Under the CAN-SPAM Act, if we send a commercial email solicitation from our loan department and a customer opts out from future emails, can we notify the customer that their opt out applies only to the loan department and continue to send messages from other departments?

Yes, you may give customers the opportunity to opt out of messages from just one department, provided you also include the option to stop all commercial messages from your bank.

The Federal Trade Commission, the agency charged with issuing regulations for implementing the CAN–SPAM Act, permits commercial email senders to create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, provided the sender also includes the option to stop all commercial messages. You may include all opt-out options in the text of your commercial emails, or you may direct email recipients to a single webpage that identifies their opt-out options.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (“Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that’s easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn’t block these opt-out requests.”)
  • 16 CFR  316.5 (Prohibiting a sender from requiring a recipient take any other steps except sending a reply electronic mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page in order to opt out of future emails.)