diff --git a/_config/model.yml b/_config/model.yml
index 4046feddb..8e6840244 100644
--- a/_config/model.yml
+++ b/_config/model.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ SilverStripe\Core\Injector\Injector:
     class: SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBDecimal
   Double:
     class: SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBDouble
+  Email:
+    class: SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBEmail
   Enum:
     class: SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBEnum
   Float:
diff --git a/src/Forms/EmailField.php b/src/Forms/EmailField.php
index 68ea66d41..43879568f 100644
--- a/src/Forms/EmailField.php
+++ b/src/Forms/EmailField.php
@@ -2,11 +2,18 @@
 
 namespace SilverStripe\Forms;
 
+use SilverStripe\Validation\EmailValidator;
+
 /**
- * Text input field with validation for correct email format according to RFC 2822.
+ * Text input field with validation for correct email format
  */
 class EmailField extends TextField
 {
+    private static array $field_validators = [
+        [
+            'class' => EmailValidator::class,
+        ],
+    ];
 
     protected $inputType = 'email';
     /**
@@ -17,39 +24,6 @@ class EmailField extends TextField
         return 'email text';
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Validates for RFC 2822 compliant email addresses.
-     *
-     * @see http://www.regular-expressions.info/email.html
-     * @see http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2822.txt
-     *
-     * @param Validator $validator
-     *
-     * @return string
-     */
-    public function validate($validator)
-    {
-        $result = true;
-        $this->value = trim($this->value ?? '');
-
-        $pattern = '^[a-z0-9!#$%&\'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+(?:\\.[a-z0-9!#$%&\'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+)*@(?:[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]*[a-z0-9])?\\.)+[a-z0-9](?:[a-z0-9-]*[a-z0-9])?$';
-
-        // Escape delimiter characters.
-        $safePattern = str_replace('/', '\\/', $pattern ?? '');
-
-        if ($this->value && !preg_match('/' . $safePattern . '/i', $this->value ?? '')) {
-            $validator->validationError(
-                $this->name,
-                _t('SilverStripe\\Forms\\EmailField.VALIDATION', 'Please enter an email address'),
-                'validation'
-            );
-
-            $result = false;
-        }
-
-        return $this->extendValidationResult($result, $validator);
-    }
-
     public function getSchemaValidation()
     {
         $rules = parent::getSchemaValidation();
diff --git a/src/Forms/FormField.php b/src/Forms/FormField.php
index 0d210436b..8b14e1bd7 100644
--- a/src/Forms/FormField.php
+++ b/src/Forms/FormField.php
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ use SilverStripe\Core\Validation\ValidationResult;
 use SilverStripe\View\AttributesHTML;
 use SilverStripe\View\SSViewer;
 use SilverStripe\Model\ModelData;
+use SilverStripe\Core\Injector\Injector;
+use SilverStripe\Validation\FieldValidator;
 
 /**
  * Represents a field in a form.
@@ -275,6 +277,8 @@ class FormField extends RequestHandler
         'Description' => 'HTMLFragment',
     ];
 
+    private static array $field_validators = [];
+
     /**
      * Structured schema state representing the FormField's current data and validation.
      * Used to render the FormField as a ReactJS Component on the front-end.
@@ -1231,15 +1235,25 @@ class FormField extends RequestHandler
     }
 
     /**
-     * Abstract method each {@link FormField} subclass must implement, determines whether the field
-     * is valid or not based on the value.
+     * Subclasses can define an existing FieldValidatorClass to validate the FormField value
+     * They may also override this method to provide custom validation logic
      *
      * @param Validator $validator
      * @return bool
      */
     public function validate($validator)
     {
-        return $this->extendValidationResult(true, $validator);
+        $isValid = true;
+        $name = strip_tags($this->Title() ? $this->Title() : $this->getName());
+        $fieldValidators = FieldValidator::createFieldValidatorsForField($this, $name, $this->value);
+        foreach ($fieldValidators as $fieldValidator) {
+            $validationResult = $fieldValidator->validate();
+            if (!$validationResult->isValid()) {
+                $validator->getResult()->combineAnd($validationResult);
+                $isValid = false;
+            }
+        }
+        return $this->extendValidationResult($isValid, $validator);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Forms/TextField.php b/src/Forms/TextField.php
index 49aa40b2c..21ad87e6c 100644
--- a/src/Forms/TextField.php
+++ b/src/Forms/TextField.php
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 namespace SilverStripe\Forms;
 
+use SilverStripe\Validation\StringLengthValidator;
+
 /**
  * Text input field.
  */
@@ -14,6 +16,13 @@ class TextField extends FormField implements TippableFieldInterface
 
     protected $schemaDataType = FormField::SCHEMA_DATA_TYPE_TEXT;
 
+    private static array $field_validators = [
+        [
+            'class' => StringLengthValidator::class,
+            'argCalls' => [null, 'getMaxLength'],
+        ]
+    ];
+
     /**
      * @var Tip|null A tip to render beside the input
      */
@@ -117,31 +126,6 @@ class TextField extends FormField implements TippableFieldInterface
         return $data;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Validate this field
-     *
-     * @param Validator $validator
-     * @return bool
-     */
-    public function validate($validator)
-    {
-        $result = true;
-        if (!is_null($this->maxLength) && mb_strlen($this->value ?? '') > $this->maxLength) {
-            $name = strip_tags($this->Title() ? $this->Title() : $this->getName());
-            $validator->validationError(
-                $this->name,
-                _t(
-                    'SilverStripe\\Forms\\TextField.VALIDATEMAXLENGTH',
-                    'The value for {name} must not exceed {maxLength} characters in length',
-                    ['name' => $name, 'maxLength' => $this->maxLength]
-                ),
-                "validation"
-            );
-            $result = false;
-        }
-        return $this->extendValidationResult($result, $validator);
-    }
-
     public function getSchemaValidation()
     {
         $rules = parent::getSchemaValidation();
diff --git a/src/ORM/DataObject.php b/src/ORM/DataObject.php
index 36a2ee9e6..b43f6e11a 100644
--- a/src/ORM/DataObject.php
+++ b/src/ORM/DataObject.php
@@ -1230,6 +1230,15 @@ class DataObject extends ModelData implements DataObjectInterface, i18nEntityPro
     public function validate()
     {
         $result = ValidationResult::create();
+        // Call DBField::validate() on every DBField
+        $specs = static::getSchema()->fieldSpecs(static::class);
+        foreach (array_keys($specs) as $fieldName) {
+            $dbField = $this->dbObject($fieldName);
+            $validationResult = $dbField->validate();
+            if (!$validationResult->isValid()) {
+                $result->combineAnd($validationResult);
+            }
+        }
         $this->extend('updateValidate', $result);
         return $result;
     }
diff --git a/src/ORM/FieldType/DBEmail.php b/src/ORM/FieldType/DBEmail.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fb1e839dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ORM/FieldType/DBEmail.php
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType;
+
+use SilverStripe\Forms\EmailField;
+use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBVarchar;
+use SilverStripe\Validation\EmailValidator;
+use SilverStripe\Forms\FormField;
+use SilverStripe\Forms\NullableField;
+
+class DBEmail extends DBVarchar
+{
+    private static array $field_validators = [
+        [
+            'class' => EmailValidator::class,
+        ],
+    ];
+
+    public function scaffoldFormField(?string $title = null, array $params = []): ?FormField
+    {
+        // Set field with appropriate size
+        $field = EmailField::create($this->name, $title);
+        $field->setMaxLength($this->getSize());
+
+        // Allow the user to select if it's null instead of automatically assuming empty string is
+        if (!$this->getNullifyEmpty()) {
+            return NullableField::create($field);
+        }
+        return $field;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ORM/FieldType/DBField.php b/src/ORM/FieldType/DBField.php
index 38efb5758..1e5869b24 100644
--- a/src/ORM/FieldType/DBField.php
+++ b/src/ORM/FieldType/DBField.php
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ use SilverStripe\Forms\TextField;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\Filters\SearchFilter;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\Queries\SQLSelect;
 use SilverStripe\Model\ModelData;
+use SilverStripe\Core\Validation\ValidationResult;
+use SilverStripe\Validation\FieldValidator;
 
 /**
  * Single field in the database.
@@ -43,7 +45,6 @@ use SilverStripe\Model\ModelData;
  */
 abstract class DBField extends ModelData implements DBIndexable
 {
-
     /**
      * Raw value of this field
      */
@@ -99,6 +100,8 @@ abstract class DBField extends ModelData implements DBIndexable
         'ProcessedRAW' => 'HTMLFragment',
     ];
 
+    private static array $field_validators = [];
+
     /**
      * Default value in the database.
      * Might be overridden on DataObject-level, but still useful for setting defaults on
@@ -468,6 +471,22 @@ abstract class DBField extends ModelData implements DBIndexable
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Validate this field. Called during DataObject::validate().
+     */
+    public function validate(): ValidationResult
+    {
+        $result = ValidationResult::create();
+        $fieldValidators = FieldValidator::createFieldValidatorsForField($this, $this->getName(), $this->getValue());
+        foreach ($fieldValidators as $fieldValidator) {
+            $validationResult = $fieldValidator->validate();
+            if (!$validationResult->isValid()) {
+                $result->combineAnd($validationResult);
+            }
+        }
+        return $result;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Returns a FormField instance used as a default
      * for form scaffolding.
diff --git a/src/ORM/FieldType/DBVarchar.php b/src/ORM/FieldType/DBVarchar.php
index 3081ad34b..009282fa4 100644
--- a/src/ORM/FieldType/DBVarchar.php
+++ b/src/ORM/FieldType/DBVarchar.php
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ use SilverStripe\Forms\NullableField;
 use SilverStripe\Forms\TextField;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\Connect\MySQLDatabase;
 use SilverStripe\ORM\DB;
+use SilverStripe\Validation\StringLengthValidator;
 
 /**
  * Class Varchar represents a variable-length string of up to 255 characters, designed to store raw text
@@ -18,6 +19,13 @@ use SilverStripe\ORM\DB;
  */
 class DBVarchar extends DBString
 {
+    private static array $field_validators = [
+        [
+            'class' => StringLengthValidator::class,
+            'argCalls' => [null, 'getSize'],
+        ]
+    ];
+
     private static array $casting = [
         'Initial' => 'Text',
         'URL' => 'Text',
diff --git a/src/Validation/EmailValidator.php b/src/Validation/EmailValidator.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3fd72de8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Validation/EmailValidator.php
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace SilverStripe\Validation;
+
+use SilverStripe\Core\Validation\ValidationResult;
+use SilverStripe\Validation\FieldValidator;
+use SilverStripe\Core\Validation\ConstraintValidator;
+use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints;
+use SilverStripe\Forms\FormField;
+use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
+
+class EmailValidator extends FieldValidator
+{
+    protected function validateValue(ValidationResult $result): ValidationResult
+    {
+        $message = _t('SilverStripe\\Forms\\EmailField.VALIDATION', 'Please enter an email address');
+        $validationResult = ConstraintValidator::validate(
+            $this->value,
+            new Constraints\Email(message: $message),
+            $this->name
+        );
+        return $result->combineAnd($validationResult);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Validation/FieldValidator.php b/src/Validation/FieldValidator.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b8f76e197
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Validation/FieldValidator.php
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace SilverStripe\Validation;
+
+use RuntimeException;
+use SilverStripe\Core\Validation\ValidationResult;
+use SilverStripe\Forms\FormField;
+use SilverStripe\ORM\FieldType\DBField;
+use SilverStripe\Core\Injector\Injector;
+
+/**
+ * Abstract class that can be used as a validator for FormFields and DBFields
+ */
+abstract class FieldValidator
+{
+    protected string $name;
+    protected mixed $value;
+
+    public function __construct(string $name, mixed $value)
+    {
+        $this->name = $name;
+        $this->value = $value;
+    }
+
+    public function validate(): ValidationResult
+    {
+        $result = ValidationResult::create();
+        $result = $this->validateValue($result);
+        return $result;
+    }
+
+    abstract protected function validateValue(ValidationResult $result): ValidationResult;
+
+    public static function createFieldValidatorsForField(
+        FormField|DBField $field,
+        string $name,
+        mixed $value
+    ): array {
+        $fieldValidators = [];
+        $config = $field->config()->get('field_validators');
+        foreach ($config as $spec) {
+            $class = $spec['class'];
+            $argCalls = $spec['argCalls'] ?? null;
+            if (!is_a($class, FieldValidator::class, true)) {
+                throw new RuntimeException("Class $class is not a FieldValidator");
+            }
+            $args = [$name, $value];
+            if (!is_null($argCalls)) {
+                if (!is_array($argCalls)) {
+                    throw new RuntimeException("argCalls for $class is not an array");
+                }
+                foreach ($argCalls as $i => $argCall) {
+                    if (!is_string($argCall) && !is_null($argCall)) {
+                        throw new RuntimeException("argCall $i for $class is not a string or null");
+                    }
+                    if ($argCall) {
+                        $args[] = call_user_func([$field, $argCall]);
+                    } else {
+                        $args[] = null;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            $fieldValidators[] = Injector::inst()->createWithArgs($class, $args);
+        }
+        return $fieldValidators;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Validation/StringLengthValidator.php b/src/Validation/StringLengthValidator.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e5c0bf7c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Validation/StringLengthValidator.php
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace SilverStripe\Validation;
+
+use SilverStripe\Core\Validation\ValidationResult;
+use SilverStripe\Validation\FieldValidator;
+
+class StringLengthValidator extends FieldValidator
+{
+    private ?int $minLength;
+    private ?int $maxLength;
+
+    public function __construct(string $name, mixed $value, ?int $minLength = null, ?int $maxLength = null)
+    {
+        parent::__construct($name, $value);
+        $this->minLength = $minLength;
+        $this->maxLength = $maxLength;
+    }
+
+    protected function validateValue(ValidationResult $result): ValidationResult
+    {
+        if (!is_null($this->maxLength) && mb_strlen($this->value ?? '') > $this->maxLength) {
+            $message = _t(
+                'SilverStripe\\Forms\\TextField.VALIDATEMAXLENGTH',
+                'The value for {name} must not exceed {maxLength} characters in length',
+                ['name' => $this->name, 'maxLength' => $this->maxLength]
+            );
+            $result->addFieldError($this->name, $message);
+        }
+        // TODO: minlength check
+        return $result;
+    }
+}