# What is role-based email? Definition and examples · Leadraft

URL: https://leadraft.co/glossary/role-based-email
Summary: A role-based email is an address for a function rather than a person, such as info@, office@ or sales@, often read by several people.

Glossary · Email & deliverability · Last updated October 31, 2026

# Role-based email

A role-based email is an address for a function rather than a person, such as info@, office@ or sales@, often read by several people.

**Also called:** Role address, Generic email address, Group mailbox.

Role addresses describe a job, not a name. RFC 2142 lists conventional ones, including `info@`, `sales@`, `support@`, `marketing@`, `postmaster@` and `abuse@`. In practice, small businesses add their own: `office@`, `bookings@`, `quotes@`, `hello@`.

Many email verifiers flag role addresses, and some cold email advice says to avoid them. For enterprise prospecting that can make sense. For local businesses it usually doesn't: a four-person HVAC company's `office@` inbox is often the main way customers reach it, and the owner reads it.

Some role addresses really should be avoided. `postmaster@` and `abuse@` exist for mail administration and complaints, `noreply@` doesn't take replies, and addresses that belong to the web designer or hosting company aren't the business at all.

The useful approach is to keep the role as a field and segment on it. Message `office@` and `info@` addresses as the business, not as a named person, and prefer a named address when the business publishes one.

## Example

A dental practice's site lists `frontdesk@` and `dr.lee@`. A campaign to practice owners uses `dr.lee@` first, and messages `frontdesk@` with an introduction addressed to the practice.

## In Leadraft

Each business can have up to 5 emails, and each one carries its role (for example sales or general) and the page it was found on, so you can filter or segment by role.

## Sources

1.  1.[IETF, RFC 2142: Mailbox Names for Common Services, Roles and Functions](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2142)

## Related terms

-   [Email finderAn email finder is a tool that finds email addresses for a business or person, from websites, databases or pattern guesses, usually with verification.](https://leadraft.co/glossary/email-finder)
-   [Email verificationEmail verification is checking whether an address can receive mail, using syntax, MX and SMTP tests, without sending a message to it.](https://leadraft.co/glossary/email-verification)
-   [Catch-all emailA catch-all email is an address on a domain whose mail server accepts mail for any address, so a verifier can't confirm the mailbox really exists.](https://leadraft.co/glossary/catch-all-email)
-   [Lead listA lead list is a set of businesses or people you plan to contact, with the fields needed to qualify them and reach them, such as email and phone.](https://leadraft.co/glossary/lead-list)

## Further reading

-   [Emails in Leadraft](https://leadraft.co/product/emails)
-   [Does Google Maps show emails?](https://leadraft.co/blog/does-google-maps-show-emails)

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Last built: 2026-11-09