Newsletter legal requirements and the unsubscribe link — what every message must contain, by country
A marketing email must contain three things: an identifiable sender, a message recognisable as marketing and an address where the recipient can ask for the messages to stop. The laws of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands require all three in every message. In Norway, an opt-out in every message is written into the law for messages sent on the basis of a customer relationship. Gmail’s one-click unsubscribe is a different matter: it is Google’s condition for senders of more than 5,000 messages a day, not law.
A newsletter footer is not decoration. The laws of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands list what every marketing email must contain, and the list is almost the same in every country. This page is read directly from the laws, the authorities’ own guidance and Google’s and Yahoo’s sender guidelines, and every claim links to its source.
The short answer
Every marketing email must contain three things: the sender on whose behalf it is sent, recognisability as marketing, and a valid address where the recipient can ask for the messages to stop. The laws of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands say this directly, even when the recipient has given consent. The Norwegian law says the same about the opt-out for messages sent on the basis of a customer relationship, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. On top of the law, Gmail’s and Yahoo’s one-click unsubscribe is the mailbox providers’ own condition for large senders, not law.
Mandatory content by country
| Country | Sender identifiable | Identifiable as marketing | Opt-out address in every message | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | Yes | Yes, on receipt | Yes | Act 917/2014, sections 202 and 203 |
| Sweden | Yes | Yes | Yes, “alltid” | Marketing Act, sections 9 and 20 |
| Norway | Yes | For unsolicited messages, on receipt | In customer relationship messages; the guidance’s example is a link in every email | E-Commerce Act, section 9; Marketing Control Act, section 15 |
| Denmark | Yes | Yes | Yes | Marketing Practices Act, section 10(3) |
| Germany | Yes, including in the header | Yes, including in the subject line | Yes | UWG, section 7; DDG, section 6 |
| Netherlands | Yes, “werkelijke identiteit” | Yes | Yes | Telecommunications Act, article 11.7; Civil Code, article 3:15e |
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Sources linked below by country, read on 25 September 2026 (Denmark 13 September 2026). In every country, Article 7(3) of the GDPR also applies: “It shall be as easy to withdraw as to give consent.”
Finland: three requirements in one section
Section 203 of the Act on Electronic Communications Services contains all three. The message must be clearly and unambiguously identifiable as marketing when it is received. It is prohibited to send a message that disguises or conceals the identity of the sender on whose behalf it is sent, or a message without a valid address to which the recipient can send a request for such communications to stop. For messages to businesses, section 202 adds that opting out must be possible with every message, easily and without separate charge, and that the sender must clearly inform the recipient of the option. Consent and the customer relationship exception are covered in our guide to email marketing and GDPR.
Sweden: an opt-out address always, businesses included
Section 9 of the Swedish Marketing Act covers all marketing: it must be clear that it is marketing, and “det ska också tydligt framgå vem som svarar för marknadsföringen” — it must also be clear who is responsible for the marketing. Email is governed by section 20: a message must “alltid” — always — contain a valid address where the recipient can send a request for the marketing to stop, and according to the section this “gäller även vid marknadsföring till en juridisk person” — also applies to marketing to a legal person.
Norway: sender and marketing label from the E-Commerce Act
In Norway, identifiability comes from section 9 of the E-Commerce Act: “Ved elektronisk markedsføring skal det fremgå klart hvem markedsføringen skjer på vegne av” — in electronic marketing it must be clear on whose behalf it is carried out — and an email must make clear that it contains marketing “idet meldingene mottas” — as the messages are received. On the wording of the section, the marketing label applies to unsolicited marketing. Section 15 of the Marketing Control Act covers the opt-out in messages sent on the basis of a customer relationship, and according to Forbrukertilsynet’s guidance (point 3.3.3.4) the option must be offered “hver gang kunden mottar markedsføring” — every time the customer receives marketing. The guidance’s example is a “lenke i hver enkelt e-post” — a link in every single email — and it recommends that unsubscribing should not require logging in. For messages sent on the basis of consent, the guidance says the consumer must be able to withdraw consent “når som helst” — at any time.
Denmark: on whose behalf, and where to write
Section 10(3) of the Danish Marketing Practices Act lists the same three things: the marketing must be clearly identifiable, the message must state “på hvis vegne markedsføringen udsendes” — on whose behalf the marketing is sent — and it must contain an address the recipient can contact “for at få standset sådanne henvendelser” — to have such messages stopped.
Germany: sender and commercial nature visible in the subject line
Section 7 of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) treats as an unreasonable nuisance any advertising message in which the sender’s identity “verschleiert oder verheimlicht wird” — is disguised or concealed — or which has no “gültige Adresse”, a valid address, to which the recipient can send a request to stop without incurring costs other than basic transmission charges. Section 6 of the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG) is the only provision we read that names the header and the subject line: “in der Kopf- und in der Betreffzeile” neither the sender nor the commercial nature of the message may be concealed.
The Impressum obligation is in section 5 of the same Act. It applies to “digitale Dienste”, and the information must be “leicht erkennbar und unmittelbar erreichbar” — easily recognisable and directly accessible — and kept “ständig verfügbar”, constantly available. The wording of the section mentions neither email nor newsletters, and we found no provision in the laws we read that would require an Impressum in every message. We therefore claim neither that the obligation exists nor that it does not. The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection says directly that unsubscribing must not be “aufwendiger gestaltet … als den Newsletter zu abonnieren” — made more cumbersome than subscribing — and that the address must be deleted “grundsätzlich unverzüglich” — as a rule, without delay.
Netherlands: the real identity, “te allen tijde”
Under paragraph 6 of article 11.7 of the Dutch Telecommunications Act, a message must “te allen tijde” — at all times — state “de werkelijke identiteit van degene namens wie de communicatie wordt overgebracht” — the real identity of the party on whose behalf it is sent — and “een geldig postadres of nummer”, a valid address or number, to which the recipient can send a request to stop. The same paragraph refers to article 3:15e of the Civil Code, under which commercial communication must be “duidelijk als zodanig herkenbaar” — clearly recognisable as such. The Authority for Consumers and Markets, ACM, sums it up: “In elk bericht staat de mogelijkheid tot afmelden” — every message offers the option to unsubscribe — unsubscribing must be quick and free, and the sender must not use a “fantasienaam”, an invented name.
Gmail’s and Yahoo’s one-click unsubscribe
On top of the law, mailbox providers set their own conditions for delivering messages. Google’s sender guidelines apply to personal Gmail accounts: “If you send more than 5,000 message per day, your marketing and subscribed messages must support one-click unsubscribe.” According to the guide, two headers are added to the message, List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post. For all senders Google recommends: “Always give recipients an easy way to unsubscribe from your messages.”
Yahoo’s sender guidelines require bulk senders to have a one-click header, a “clearly visible unsubscribe link in the email body” and to process unsubscribes within two days. The guide does not give a threshold for a bulk sender. The other sender requirements, such as SPF, DKIM and the 0.3% spam rate limit, are covered in the sender requirements section of our main comparison, and the data protection angle in the GDPR guide.
What to do now
- Sender name and From address in your company’s name. All six laws require the sender to be identifiable. ACM’s guidance rules out an invented name.
- A subject line that does not disguise the offer. The German law prohibits concealing the commercial nature in the subject line, and the Finnish law requires the message to be identifiable as marketing on receipt.
- An unsubscribe option in every message. An address or link that works free of charge and without logging in, plus a short note that the recipient can opt out.
- A one-click header if you send a lot. It is mandatory if you send more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts. Check whether your email tool adds it automatically.
- Process unsubscribes straight away. Yahoo gives bulk senders two days. The laws we read have no threshold tied to list size, so the requirements also apply to a small list you send from a free plan with your own domain.