Validation of user inputs is necessary for all applications in any programming language platform. Each language has its own set of techniques to validate inputs. Every 8 applications out of 10 require email nowadays.

In Java, we can use regex for email validation.

There is a different set of regex in java.each has its own set of rules.

Table of Content :

General Email format (RE) which includes also domains like co.in, co.uk, com, outlook.com, etc.

And rule says that :
Uppercase and lowercase English letters (a-z, A-Z)
Digits 0 to 9
Characters ! # $ % & ' * + - / = ? ^ _ ` { | } ~ Character.
(dot, period, full stop) provided that it is not the first or last character, and provided also that it does not appear two or more times consecutively.
[a-zA-Z0-9]+[._a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+-/=?^_'{|}~]*[a-zA-Z]*@[a-zA-Z0-9]{2,8}.[a-zA-Z.]{2,6}

Case insensitive Validation

public static final Pattern VALID_EMAIL_ADDRESS_REGEX = Pattern.compile("^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\\.[A-Z]{2,6}$", Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE); public static boolean validate(String emailStr) { Matcher matcher = VALID_EMAIL_ADDRESS_REGEX.matcher(emailStr); return matcher.find(); }

Simplest regex to validate the email

Regex : ^(.+)@(.+)$

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.List; import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class SimpleEmailValidator { public static void main(String[] args) { List < String > emails = new ArrayList < String > (); emails.add("hello@gmail.com"); emails.add("hello@gmail.co.in"); emails.add("hello1@gmail.com"); emails.add("hello.name@gmail.com"); emails.add("hello#@yahoo.co.in"); emails.add("hello@gmailcom"); emails.add("user#gmail.com"); emails.add("@yahoo.com"); String regex = "^(.+)@(.+)$"; Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex); for (String email: emails) { Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(email); System.out.println(email + " is valid email : " + matcher.matches()); } } } output: hello@gmail.com is valid email : true hello@gmail.co.in is valid email : true hello1@gmail.com is valid email : true hello.name@gmail.com is valid email : true hello#@yahoo.co.in is valid email : true hello@gmailcom is valid email : true user#gmail.com is valid email : false @yahoo.com is valid email : false

Adding Restrictions on a part before @

Regex:

^[A-Za-z0-9+_.-]+@(.+)$

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.List; import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class EmailValidatorWithRestrictedUserName { public static void main(String[] args) { String regex = "^[A-Za-z0-9+_.-]+@(.+)$"; List < String > emails = new ArrayList < String > (); emails.add("hello@gmail.com"); emails.add("fname-lname@gmail.co.in"); emails.add("fname_lname@gmail.com"); emails.add("hello.name@gmail.com"); emails.add("hello#@yahoo.co.in"); emails.add("hello@gmailcom"); emails.add("user#gmail.com"); emails.add("@yahoo.com"); Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex); for (String email: emails) { Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(email); System.out.println(email + " is valid email : " + matcher.matches()); } } } outout: hello@gmail.com is valid email : true fname-lname@gmail.co.in is valid email : true fname_lname@gmail.com is valid email : true hello.name@gmail.com is valid email : true hello#@yahoo.co.in is valid email : false hello@gmailcom is valid email : true user#gmail.com is valid email : false @yahoo.com is valid email : false

Regex to restrict leading, trailing, or consecutive dots

Both the local part and the domain name can contain one or more dots, but no two dots can appear right next to each other.

Regex : ^[a-zA-Z0-9_!#$%&'*+/=?'{|}~^-]+(?:\\.[a-zA-Z0-9_!#$%&'*+/=?`{|}~^-]+)*@[a-zA-Z0-9-]+(?:\\.[a-zA-Z0-9-]+)*$

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.List; import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class ValidatorWithRestrictedDots { public static void main(String[] args) { String regex = "^[a-zA-Z0-9_!#$%&'*+/=?`{|}~^-]+(?:\\.[a-zA-Z0-9_!#$%&'*+/=?`{|}~^-]+)*@[a-zA-Z0-9-]+(?:\\.[a-zA-Z0-9-]+)*$"; List < String > emails = new ArrayList < String > (); emails.add("hello.@gmail.com"); emails.add("fname-lname@gmail.co.in."); emails.add("fname_lname@gmail.com"); emails.add("..hello.name@gmail.com"); emails.add(".hello#@yahoo.co.in"); emails.add("hello@gmailcom"); emails.add("user#gmail.com"); emails.add("@yahoo.com"); Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex); for (String email: emails) { Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(email); System.out.println(email + " is valid email : " + matcher.matches()); } } } output: hello.@gmail.com is valid email : false fname-lname@gmail.co.in. is valid email : false fname_lname@gmail.com is valid email : true ..hello.name@gmail.com is valid email : false .hello#@yahoo.co.in is valid email : false hello@gmailcom is valid email : true user#gmail.com is valid email : false @yahoo.com is valid email : false

RFC822 compliant regex adapted for Java

This regex contains all the characters permitted by RFC 5322, which governs the email message format. Among the permitted characters are some that present a security risk if passed directly from user input to an SQL statement, such as the single quote (') and the pipe character (|).

This pattern can be used to filter out sensitive characters. These characters may go to the database and may cause SQL injection attacks.

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.List; import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class ValidatorWithRFC822Compliant { public static void main(String[] args) { Pattern ptr = Pattern.compile("(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:(?:(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*|(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)*\\<(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:@(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*(?:,@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*)*:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)?(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*\\>(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)|(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)*:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:(?:(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*|(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)*\\<(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:@(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*(?:,@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*)*:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)?(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*\\>(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:,\\s*(?:(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*|(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)*\\<(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:@(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*(?:,@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*)*:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)?(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\"(?:[^\\\"\\r\\\\]|\\\\.|(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t]))*\"(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*@(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*)(?:\\.(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*(?:[^()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\] \\000-\\031]+(?:(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])+|\\Z|(?=[\\[\"()<>@,;:\\\\\".\\[\\]]))|\\[([^\\[\\]\\r\\\\]|\\\\.)*\\](?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*\\>(?:(?:\\r\\n)?[ \\t])*))*)?;\\s*)"); String[] emails = { "\"King Martin\"@example.com", "user@.invalid.com", "Bala K ", "webmaster@codestuffs.au", "matteo@99.74.134.23" }; for (String email: emails) { System.out.println(email + " is " + (ptr.matcher(email).matches() ? "valid email.": "invalid email.")); } } } output: "King Martin"@example.com is valid email. user@.invalid.com is invalid email. Bala K is valid email. webmaster@codestuffs.au is valid email. matteo@99.74.134.23 is valid email.

Validate using a third-party library

We can use third party library e.g org.apache.commons.validator for email validation.

import org.apache.commons.validator.routines.EmailValidator; public class Email { public static void main(String[] args) { EmailValidator email = EmailVlidator.getInstance(); boolean val = email.isValid("hello.k@gmail.com"); System.out.println("Mail is valid : " + val); val = email.isValid("hello.k.yahoo.com"); System.out.print("Mail is valid : " + val); } } output: Mail is valid : true Mail is valid : : false

In this article, we have seen Email validation using regex in Java with Examples. All source code in the article can be found in the GitHub repository.