Email authentication and deliverability
CAN-SPAM Act
The US law for commercial email: honest headers and subjects, a postal address, a working opt-out and honoring it within 10 business days.
CAN-SPAM covers every commercial message, B2B included, and the company whose product is promoted stays responsible even when an agency sends it. The FTC compliance guide lists the rules: no misleading From or subject lines, the message identified as an ad, a valid physical postal address, a clear way to opt out that works for at least 30 days after sending, and opt-outs honored within 10 business days. Penalties are counted per email. It does not require prior consent the way EU rules do, but Gmail and Yahoo bulk-sender rules go further anyway.
Related terms
- One-click unsubscribe (RFC 8058): A standard way for mail apps to unsubscribe a reader with one POST request, required by Gmail and Yahoo for bulk senders since 2024.
- Suppression list: Addresses you must never email again: unsubscribes, hard bounces and spam complaints, checked before every send.
- List-Unsubscribe header: An email header (RFC 2369) with a mailto or web address that mail apps use to show their own Unsubscribe button.
