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CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is the US federal law on commercial email, and it covers cold email between businesses too. Each message needs an honest sender and subject line, a statement that it is an ad, a postal address and a way to opt out that is honored within 10 business days.

Updated October 2026 · 4 min read · GetSales team

What the CAN-SPAM Act covers

CAN-SPAM covers commercial email: any message whose primary purpose is to advertise or promote a product or service. The FTC says email between businesses gets no exception, so a cold email to a work address is covered like any other promotion.1

The primary purpose decides it. A message with only transactional or relationship content, such as a receipt or a note about an account someone already has, is largely exempt. A message that mixes both counts as commercial when a reader of the subject line would expect an ad, or when the transactional part does not come first.1

What every commercial email must carry

  • An honest header. The From name, the reply-to address and the routing details are accurate and name the business behind it.
  • A subject line that matches the message. It has to reflect what the email is about.
  • A clear statement that it is an ad. The wording is up to you, as long as it is clear and easy to see.
  • Your postal address. A street address, a post office box registered with the US Postal Service, or a registered private mailbox.
  • A way to opt out. Plainly explained and easy to use: a reply or one web page, no fee, and nothing asked beyond the email address.

Hiring an agency to send for you does not move the duty. The company whose product the email promotes and the company that sends it can both be held responsible.1

Opt-outs and penalties

The opt-out has to keep working for at least 30 days after you send, and a request has to be honored within 10 business days. Once someone opts out, you may not sell or pass on their address, except to a company you hired to help you comply. Each email that breaks the law can draw a penalty of up to $53,088.1

None of these requirements asks for permission before the first email. Other countries set their own rules, and some ask for consent first, even for a work address. Check each country you write to.

Gmail adds a rule of its own for large senders. Since 1 February 2024, a sender of 5,000 or more messages a day to personal Gmail accounts has to support one-click unsubscribe in marketing messages and show an unsubscribe link in the body.2

How to handle opt-outs in outbound

Keep one do-not-contact list that every sender and every campaign checks, and add each opt-out the day it arrives. In GetSales that list is the stoplist. Your stoplist covers every table and every workflow, and people on it are marked and never contacted. When the AI SDR works a thread, a reply it labels Do not contact puts the person on your stoplist, a step no team can switch off.

Sources

  1. Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business, August 2023, edited January 2024. Read 28 October 2026.
  2. Google, Email sender guidelines, requirements in force since 1 February 2024. Read 28 October 2026.

Last updated: October 2026

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