Email domain profile

Is outlook.com a valid email address?

Is outlook.com a valid email address? Yes. outlook.com is Microsoft’s free email service for personal accounts, the one Hotmail turned into. Anyone can still sign up for a new @outlook.com address.

Updated October 10, 2026 · 2 min read

Short answer

Yes. outlook.com is Microsoft’s consumer email domain. Anyone can create a free Outlook.com account with an @outlook.com address, and mail to the domain goes to Microsoft’s servers (outlook-com.olc.protection.outlook.com). Hotmail, Live and MSN addresses run on the same service.

outlook.com at a glance

Status
Active
Run by
Microsoft
Mail service
Outlook.com · server settings
History
Outlook.com introduced as a preview on July 31, 2012; Hotmail is now Outlook.com
New addresses
YesMicrosoft offers free Outlook.com accounts with an @outlook.com address
Unused mailboxes
Accounts not signed in to for more than 2 years may have been deleted
MX hosts
  • 5outlook-com.olc.protection.outlook.com

Run a live MX lookup

SPF record
v=spf1 include:spf2.outlook.com -allCheck the live SPF record
DMARC policy
p=none; sp=quarantineCheck the live DMARC record
DNS records checked
MX, SPF and DMARC records observed October 10, 2026 with DNS-over-HTTPS (dns.google).
Our free-provider list
Listed · free email domains list
Our disposable list
Not listed · disposable email domains list
Domain registered
August 18, 1994First registration in the registry’s RDAP record, not the start of the email service.

Who runs outlook.com

Microsoft. The service started as a preview on July 31, 2012, when Microsoft introduced Outlook.com on its official blog. It replaced Hotmail: Microsoft’s help article on signing in to Hotmail puts it in one line, “Hotmail is now Outlook.com”, and covers Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and MSN accounts together.

The outlook.com domain has a single MX record, outlook-com.olc.protection.outlook.com, a Microsoft host. The name itself was first registered on August 18, 1994, according to the registry’s RDAP record, long before Microsoft’s email service used it.

Can you still create an outlook.com address?

Yes. Microsoft’s guide on creating a free Outlook email account has you pick a user name in the form [your-username]@outlook.com and lists 15 GB of mailbox storage for a free account.

Is outlook.com a valid email address for your list?

Yes, with the usual caveats for personal webmail:

To check one address, use the email checker. For a file of contacts, the bulk email verifier finds the mailboxes that no longer exist. Setting up the account in a mail app needs the Outlook.com SMTP and IMAP settings.

Sources

Check an address at outlook.com

A real domain doesn’t mean the mailbox exists. The email checker looks up the domain’s MX records and asks the mail server about the mailbox without sending an email, and it flags disposable, role and free-provider addresses.

Check one address Clean a whole list

Frequently asked questions

Is outlook.com a valid email address?

Yes. outlook.com is Microsoft’s free personal email domain with working MX records. Whether a specific @outlook.com mailbox exists is something only a check of the full address shows.

Is Hotmail the same as Outlook.com?

Yes. Microsoft’s own help says “Hotmail is now Outlook.com”. Hotmail, Live and MSN addresses sign in at outlook.live.com with their Microsoft account.

Can I still create an outlook.com email address?

Yes. Microsoft offers free Outlook.com accounts with an address like name@outlook.com: select “Create free account” on the Microsoft Outlook website.

Is an outlook.com address a business email?

No. outlook.com is a free consumer domain and is on our free email domains list. Companies that use Microsoft’s business mail send from their own domain.

Related domains and settings

Outlook.com (Hotmail) email settingsOutlook SMTP settings for Outlook.com and Hotmail: smtp-mail.outlook.com, port 587, STARTTLS, plus IMAP and POP3 servers, OAuth sign-in and common fixes. aol.comAOL Mail domain run by Yahoo, open to new sign-ups. Operator, MX hosts and list flags. yahoo.frYahoo Mail’s French domain, closed to new sign-ups. Operator, MX hosts and list flags.

Email validation API

Flag free and disposable domains at sign-up

One API request returns MX and mailbox checks for an address, plus free, disposable and role flags, so your form can tell a webmail sign-up from a throwaway one.

/v1/info Email validation API Read the documentation

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GET https://api.emailvalidation.io/v1/info?email=support@emailvalidation.io

{
  "email": "support@emailvalidation.io",
  "user": "support",
  "tag": "",
  "domain": "emailvalidation.io",
  "format_valid": true,
  "mx_found": true,
  "smtp_check": true,
  "catch_all": null,
  "role": true,
  "disposable": false,
  "free": false,
  "score": 0.64,
  "state": "deliverable",
  "reason": "valid_mailbox",
  "did_you_mean": ""
}

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