Hi Judy, yes, a list that has inactive emails that are older than 18 months should be verified. That means using a service that removes invalid emails, as well as those that the system may consider spam traps. Several companies provide that service, and Zero Bounce is a rather well known one.
As an agency, when we start working with a client, we nearly always suggest verifying the list, which is part of the data hygiene we require, because you don't want to be in a situation where a big part of your list bounces. That affects overall deliverability and the client is then disappointed (and results are weakened).
Hope this helps!
... View more