Results and Risk Scores

Risk ranges from 0 to 100; a higher number means greater risk. The score is not an unconditional sum of every signal. Signals are grouped and capped, and a strong later stage can replace a weaker conclusion. riskDetails explains contributing signals but is not a receipt that must add up to the final score.

Representative outcomes

Scores are part of the current product logic and may evolve with a future rules or application update. Use status and reason alongside the number.

Hard invalid versus soft risk

A hard invalid finding—such as invalid syntax, no MX, a disposable-domain rule, or a custom block—stops later stages. A soft risky finding—such as a role mailbox or typo—continues into DNS or SMTP PRO, but remains the primary result if the network’s positive score is lower.

Unknown is operationally meaningful

Unknown does not mean invalid. It means the selected method could not conclude. Separate unknown records by reason:

• retry timeouts after the network recovers;
• fix or rotate a failing proxy;
• check outbound port 25 for SMTP failures;
• accept that some providers intentionally return inconclusive responses.

List-quality score

The list-quality score is an aggregate, separate from each address’s risk score:

100
- (invalid / total × 70)
- (risky / total × 35)
- (unknown / total × 15)

Use it to compare list versions or summarize a batch. It is not an expected delivery-rate forecast.

Build a policy

Document which statuses and score bands your organization permits for each use case. A transactional permissioned list and a re-engagement list may need different thresholds. Keep the original result export so later decisions remain traceable.