CAN-SPAM Act Email Requirements: A Checklist for Newsletters

Who it applies to

CAN-SPAM covers any electronic mail message whose primary purpose is commercial advertisement or promotion of a product or service, including email that promotes content on a commercial website. There is no exception for business-to-business email.

Transactional or relationship messages, such as order confirmations or account notices, may not contain false or misleading routing information but are otherwise exempt from most provisions. The FTC reads these categories narrowly, so a newsletter is treated as commercial.

The requirements, one by one

• Don't use false or misleading header information. The From, To and Reply-To fields and routing information must accurately identify the sender.
• Don't use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
• Identify the message as an ad, clearly and conspicuously. Under the Act, this identifier is not required when the recipient has given prior affirmative consent to receive the message.
• Tell recipients where you're located. Include your valid physical postal address: a street address, a post office box, or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail receiving agency.
• Tell recipients how to opt out. Include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how to stop receiving your email, such as an unsubscribe link.
• Keep the opt-out working for at least 30 days after you send the message.
• Honor opt-out requests within 10 business days. You can't charge a fee or require any information other than an email address to opt out, and you can't sell or transfer the address afterwards.
• Monitor what others do on your behalf. Hiring an email service doesn't remove your responsibility; both the company promoted and the sender may be held liable.

What a compliant newsletter footer contains

In practice, most of the checklist lands in the footer of every issue: the sender's name, the physical postal address, an unsubscribe link that works without logging in, and, if the recipient has not opted in, a statement that the message is an advertisement.

Penalties

According to the FTC, each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $53,088. The amount is adjusted for inflation, and more than one person may be held responsible for the same email.