Is cold email illegal?

Cold emailing is legal - but only if you do it right.

Here’s the truth: regulations like CAN-SPAM (U.S.), GDPR (EU), and CASL (Canada) don’t ban cold outreach outright. What they do is set clear rules to protect recipients and penalize lazy, spammy senders.

🇺🇸 Cold Emailing and CAN-SPAM (U.S.)

The CAN-SPAM Act is surprisingly business-friendly. It doesn’t require prior consent to contact someone via email - which makes cold outreach legal in the U.S.

But don’t mistake freedom for a free-for-all. The law requires:

• Accurate sender info: No misleading “From,” “To,” or subject lines.

• Identification: You must clearly state who you are and that it’s a commercial message.

• Unsubscribe option: Every email must include a clear way to opt out - and you’re legally obligated to honor it within 10 business days.

• Physical address: You need to include a valid physical postal address.

If you violate these? You’re looking at fines up to $51,744 per email. That’s not a typo.

TL;DR: Cold email is legal in the U.S., but sloppy outreach can get expensive fast.

🇪🇺 Cold Emailing and GDPR (EU)

GDPR gets a bad rap in sales circles, but here’s the deal:
Cold emailing is legal in the EU - but with stricter guidelines.

The law protects personal data. If you're sending to someone's work email and have a valid reason (like offering a relevant B2B solution), you can legally reach out without prior consent - if you:

• Prove legitimate interest: You must demonstrate that your outreach is relevant and beneficial to the recipient’s role.

• Only use publicly available data: Scraping personal email addresses from non-public sources is a big no.

• Offer a clear opt-out: And honor it immediately.

• Document your intent: Always be able to explain why you contacted someone and where you got their info.

In short, GDPR doesn’t ban cold outreach. It bans careless, irrelevant, and creepy outreach.

🇨🇦 Cold Emailing and CASL (Canada)

CASL is the most aggressive anti-spam law on the planet.
It leans heavily toward opt-in only, and enforcement is serious - penalties can reach $10 million per violation.

That said, there are some exceptions. You might be allowed to send a cold email without express consent if:

• The recipient’s email is publicly available, without a “do not contact” note.

• You’re reaching out with a business-relevant message.

• You include a working unsubscribe link and your physical mailing address.

• You don’t use deceptive subject lines or headers.

Still, CASL is a legal minefield. If your prospects are in Canada, proceed with caution, and make sure you understand what counts as “implied consent” - or just avoid it altogether unless you’re absolutely certain.

Pro tip: cover your bases

Compliance is step one. Deliverability is step two. Use tools like:

• ✅ Inbox Placement Test - spot issues before they tank your campaigns

• ✅ Spam Checker - avoid spam words and risky formatting

• ✅ Warmforge - properly warm up new inboxes before sending anything cold