The CAN SPAM Act is the US federal law that sets rules for commercial email. Messages need accurate sender information and honest subject lines, must identify themselves as ads where required, must include a valid physical postal address and must give a working way to opt out, with opt outs honored within 10 business days.
Cold email and lead gentopic
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The US law for commercial email. Messages need honest sender details and subject lines, a physical postal address and a working way to opt out, and opt outs must be honored within 10 business days.
The law covers any email whose main purpose is to advertise or promote a product or service, and the FTC states plainly that it makes no exception for business to business email. An agency pitching its services to hiring managers is sending commercial email.
Messages that are mainly transactional or relationship based, such as an interview confirmation to a candidate who applied, are treated differently, though they still must not contain false or misleading routing information.
Opt out links must keep working for at least 30 days after sending, and you cannot charge a fee or ask for extra personal information to process one. Hiring an outreach vendor does not move responsibility off you. The FTC lists penalties of up to 53,088 dollars per violating email.
Why it matters to recruiters
Recruiters and agencies send large volumes of email to people who did not ask for it: hiring managers, passive candidates, past contacts. Following CAN SPAM keeps you on the right side of US law and also lines up with what inbox providers expect, which helps deliverability. Ignoring it risks fines and complaints.
An example from a recruiting desk
An agency's business development sequence goes to 400 HR leaders. The team adds its office address to the signature, uses an honest subject line about the specific role type and includes a simple line inviting readers to reply to opt out. Their tool suppresses anyone who opts out the same day, well inside the 10 business day limit.
Tips that help
Put a real physical postal address in every commercial email.
Give a simple opt out and suppress those contacts across every tool you use.
Write subject lines that match what the email actually says.
Check that any vendor sending for you follows the same rules.
Mistakes to avoid
Assuming B2B outreach is exempt because it goes to work addresses.
Honoring an opt out in one tool but emailing the same person from another.
Which tools help?
A few of the outreach tools in our directory, including our picks. Prices are the published starting price on the date we last checked.
It applies to commercial emails, such as an agency promoting its services or a message mainly advertising a job opportunity. Transactional messages to applicants are treated differently. When in doubt, follow the rules anyway. This is not legal advice.
Do I need consent before sending cold email in the US?
CAN SPAM does not require prior consent for commercial email. It requires honest content, a postal address and a working opt out. Other countries, such as those in the EU and Canada, have stricter consent rules.
How fast must I honor an unsubscribe request?
Within 10 business days under CAN SPAM. Separately, Gmail and Yahoo expect bulk senders to process unsubscribes within two days, so faster handling is better for deliverability.
