Verification email not arriving?
Check these six things first.

A verification code travels through at least three stages: it’s generated by the website, delivered to the mail service, and displayed in the temporary inbox. Checking each stage is faster than blindly resending and makes it easier to know whether to wait, change addresses, or contact the sender.

1. Check the full address—not just the beginning

The most common issue is still an incomplete copy or a typo. Return to the OurTemp dashboard, use “Copy” to get the full address again, and compare it character by character with the email shown on the website’s account page. Check the characters before and after @, the end of the domain, and any spaces.

If the website hides the middle of the email address, check the first and last characters it displays. If you still can’t confirm it, don’t keep sending verification codes to a potentially incorrect address. Return to the form and enter it again—it’s usually more effective than waiting.

2. Allow reasonable time for the first delivery

A “sent” status only means the request was accepted; it doesn’t mean the email has left the sending queue. Normally, wait one to three minutes and keep the inbox page open. OurTemp checks for new messages regularly, and you can refresh once to confirm the status.

Peak traffic, cross-region delivery, or the sender’s security review can all cause delays. If the page gives a specific wait time, follow the sender’s instructions. Don’t create multiple requests just because nothing appears after a few seconds.

3. Stop repeatedly clicking Resend

Repeated resends may trigger rate limits or cause multiple codes to arrive out of order. You may then see an earlier email but enter a code that has already been replaced by a later one. A safer approach is to note the time of your last request, keep only the latest request, and wait through the full delivery window.

• After the first request, wait at least one to three minutes;
• If the page shows a countdown, wait until the button becomes available again;
• After resending once, don’t switch between multiple browser tabs;
• If several emails arrive, use only the most recent one.

4. Check how much time is left in the inbox

An inbox being valid when you send the request doesn’t guarantee that it will still be valid when the email arrives. Watch the countdown next to the address. If only a short time remains and the sender is usually slow, extend the address before making one final request. Extending it won’t recover an address that has already expired or restore a code the sender has invalidated.

If the countdown has ended, create a new address and start the process again. For more on how address and email expiration differ, read the guide to temporary address expiration.

5. Confirm whether the sender accepts temporary email

Some financial, healthcare, government, or high-value account services reject temporary email domains—or accept the form submission without actually delivering the message. This is the sender’s usage policy, not an inbox refresh problem. Check the notice beside the form, the help center, and the account eligibility requirements to see whether a long-term email address, business email, or verified phone number is required.

Don’t try to bypass explicit restrictions. Short-lived addresses are not suitable for payments, identity information, or accounts you may need to recover later. Read when not to use temporary email first, then choose a long-term contact method you can control.

6. Decide whether to wait, change addresses, or contact the sender

If the address is correct, plenty of time remains, and you’ve requested the code only once or twice, you can try a new address once for comparison if no email arrives after ten minutes. If the new address also receives nothing while other ordinary emails arrive normally, the problem is more likely on the sender’s side.

When contacting the sender, provide the approximate request time, the page message, and the email domain. Never share the full verification code or your password. If you only need a low-risk notification that doesn’t require long-term account recovery, return to the temporary email dashboard and change addresses. If you need ongoing delivery, a forwarding alias used after logging in is a better fit.