Mailbox provider · Free
How to verify a free.fr email address
Can you verify @free.fr addresses?
YesYes. @free.fr answers mailbox checks one address at a time.
Check one 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.
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The checker opens an SMTP conversation with free.fr's mail server, offers a random address first to rule out a catch-all, then names your address at RCPT TO and disconnects without sending. A rejection comes back invalid ("Mailbox not found") and an acceptance valid ("Mailbox exists"). Temporary replies come back risky. It always checks the syntax, the domain's MX records, disposable domains and role addresses such as info@ first.
Mailbox existsMailbox not foundServer would not confirmFree addresses can be verified without sending an email. On 12 October 2026 the free.fr mail server mx1.free.fr rejected a made-up recipient at the SMTP RCPT TO step with 550 5.1.1 user unknown (UserSearch), so a mailbox check can tell a missing free.fr account from a real one.
Price: this tool is free. Checking a whole email list is from $9/mo, and the first 100 checks are free with Google, no card. See pricing
Live DNS snapshot: free.fr
Checked 6 November 2026, 11:13 UTCRead from DNS at the time shown and refreshed at most once a day. MX says where mail for free.fr goes; SPF and DMARC describe mail sent from it, not whether any one address exists.
- 10
mx1.free.fr - 20
mx2.free.fr
v=spf1 include:_spf.free.fr ~allp=quarantine: meets the requirement and enforces it. No rua= address, so you get no aggregate reports.
v=DMARC1;p=quarantine;adkim=r;aspf=r;sp=noneLook up any other domain with the MX lookup or the email provider lookup.
Free at a glance
| Operated by | Free SAS, Paris, FranceSource: Free email terms of use, September 2022 (French PDF) |
|---|---|
| MX hosts | mx1.free.fr, then mx2.free.frObserved 12 October 2026 (dig MX) |
| Answer to a made-up address | 550 5.1.1 user unknown (UserSearch), returned at RCPT TOObserved 12 October 2026 (SMTP probe of a made-up recipient, no message sent) |
| Address rule | Logins are 3 to 20 characters with no underscore or hyphen; cancelling a Freebox subscription doesn't delete the addressesSource: Free help centre (French) |
| Inactive accounts | A mailbox unused for 6 consecutive months may be deactivated after notice; past 12 months all its email may be permanently deletedSource: Free email terms, article 3.2 (French PDF) |
| Inactive accounts | Once a mailbox is deleted for inactivity, anyone writing to it is told the address is not validSource: Free help centre (French) |
| Postmaster rules | IP blocks last at most 24 hours and use only Free's internal data; many non-existent recipients is one triggerSource: Free postmaster (French) |
What Free's server says about a missing mailbox
The reply that matters is the one to RCPT TO, the step where the checking server names the recipient. Free answered our made-up free.fr address with 550 5.1.1 user unknown (UserSearch). A 5xx code at that step is a permanent "no such mailbox", which is the same answer a real message would get, so SimpleVerifier marks the address invalid with the reason "Mailbox not found". A 250 at the same step means the mailbox exists and comes back valid.
Before trusting a "valid", a careful verifier also offers a random address that cannot exist. Free rejected ours, so free.fr is not a catch-all: a 250 for your address is a real signal. Temporary 4xx replies (421, 450, 451) are about the connection, not the mailbox, and come back risky with "Server would not confirm" rather than invalid. Hard bounce vs soft bounce explains why that split matters.
Free.fr addresses outlive the subscription, not inactivity
Free's help centre says cancelling a Freebox subscription doesn't delete @free.fr addresses, but long inactivity can: when a mailbox is removed, senders are told the address is not valid. Treat a hard bounce from @free.fr as final rather than retrying it.
Free's postmaster page lists many non-existent recipients among the behaviours that trigger a block of up to 24 hours. Valid logins are 3 to 20 characters with no underscore or hyphen, so addresses that break those rules deserve a second look before you send.
Cleaning free.fr addresses on a list
Because Free answers honestly, free.fr is one of the domains where verification removes bounces before they happen. Drop the invalid results, keep the valid ones, and re-check the risky ones later: a temporary reply on one day often turns into a clear answer the next.
A valid result only means the mailbox exists today. Addresses on an old consumer list go stale as people stop using them, so re-verify before each large send to an aged segment; how often to verify an email list gives a schedule. Upload the CSV to the verifier and download the valid, risky and invalid rows as separate files.
Common questions
- Can you verify @free.fr addresses?
- Yes. @free.fr answers mailbox checks one address at a time. The checker opens an SMTP conversation with free.fr's mail server, offers a random address first to rule out a catch-all, then names your address at RCPT TO and disconnects without sending. A rejection comes back invalid ("Mailbox not found") and an acceptance valid ("Mailbox exists"). Temporary replies come back risky. It always checks the syntax, the domain's MX records, disposable domains and role addresses such as info@ first.
- Can I check if a free.fr address exists without emailing it?
- Yes. A verifier connects to Free's mail server, names the address at the RCPT TO step and disconnects before sending. On 12 October 2026 the server rejected a made-up free.fr address with "550 5.1.1 user unknown (UserSearch)", so a missing mailbox shows up as invalid and the owner receives nothing.
- What mail servers does free.fr use?
- On 12 October 2026, free.fr published these MX hosts: mx1.free.fr, then mx2.free.fr. You can look them up yourself with the free MX lookup tool.
- Why did a free.fr address come back risky instead of invalid?
- Risky means the server didn't give a permanent answer during the check, usually a temporary 4xx reply or a timeout. It isn't proof the address is bad. Check it again later; Free gave a clear rejection for a missing mailbox when we tested it.
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