How to Check a List of Outlook and Hotmail Addresses
A list check can clean the Outlook, Hotmail, Live and MSN rows of a list, but it cannot confirm the mailboxes today. Microsoft is currently refusing mailbox checks from our server's network, so those consumer addresses come back risky (reason: the provider hides mailbox status), never valid. What you can still remove is everything wrong with them before the mailbox: bad syntax, typo domains like hotmial.com, duplicates and +tag repeats.
Start with a slice: run your first 100 checks free with a Google sign-in, no card, and see how your Microsoft rows are labelled next to the rest of the list.
What the check does for a Microsoft row
| Check | Done for outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, msn.com? |
|---|---|
| Syntax | Yes: bad format is invalid |
| Typo domains (hotmial.com, outlok.com) | Yes |
Duplicates and +tag repeats |
Yes, in the free tool |
| Does the domain receive mail | Yes |
| Does this mailbox exist | Not today: returned as risky |
The free bulk Outlook email checker runs the browser-side checks on a pasted list, and for one address the Outlook email checker shows the result and reason.
Step by step
- Upload the whole list on the verify page, not only the Microsoft rows. Gmail, Google Workspace, most business domains and iCloud get a real per-mailbox answer.
- Filter the results for the reason "provider hides mailbox status". Those are your consumer Microsoft rows.
- Remove the invalid rows among them (syntax, typo domains) first.
- Send the confirmed rows (valid) as your main send.
- Send the Microsoft rows as their own small batch, a few hundred from a warmed inbox, and read the bounce rate before sending more.
Why not just call them valid?
Because nobody confirmed them. A verifier that marks Microsoft consumer addresses valid is guessing. We return anything we could not confirm as risky; the reasoning is in verifying Outlook and Hotmail addresses: what actually works. The same page explains how business domains on Microsoft 365 differ from consumer mailboxes.
Outlook rows on a mixed list
If your list is mostly consumer addresses, this segment can be large. Split the list by email provider first so you can see its size and send each provider on its own schedule.
Cost
Rows where no verdict was reached (check unavailable, refused, deferred, blocked) do not spend free checks or credit packs. For plans, see pricing: packs from $15 for 10,000 checks that never expire, Starter at $9 a month, Pro at $39 a month with the first 100,000 checks a month at full speed, then slower, never cut off.
Check your list
Upload it on the verify page for 100 free checks, or paste a handful into the bulk Outlook checker.
Common questions
Can you verify Outlook and Hotmail addresses in bulk?
Not mailbox by mailbox today. Microsoft is currently refusing mailbox checks from our server's network, so outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com and msn.com addresses come back risky with the reason that the provider hides mailbox status. Syntax, typo domains and duplicates can still be checked.
Why are my Hotmail addresses all risky?
Because the mailbox could not be confirmed, not because the addresses are bad. SimpleVerifier returns anything it cannot confirm as risky, never valid.
Are Microsoft 365 business addresses the same?
No. A business domain hosted on Microsoft 365 is a different system from consumer Outlook.com; the guide to verifying Outlook and Hotmail addresses explains how the two differ.
How should I send to Outlook rows?
As a separate, small test batch from a warmed inbox. Watch the bounce rate on that batch before sending the rest.
Check your list before you send
Real mailbox checks over SMTP, and nothing is sent to the address. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. Plans for bigger lists are on the pricing page.