What the Law Requires
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing) applies to any electronic message whose primary purpose is commercial. It covers B2B and B2C email alike.
- No deceptive subject lines Your subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
- Identify the message as an ad If your message is an advertisement, you must disclose that clearly and conspicuously.
- Include your physical address Every commercial email must contain your valid physical postal address (street, P.O. box, or registered commercial mail receiving agency).
- Provide a clear opt-out mechanism Recipients must be able to unsubscribe easily. The opt-out must be clearly presented in every email.
- Honor opt-out requests within 10 days Once someone unsubscribes, you have 10 business days to stop sending them email. You cannot charge a fee or require any information beyond an email address.
- Accurate "From" and routing information The "From," "To," and "Reply-To" fields and routing information must be accurate and identify the sender.
- Monitor third-party compliance If you hire a company to handle your email marketing, you are still legally responsible for compliance.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
The FTC, state attorneys general, and ISPs can all bring enforcement actions. Penalties are assessed per email, meaning a single campaign sent to thousands of recipients can result in millions of dollars in fines.
Beyond fines, CAN-SPAM violations damage your sender reputation permanently. Major providers share blocklists, so getting flagged by one can cascade across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and more.
How SpamAnalyzer Helps
SpamAnalyzer checks your emails against CAN-SPAM requirements before you send. Our AI detects deceptive subject lines, missing unsubscribe links, absent physical addresses, and other compliance gaps — giving you specific, actionable fixes.
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