diff --git a/packages/vitec/Classes/Command/SsrHealthSampleCommand.php b/packages/vitec/Classes/Command/SsrHealthSampleCommand.php
index 2b8a59b..ebe37d8 100644
--- a/packages/vitec/Classes/Command/SsrHealthSampleCommand.php
+++ b/packages/vitec/Classes/Command/SsrHealthSampleCommand.php
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use Evomedien\Vitec\Service\SsrPurgeService;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Attribute\AsCommand;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputOption;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
 use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Database\ConnectionPool;
 use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Http\RequestFactory;
@@ -33,8 +34,24 @@ final class SsrHealthSampleCommand extends Command
         parent::__construct();
     }
 
+    protected function configure(): void
+    {
+        $this->addOption(
+            'test-mail',
+            null,
+            InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL,
+            'Send a sample alert mail through the real alert path and exit (no health sample). Optional address; default: the configured alert recipients',
+            false
+        );
+    }
+
     protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
     {
+        $testMail = $input->getOption('test-mail');
+        if ($testMail !== false) {
+            return $this->sendTestMail((string)$testMail, $output);
+        }
+
         $endpoint = $this->purgeService->getHealthEndpoint();
         if ($endpoint === '') {
             $output->writeln('<error>SSR_HEALTH_ENDPOINT missing in var/vitec-ssr-purge.env</error>');
@@ -204,6 +221,38 @@ final class SsrHealthSampleCommand extends Command
         return Command::SUCCESS;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Deliverability check (e.g. mail-tester.com): same sender, mailer and
+     * plain-text format as a real alert, clearly marked as a test.
+     */
+    private function sendTestMail(string $address, OutputInterface $output): int
+    {
+        $override = [];
+        if ($address !== '') {
+            if (!GeneralUtility::validEmail($address)) {
+                $output->writeln('<error>invalid address: ' . $address . '</error>');
+                return Command::INVALID;
+            }
+            $override = [$address];
+        }
+        $this->sendAlert(
+            '[VITEC SSR] TEST: alert mail check',
+            "This is a test of the VITEC SSR alert mail - nothing is wrong.\n\n"
+            . "Real alerts look like this one and are sent when the 5-minute health\n"
+            . "check sees the SSR server go down or come back, and when the\n"
+            . "auto-failover switches the site to SPA delivery.\n\n"
+            . 'Time:          ' . date('d.m.Y H:i:s') . "\n"
+            . 'Current state: switch vitec.ssr.enabled = '
+            . ($this->flagService->isEnabledInSettings() ? 'ON' : 'OFF')
+            . ', flag file ' . ($this->flagService->isFlagSet() ? 'present (SSR active)' : 'missing (SPA delivery)') . ".\n\n"
+            . "Recipients are maintained in the TYPO3 backend:\n"
+            . "Site Management > Settings > VITEC > SSR alert mail recipients.\n",
+            $output,
+            $override
+        );
+        return Command::SUCCESS;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Mails are best effort: a mail problem must never break the sampler
      * (the cron would stop logging history). Recipients come from the site
@@ -211,13 +260,13 @@ final class SsrHealthSampleCommand extends Command
      * fallback SSR_ALERT_EMAIL in var/vitec-ssr-purge.env - none at all
      * means "alerts off", which the output states so the cron log shows why.
      */
-    private function sendAlert(string $subject, string $body, OutputInterface $output): void
+    private function sendAlert(string $subject, string $body, OutputInterface $output, array $override = []): void
     {
         $alert = $this->purgeService->getAlertRecipients();
-        if ($alert['invalid'] !== []) {
+        if ($alert['invalid'] !== [] && $override === []) {
             $output->writeln('<comment>skipped invalid alert addresses: ' . implode(', ', $alert['invalid']) . '</comment>');
         }
-        $recipients = $alert['recipients'];
+        $recipients = $override !== [] ? $override : $alert['recipients'];
         if ($recipients === []) {
             $output->writeln('<comment>transition detected but no alert recipients are configured (Site settings › VITEC or SSR_ALERT_EMAIL) - no mail sent</comment>');
             return;