SimpleVerifier Team · Reviewed
How do I verify email addresses in Google Sheets?
Google Sheets formulas can check that an address is shaped correctly and remove duplicates, but they cannot confirm a mailbox exists, because that needs an SMTP conversation Sheets cannot make. To verify the mailboxes, export the column as CSV and upload it, or call a verification API from Apps Script.
Two routes
The steps, in order.
- Round trip: clean and dedupe in Sheets, download the column as CSV, verify it, then paste the results back or filter on the status column.
- Apps Script: SimpleVerifier's copy-paste script adds a menu and an =SV_VERIFY formula that calls the API from your sheet. It needs an API key, which comes with the Pro plan and above.
What Sheets formulas can do
ISEMAIL and REGEXMATCH test the shape of an address only. Google's own help says ISEMAIL does not verify that an address exists, so a made-up address in the right shape passes.
Related questions
- Can Apps Script open an SMTP connection itself?
- No. Apps Script reaches the network through UrlFetchApp, which makes HTTP and HTTPS requests, so it cannot open the port 25 SMTP connection a mailbox check needs.
Sources
Figures marked as ours come from SimpleVerifier’s own dated tests on made-up addresses, published with their data on the research page. No customer data is used, and we publish no accuracy percentage because we have no independent measurement to back one.
Do it now
Test it on a real address first
Type any address. It gets the same check the paid plans run: syntax, the domain’s mail servers and, where the provider allows it, a live mailbox check. Nothing is sent to the address.
Five checks a minute, no account needed. Nothing is sent to the address — we ask its mail server whether the mailbox exists, then disconnect.
Have a list? Sign in with Google and the first 100 addresses are checked free, with results to download. No card.
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