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Email Validation Rate Limits

Our email validation API is designed to handle high-volume requests efficiently while maintaining optimal performance for all users.

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Current Rate Limits

Default Rate Limit: 10 calls per second This rate limit applies to all email validation endpoints and is calculated on a per-API-key basis.

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Rate Limit Headers

Every API response includes rate limit information in the headers: 
X-RateLimit-Limit: 10
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 7
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1642680000
  • X-RateLimit-Limit - Your current rate limit (requests per second)
  • X-RateLimit-Remaining - Number of requests remaining in the current window
  • X-RateLimit-Reset - Unix timestamp when the rate limit resets

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Handling Rate Limits

When you exceed the rate limit, you’ll receive a 429 Too Many Requests response: 
{
  "error": "rate_limit_exceeded",
  "message": "Too many requests, please slow down",
  "code": "RATE_001",
  "request_id": "01ARZ3NDEKTSV4RRFFQ69G5FB1",
  "details": {
    "limit": 10,
    "window": "1 second",
    "retry_after": 1
  }
}

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Best Practices

  • Implement exponential backoff when receiving 429 responses
  • Respect the retry_after value in the error response
  • Monitor rate limit headers to avoid hitting limits
  • Distribute requests evenly rather than sending bursts

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Need Higher Limits?

If your use case requires higher rate limits, we can accommodate your needs quickly. Contact our support team:
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Response time: We’re fast - typically respond within hours, not days
  • Custom limits: We can provide custom rate limits based on your specific requirements
Include the following information in your request:
  • Your current API key
  • Expected requests per second/minute
  • Use case description
  • Timeline for when you need the increased limits

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Example Implementation

Here’s a simple Python example showing how to handle rate limits: 
import requests
import time

def validate_email_with_retry(email, api_key, max_retries=3):
    url = "https://api.mdb.tools/v1/email/validate"
    headers = {
        "x-api-key": api_key,
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }
    payload = {"email": email}
    
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
        
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return response.json()
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            # Rate limited - wait and retry
            retry_after = response.json().get('details', {}).get('retry_after', 1)
            time.sleep(retry_after)
            continue
        else:
            # Other error
            response.raise_for_status()
    
    raise Exception(f"Failed after {max_retries} retries")