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U.S. COMMERCIAL EMAIL / MESSAGE EVIDENCE / OPERATIONSCompliance is a system,
Compliance is a system,
not a checkbox score.
Separate visible message evidence from operational facts the browser cannot verify, then hand counsel and operators a reviewable record.
- Commercial + mixed-purpose
- Evidence + attestations
- Local browser review
EVIDENCE ASSEMBLED
The configured readiness record is complete.
Proceed to qualified legal review, compiled-message QA, endpoint testing, and production control verification.
15of 15applicable items evidenced
Readiness review—not legal advice or a compliance certificate.
The page can inspect supplied content and record operator claims. It cannot verify truth, endpoint behavior, suppression operations, recipient location, other applicable laws, or how a regulator or court would evaluate the facts.
OPERATIONAL ATTESTATIONS
The facts an HTML scanner cannot prove.
Header and routing information is accurate
From, To, Reply-To, originating domain, and routing identify the initiator.
Subject accurately reflects the message
The overall impression is not deceptive or materially misleading.
Postal address is valid and current
Street address, registered USPS PO Box, or qualifying registered private mailbox.
Opt-out mechanism works for at least 30 days
Measured from transmission of the message.
Opt-out is free and procedurally simple
No fee, no extra personal information, and no step beyond reply email or one webpage.
Requests are honored within 10 business days
Marketing stops within the statutory period.
Suppressed addresses are protected
No further marketing and no sale or transfer except permitted compliance support.
Vendors and promoted businesses are monitored
Responsibility is not treated as outsourced to an ESP or agency.
REQUIREMENT LEDGER
Every conclusion keeps its basis attached.
Sender identity is supplied in the review
CAN-SPAM prohibits materially false or misleading header information. Presence alone does not establish truth.
Northstar <updates@northstar.example>Header and routing information is accurate
This fact cannot be proven from editable display fields or body content.
Operator attestation covering From, To, Reply-To, originating domain, and routing information. Current response: yes.A subject line is supplied
The supplied subject can be reviewed alongside the complete message.
Save 20% on your annual plan through July 31Subject accurately reflects the message
A phrase scanner cannot determine whether the subject is deceptive in the real offer and recipient context.
Operator attestation covering the subject and complete message impression. Current response: yes.Primary purpose is classified
Full commercial-message review is applied.
Operator selected: commercial.Advertisement or solicitation identification
The statute provides an affirmative-consent exception to advertisement identification, not to every commercial-email obligation.
Prior affirmative consent claimed; statutory advertisement-identification exception may apply.Expected physical postal address appears in the message
Commercial email must include a valid physical postal address. Matching text does not prove validity.
Northstar, 100 Market Street, Boston, MA 02110Postal address is valid and current
The browser does not query postal records or determine whether a private mailbox qualifies.
Operator attestation for address validity and registration status where applicable. Current response: yes.Recognizable opt-out mechanism appears in the message
A link match does not prove the endpoint works or permits stopping all commercial email from the sender.
https://northstar.example/unsubscribe → https://northstar.example/unsubscribeOpt-out language is recognizable in the supplied message
Visual conspicuousness still depends on the final rendered message, color, size, placement, and surrounding content.
https://northstar.example/unsubscribeMechanism receives requests for at least 30 days
A pre-send page fetch could not guarantee future availability, so the tool records process evidence instead.
Operator attestation for post-send endpoint availability. Current response: yes.Opt-out is free and procedurally simple
The process cannot condition honoring the request on a fee, extra identifying data, or more than reply email or one webpage.
Operator attestation covering fees, data requests, authentication, and required steps. Current response: yes.Opt-out requests are honored within 10 business days
This needs system logs and operational controls, not copy analysis.
Operator attestation for suppression timing across production sending systems. Current response: yes.Suppressed addresses are protected from prohibited use
After an opt-out, the address generally cannot be sold or transferred except for permitted compliance support.
Operator attestation for further sends and sale or transfer controls. Current response: yes.Third-party senders and promoted businesses are monitored
The FTC warns that responsibility cannot simply be contracted away.
Operator attestation for ESP, agency, affiliate, and promoted-business oversight. Current response: yes.REVIEW HANDOFF
Export inputs, observations, attestations, requirements, limitations, and source links.
PRIMARY PURPOSE CONTROLS SCOPE
CAN-SPAM covers commercial email, not only bulk campaigns.
The FTC describes a commercial message as one whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service. Business-to-business email is not categorically exempt. Transactional or relationship messages receive different treatment, but the statutory categories are narrow.
This checker makes the operator choose commercial, transactional, mixed, or unsure. “Transactional” does not simply mean the recipient has an account. The message must fit a recognized function such as completing an agreed transaction, providing safety or warranty information, updating an ongoing account relationship, giving employment-benefit information, or delivering something already agreed to.
Full commercial-message review applies.
False or misleading transmission information remains prohibited.
Subject and placement of transactional content matter.
VISIBLE MESSAGE EVIDENCE
Accurate identity and clear recipient choices belong in the artifact.
Commercial messages need accurate header and routing information, a subject that is not deceptive, applicable advertisement identification, a valid physical postal address, and clear notice and mechanism for opting out of future commercial messages from the sender.
A parser can confirm that an address-shaped string or unsubscribe link is present. It cannot confirm that the postal address is valid, that a domain identifies the true initiator, that the subject accurately represents the complete offer, or that the link performs the promised action.
Presence is evidence. Truth and operation still require accountable human and system review.
THE WORK CONTINUES AFTER SEND
An unsubscribe link is only the visible edge of the control.
- 01Make the opportunity conspicuous.
Use language an ordinary recipient can recognize, read, and understand.
- 02Offer a qualifying mechanism.
A return email address or other easy internet-based method must support stopping all commercial messages from the sender.
- 03Keep it available.
The offered mechanism must be capable of receiving requests for at least 30 days after transmission.
- 04Do not add prohibited friction.
No fee, no identifying information beyond an email address, and no required step beyond reply email or one webpage.
- 05Honor requests within 10 business days.
Connect every sender, list, workflow, retry, import, and vendor to the suppression decision.
- 06Protect the suppressed address.
Do not sell or transfer it except as permitted for compliance support.
DUAL-PURPOSE MESSAGES
A receipt does not turn every promotion into transactional email.
For a message containing commercial and transactional or relationship content, the FTC explains that the subject line and placement of content help determine primary purpose. If the subject would lead a reasonable recipient to expect advertising, the message is commercial. When the subject is not determinative, transactional or relationship content must appear mainly at the beginning for the message to be treated as transactional.
Order details appear first; any promotion is secondary.
A receipt below the offer does not erase the promotional subject and lead.
JURISDICTION AND FACTS
Passing a U.S. readiness review does not settle global email law.
Recipient location, sender location, targeting, sector, message purpose, consent, privacy processing, and other facts can trigger additional rules. This page does not determine whether GDPR, PECR, CASL, state privacy law, consumer-protection law, contract terms, or industry rules apply.
It also cannot establish affirmative consent, age, record retention, list provenance, deceptive overall impression, sexually oriented material rules, address harvesting, dictionary attacks, or unauthorized access. Qualified legal review should cover the actual program and jurisdictions.
COMMON QUESTIONS
CAN-SPAM readiness checker FAQ.
Does CAN-SPAM require opt-in consent for every commercial email?+
CAN-SPAM generally uses an opt-out framework, but other laws, platform policies, contracts, and recipient jurisdictions may require consent. Advertisement identification also has a statutory affirmative-consent exception.
Is a monitored Reply-To always a CAN-SPAM requirement?+
The law addresses accurate header and routing information and requires a qualifying opt-out mechanism. A conventional monitored Reply-To is useful evidence and can support reply-based opt-out, but this tool does not mislabel it as a standalone universal statutory checkbox.
Does a List-Unsubscribe header replace the body notice?+
Do not assume so. CAN-SPAM requires clear and conspicuous notice and a qualifying mechanism in the commercial message. Provider one-click requirements and RFC 8058 are related but separate operational layers.
Can members still unsubscribe from marketing?+
Yes. A subscription or membership does not eliminate the right to opt out of commercial messages. Classify the primary purpose of each message.
Is the promoted company responsible when an agency sends?+
The FTC warns that legal responsibility cannot simply be contracted away; both the promoted company and the sender can face responsibility depending on the facts.
PRIMARY SOURCES
BUILD CONTROLS INTO THE SEND
Make recipient choice operational.
Keep identity, consent, unsubscribe, suppression, and delivery evidence connected to every campaign.
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