CAN-SPAM Email Marketing Compliance Checklist

Email Marketing Compliance Made Simple

Staying compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act doesn't have to be complicated. This CAN-SPAM Email Marketing Compliance Checklist helps marketing teams, agencies, and business owners systematically verify that their email campaigns meet federal requirements—protecting your brand reputation and avoiding penalties of up to $51,744 per violation.

Whether you're launching a new campaign, auditing existing email practices, or onboarding a new team member to your email marketing processes, this template provides a clear, structured approach to CAN-SPAM compliance verification.

Who This Template Is For

This compliance checklist is designed for:

• Marketing teams running email campaigns who need to verify compliance before hitting send
• Marketing agencies managing email marketing for multiple clients and requiring documented compliance processes
• eCommerce businesses sending promotional emails and transactional communications
• Small business owners who handle their own email marketing and want to avoid costly violations
• Compliance officers conducting periodic audits of marketing communications
• Email marketing managers establishing standard operating procedures for their teams

Key CAN-SPAM Requirements Covered

The CAN-SPAM Act establishes rules for commercial email and gives recipients the right to stop receiving emails. This checklist covers all major compliance areas:

Sender Identification: Verify that your "From," "To," and "Reply-To" fields accurately identify who's sending the message and that routing information is clear and accurate.

Subject Line Accuracy: Ensure subject lines accurately reflect the content of your email and aren't misleading or deceptive.

Clear Advertisement Identification: Confirm that your message is clearly identified as an advertisement when required.

Physical Address Requirement: Check that a valid physical postal address is included in every email.

Unsubscribe Mechanism: Verify that a clear, conspicuous opt-out method is present and functional, processes requests within 10 business days, and remains operational for at least 30 days after sending.

Post-Unsubscribe Compliance: Ensure you're honoring opt-out requests promptly and not selling or transferring email addresses of people who've unsubscribed.

Third-Party Compliance: If you're outsourcing email marketing, verify that your service providers also comply with CAN-SPAM requirements.

Why Digital Compliance Matters

Email remains one of the most effective marketing channels, but non-compliance can result in significant penalties. The FTC enforces CAN-SPAM with fines reaching over $50,000 per violation, and each separate email sent in violation can constitute a separate offense.

Beyond avoiding penalties, CAN-SPAM compliance:

• Builds trust with your audience by respecting their inbox and preferences
• Improves deliverability as compliant emails are less likely to be flagged as spam
• Protects brand reputation by demonstrating professional, ethical marketing practices
• Creates better customer experiences through clear, honest communication

How Paperform Streamlines Compliance Workflows

This template leverages Paperform's powerful features to make compliance verification effortless:

Structured Checklists: Use choice fields and yes/no questions to create systematic verification processes that nothing gets missed.

Conditional Logic: Show or hide follow-up questions based on compliance gaps, guiding teams to document issues and corrective actions.

Document Collection: Attach screenshots or sample emails directly to your compliance records for complete audit trails.

Automated Workflows with Stepper: Connect this form to Stepper to automatically route compliance failures to the appropriate team members, create tasks in project management tools, or log issues in your compliance tracking system.

Team Collaboration: Share the form across your marketing team to establish consistent compliance practices, whether you're an agency managing multiple brands or an in-house team running various campaigns.

Date Stamping & Records: Every submission is automatically timestamped, creating a compliance audit trail that demonstrates your due diligence.

Making Compliance a Team Habit

The best compliance strategy is prevention. By integrating this checklist into your pre-send workflow, you create a culture of compliance awareness across your marketing team. Use it during campaign planning, before scheduling sends, and during periodic audits of your email marketing practices.

For marketing agencies working with multiple clients, this template becomes even more valuable. You can customize it for each client's specific needs, maintain separate compliance records, and demonstrate to clients that you're protecting their interests with professional-grade compliance processes.

Seamless Integration with Your Marketing Stack

Paperform integrates with the tools you already use for email marketing and compliance management. Connect this checklist to your CRM, send compliance summaries to Slack, log issues in Asana or Monday, or push data to Google Sheets for compliance reporting—all without writing a single line of code.

For more complex workflows, Stepper acts as your AI-native automation layer, turning each compliance check into a trigger for the right next steps. Failed a compliance check? Stepper can automatically create a task for your copywriter, notify your compliance officer, and delay your scheduled send until corrections are verified.

Start Protecting Your Email Marketing Today

Don't let a simple oversight result in a massive penalty. This CAN-SPAM Email Marketing Compliance Checklist gives you a professional, systematic approach to regulatory compliance that protects your business while maintaining the effectiveness of your email marketing.

Get started with Paperform today and build email marketing compliance into every campaign you send.