Salesforce Email Field Validation Rules

  1. Introduction
  2. Purpose
  3. How to Use
  4. Key Rules
    1. Local Part (Before the @ Symbol)
    2. Domain Part (After the @ Symbol)
  5. General Rules
  6. Examples
    1. Example of Valid Email Addresses
    2. Example of Invalid Email Addresses
  7. Additional Considerations

Introduction

When using Salesforce, it’s essential to ensure that the email addresses you input are correctly formatted. This ensures smooth communication and integration within the platform. Salesforce follows standard email formatting rules to maintain the integrity of email data. Let’s delve into the key rules for formatting email addresses in Salesforce:

Purpose

Salesforce adheres to general email formatting standards to guarantee that email addresses entered into its fields are valid and conform to widely accepted norms. These rules are in alignment with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards, ensuring consistency and reliability in email communications within the platform.

How to Use

Understanding these rules is crucial for accurately inputting email addresses into Salesforce. Adhering to these guidelines will help prevent errors and ensure the effectiveness of your communication efforts.

Key Rules

Let’s explore the key rules:

Email format: local@domain

Local Part (Before the @ Symbol)

  • Alphanumeric Characters: Allowed (e.g., a-z, A-Z, 0-9).
  • Special Characters: Allowed characters include ., +, -, and _.

Examples:

  • Valid: user.name, user+name, user-name, user_name
  • Invalid: .username, username., user..name
  • Length: The local part should typically be no longer than 64 characters.

Domain Part (After the @ Symbol)

  • Alphanumeric Characters: Allowed (e.g., a-z, A-Z, 0-9).
  • Periods: Used to separate domain labels (e.g., example.com).
  • Hyphens: Allowed within domain labels but not at the beginning or end (e.g., example-domain.com is valid, but -example.com or example-.com are not).
  • Top-Level Domain (TLD): Must be at least two characters long (e.g., .com, .org, .net).
  • Length: The entire domain name, including periods and TLD, should not exceed 255 characters.

General Rules

  • No Spaces: Email addresses cannot contain spaces.
  • Single @ Symbol: There must be exactly one @ symbol.
  • No Consecutive Periods: Periods cannot be consecutive in either the local or domain part (e.g., user..name@example.com is invalid).
  • No Special Characters in Domain: Except for hyphens and periods, special characters are not allowed in the domain part.

Examples

Example of Valid Email Addresses

  • user.name@example.com
  • user+name@example.co.uk
  • user_name@example-domain.com

Example of Invalid Email Addresses

  • user..name@example.com (consecutive periods)
  • username@.com (invalid domain)
  • username@com (missing period in domain part)
  • username@domain..com (consecutive periods in domain)
  • @example.com (missing local part)
  • user@-example.com (hyphen at the beginning of the domain)

Additional Considerations

  • Custom Validation: Organizations can set up custom validation rules in Salesforce to enforce stricter or additional criteria based on their requirements.
  • International Characters: Salesforce email fields support international characters in the local part, allowing for a wider range of valid email addresses.

By following these rules, Salesforce ensures that email addresses are valid and can be used effectively within its platform for communication and integration purposes.

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