Website & Digital United States

CAN-SPAM & TCPA Email and Text Marketing Check

CAN-SPAM and TCPA compliance check for US email and SMS marketing: opt-outs, consent for texts and calls, Do Not Call rules and FTC penalties.

Start free check 11 questions · 7 minutes · No signup

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Did you know? The numbers behind this check.

10 business daysOpt-out must be honored within
$500–$1,500TCPA damages per message
Over $50,000CAN-SPAM penalty per email
8am–9pm recipient's timeCalling hours allowed

Why this matters.

If you send marketing emails or texts to people in the US, two federal laws apply. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. §§7701–7713) and the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 316) cover every commercial email, including business-to-business messages. You must not use false or misleading header or subject lines, you must identify the message as an ad, include a valid physical postal address, and give a clear way to opt out that you honor within 10 business days. Each separate email that breaks the rules can lead to a civil penalty of more than $50,000, and both the company whose product is promoted and the company that sends the email can be liable.

Texts and calls are stricter. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 U.S.C. §227) and the FCC’s rules at 47 C.F.R. §64.1200 generally require prior express written consent before you send marketing texts or make marketing calls using an autodialer or prerecorded voice, and ban marketing calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry unless an exemption applies. People can sue directly for $500 per message, rising to $1,500 if the violation was willful or knowing, and TCPA class actions are among the most common lawsuits filed against small businesses. Many states, including Florida and Oklahoma, have their own “mini-TCPA” laws on top. This check shows where your email and SMS marketing stands.

Have these to hand.

A recent marketing email and marketing text you have sent
How you collect email addresses and phone numbers (sign-up forms, checkout, events)
Your email or SMS platform and how it handles unsubscribes
Whether you use a marketing agency, affiliates or lead lists

What you’ll get.

1A score out of 100Where you stand today, at a glance.
2Findings ranked by riskWhat could cost you, highest risk first.
3A plan with timeframesWhat to fix first and by when.

Use this free tool to check whether your marketing emails meet the CAN-SPAM Act, whether your texts and calls have the consent the TCPA requires, and what to fix before it turns into a lawsuit.