How to validate an email address in PHP ?

In PHP, validating email addresses is essential for ensuring data integrity and preventing invalid inputs. PHP provides several methods to validate email addresses, from built-in functions to custom regular expressions.

Using filter_var() Function

The most recommended approach is using PHP's built-in filter_var() function with the FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL filter −

<?php
    $email = "pattrick@tutorialspoint.com";
    
    // Validate email
    if (filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
        echo "$email is a valid email address";
    } else {
        echo "$email is not a valid email address";
    }
?>

pattrick@tutorialspoint.com is a valid email address

Using Regular Expression with preg_match()

You can also create a custom validation function using regular expressions with preg_match() −

<?php
    function validateEmail($email) {
        $pattern = "/^([a-z0-9\+_\-]+)(\.[a-z0-9\+_\-]+)*@([a-z0-9\-]+\.)+[a-z]{2,6}$/ix";
        return preg_match($pattern, $email) ? true : false;
    }
    
    $email = "alex@tutorialspoint.com";
    
    if (validateEmail($email)) {
        echo "Valid email address.";
    } else {
        echo "Invalid email address.";
    }
?>

Valid email address.

Testing Invalid Email Examples

Here's how both methods handle invalid email addresses −

<?php
    $emails = [
        "valid@example.com",
        "invalid.email",
        "@invalid.com",
        "test@.com"
    ];
    
    foreach ($emails as $email) {
        echo "Email: $email - ";
        if (filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
            echo "Valid
";
        } else {
            echo "Invalid
";
        }
    }
?>

Email: valid@example.com - Valid
Email: invalid.email - Invalid
Email: @invalid.com - Invalid
Email: test@.com - Invalid

Comparison

Conclusion

Use filter_var() with FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL for standard email validation as it's built-in, reliable, and follows RFC standards. Custom regex patterns with preg_match() are useful when you need specific validation rules.