Prevent sending invalid email addresses (e.g., test@example) and add error_string in Email Log

[Dinh Nguyen]

Hello everyone,

I want to understand how ServiceNow handles emails when the recipient address is invalid.

For example, if the email is missing a top-level domain like 'test@example', how does the platform detect this issue? 

Does anyone know where I can find this validation logic in ServiceNow? Please help me.

[PoonkodiS]

Hi @Dinh Nguyen ,

https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0528671....Please refer this article it explains how servicenow detects invalid email.

here, in your example the local part is missing. The correct format is test@example.com

Thanks,

Poonkodi

[dbook]

You can find more information here on the architecture: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-platform-administration/page/administer/reference-page...

Typical email validation follows these steps, these are handled within the Mail Server:

1. Syntax Check: Does it have an "@" and a domain (e.g., user@example.com)?
2. Domain Check: Does the domain (example.com) exist? Check the Mail Exchanger (MX) records for that domain to see where mail should go.
3. SMTP Ping: A "digital handshake" to see if the mail server (like Gmail's) is live and ready to accept mail for that domain, stopping before sending the actual email.
4. Mailbox Check: The server confirms if the specific username (user@) exists and can receive mail, often returning success/error codes

Errors encountered by the mail server are updated on the sys_email table.