Email compliance refers to adhering to the legal and technical requirements governing commercial email in the jurisdictions where your subscribers are located. The primary regulations are CAN-SPAM (United States, 2003), CASL (Canada, 2014 — the most stringent consent-based framework), GDPR (European Union, 2018, requiring explicit opt-in consent), and PECR (United Kingdom). All major email compliance frameworks share common requirements: a valid physical mailing address in the message, a clearly visible and functional unsubscribe mechanism, accurate sender identification (a From address that does not deceive recipients), and honoring unsubscribe requests within 10 business days (CAN-SPAM) or 10 days (CASL). GDPR and CASL additionally require proof of prior consent — you cannot legally send marketing email to contacts who have not affirmatively opted in. Non-compliance penalties range from $200 per violation (CASL) to $51,744 per individual email (CAN-SPAM maximum civil penalty).
Glossary entry
