaign still bounces, check for stale data, catch-all rows mixed into the main send, imports that ignored suppression columns, and sending platform behavior around hard bounces. The validation report is only as useful as the suppression logic that follows it.
What the report does not prove
A ZeroBounce report helps clean recipient data. It does not replace sender authentication, reputation monitoring, campaign monitoring, or post-send bounce analysis. This distinction matters because many teams clean a list, see a high valid count, and assume the campaign is safe. That is an incomplete read.
What ZeroBounce tells you
- Address risk: Whether a recipient address appears valid, invalid, risky, or uncertain.
- Domain routing: Whether the recipient domain has a detected MX record and mail provider.
- List segments: Which rows should be mailed, suppressed, retried, or isolated.
What you still need
- Authentication: Use Suped's DMARC monitoring to see whether SPF and DKIM pass and align with the visible sending domain.
- Reputation: Use Suped's blocklist monitoring to check for domain and IP listings on blocklists (blacklists) that can affect delivery.
- Campaign evidence: Compare real bounce codes, spam reports, clicks, replies, and unsubscribes after launch.
Where Suped fits
Suped fits around the ZeroBounce workflow. ZeroBounce validates recipient addresses. Suped is our DMARC reporting and email authentication platform for monitoring the sending domain after list cleaning. It brings DMARC, SPF, DKIM, blocklist (blacklist) monitoring, hosted DMARC, hosted SPF, hosted MTA-STS, and issue alerts into one view.
Suped DMARC dashboard showing email volume, authentication health, and source breakdown
Use ZeroBounce results to suppress bad recipients, then use Suped's DMARC reports to check authentication and domain alignment during real sending. Suped's issue detection points to authentication failures that need fixing, while hosted SPF and SPF flattening help teams manage lookup limits.
Best practical pairing
Use the ZeroBounce report to decide who should receive mail. Use Suped to monitor domain authentication, visible reputation signals, and alerts during sending.
