CAN-SPAM Act Compliance

The CAN-SPAM Act establishes requirements for commercial email messages and gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them. MXM Intent helps businesses comply with these regulations through our platform features and best practices.

1. Accurate Header Information

Your "From," "To," "Reply-To," and routing information—including the originating domain name and email address—must be accurate and clearly identify the person or business sending the message. Header information must not be false or misleading.

2. Truthful Subject Lines

Subject lines must accurately reflect the content of your message. Deceptive subject lines are prohibited and can result in significant penalties.

3. Clear Identification as Advertisement

Commercial messages must be clearly and conspicuously identified as advertisements. While the law provides flexibility in how this is done, the disclosure must be obvious to recipients.

4. Valid Physical Address

Every commercial email must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail receiving agency.

5. Clear Opt-Out Mechanism

Messages must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how recipients can opt out of receiving future emails from you. The opt-out method must be easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. You may offer options to opt out of certain types of messages, but must include the option to stop all commercial messages.

6. Honor Opt-Out Requests Promptly

Your opt-out mechanism must be able to process requests for at least 30 days after sending your message. You must honor opt-out requests within 10 business days. You cannot charge a fee, require personally identifying information beyond an email address, or require any steps other than a reply email or visiting a single webpage. Once someone opts out, you cannot sell or transfer their email address.

7. Monitor Third-Party Activities

If you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you remain legally responsible for compliance. Both the company whose product is promoted and the company that sends the message may be held legally responsible for violations.

The CAN-SPAM Act distinguishes between three types of email content:

Commercial Content

Content that advertises or promotes a commercial product or service, including content on a website operated for commercial purposes. These emails must comply with all CAN-SPAM requirements.

Transactional or Relationship Content

Content that facilitates an already agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer about an ongoing transaction. These emails are exempt from most CAN-SPAM provisions but may not contain false or misleading routing information.

Other Content

Content that is neither commercial nor transactional or relationship-based.

Does the CAN-SPAM Act require opt-in consent?

No, the CAN-SPAM Act does not require recipients to opt-in before sending commercial email. However, you must honor opt-out requests promptly and comply with all other requirements.

Does the Act only apply to bulk email?

No, the CAN-SPAM Act applies to all commercial emails, regardless of volume. Some provisions also apply to transactional or relationship emails.

Who is considered the sender?

Generally, the sender is "a person who initiates such a message and whose product, service, or Internet website is advertised or promoted by the message."

Who is considered the recipient?

The recipient is an authorized user of the email address to which the message was sent or delivered. If a recipient has multiple email addresses, they are treated as a separate recipient for each address. If an email address is reassigned, the new user is not considered a recipient of messages sent before reassignment.

MXM Intent provides tools and features designed to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, including opt-out management, address validation, and compliance monitoring. However, ultimate responsibility for compliance rests with you as the sender.

For specific legal advice about your email marketing practices, please consult with qualified legal counsel. The CAN-SPAM Act is complex, and this information does not cover all requirements or scenarios.