Mailfois
Guides / German email marketing law
Guide

German email marketing law: the UWG, double opt-in and the Impressum

Germany needs express consent from consumers and businesses alike, expects double opt-in to prove it, and lets competitors enforce the rules. Here’s what every marketing email to Germany needs.

By Liam Kane

Not legal advice. This is a general, plain-English overview for email marketers sending to Germany, current as of 2026. It isn't legal advice and doesn't cover every situation. For the authoritative rules, see the Act against Unfair Competition and the data protection authorities' guidance, or take professional advice.

The short version

Germany is one of the strictest places in Europe to send marketing email. The rules come from the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), the German Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG) and the GDPR. It comes down to five things:

  • Express consent first, for consumers and businesses.
  • Double opt-in to prove it: the authorities expect it for every sign-up made online.
  • One narrow exception for existing customers, with four strict conditions.
  • No disguises: the sender and the commercial nature of an email must be clear from the from line and subject line, and your website needs a full Impressum.
  • A working opt-out in every email.

What makes Germany different in practice is who enforces it. Competitors and associations can send you a warning letter (Abmahnung) and take you to court, so one annoyed recipient or rival can cost real money.

Section 7(2) no. 2 of the UWG says advertising by email without the recipient's prior express consent is always an unreasonable nuisance. It applies to every recipient: there's no general exception for business addresses, unlike the UK and Ireland. A B2B newsletter to German companies needs consent just as a consumer one does.

Consent has to be clear and specific: no pre-ticked boxes, no consent buried in terms, no "by signing up you agree to marketing".

Double opt-in: how you prove it

The German data protection authorities' joint guidance on direct marketing (February 2022) says that for consent given electronically, the double opt-in procedure is required to verify it, logged to the standard the Federal Court of Justice set in its judgment of 10 February 2011 (I ZR 164/09):

  • After someone signs up, send a confirmation email. Add them to your list only once they click to confirm.
  • Keep a complete record of each person's consent, including the wording they agreed to, stored so you can produce or print it at any time.
  • Storing an IP address and saying consent came from it is not enough.
  • Keep the confirmation email to the confirmation request. Adding offers to it risks it being treated as advertising sent without consent.

The existing-customer exception

Section 7(3) lets you email an existing customer without consent, but only if all four conditions are met:

  1. You got their email address from them, in connection with the sale of goods or services.
  2. You use it for direct advertising of your own similar goods or services.
  3. The customer hasn't objected.
  4. The customer was told clearly, when you collected the address and in every email, that they can object at any time, at no cost beyond basic transmission costs.

Unlike Ireland, there's no fixed 12-month limit, but the authorities say the longer it has been since the last purchase or contact, the harder it is to justify emailing. They add that you must be able to show an address really is a customer's, and that the purpose was explained when you collected it.

What every email must include

  • A clear sender and a clear purpose. The DDG says the from line and subject line must not disguise or conceal the sender or the commercial nature of the email. Intentionally doing so can be fined up to €300,000.
  • Labelled offers and prize draws. Discounts, gifts and competitions must be clearly recognisable as such, with their terms easy to find.
  • A valid opt-out address where people can ask you to stop, at no cost beyond basic transmission.
  • A clear route to your Impressum. The law requires a full Impressum on your website: your name and address, legal form and representative, a fast electronic contact including an email address, your register and registration number if you're registered, your VAT number if you have one, and extra details for licensed or regulated professions. A missing or incomplete Impressum can be fined up to €50,000. Linking to it from every email footer is good practice.

Unsubscribes

  • A working unsubscribe link in every email, free and without logging in.
  • For existing customers, a sentence in every email saying they can object at any time.
  • The authorities say an opt-out made through a link in an email must be acted on straight away. Every email after an objection is advertising without consent.
  • An objection can reach you any way at all, including a reply to an email.

Enforcement: warning letters, injunctions and fines

The UWG itself sets no fine for unwanted email. Instead, section 8 lets competitors, qualified trade and consumer associations, and chambers demand that you stop, through a warning letter and, if needed, a court injunction, with the costs. Separately:

  • the authorities can fine breaches of the DDG's sender and Impressum rules (up to €300,000 and €50,000);
  • the data protection authority of your federal state can act under the GDPR.

How Germany differs from the UK and Ireland

  • Businesses need consent too. The UK and Ireland treat company addresses more loosely; Germany doesn't.
  • Double opt-in is the expected proof. Elsewhere it's best practice; in Germany the authorities say it's required for online sign-ups.
  • No time limit on the customer exception, unlike Ireland's 12 months, but a stricter reminder: an objection notice in every email.
  • The Impressum is a German legal requirement with its own fines.
  • Enforcement by competitors through warning letters, as well as by regulators.

A practical checklist for Germany

  • Double opt-in on every sign-up form, with the confirmation logged.
  • Consent records that show the wording, the time and the confirmation.
  • B2B lists treated like consumer lists: consent first.
  • Existing customers emailed only for your own similar products, with an objection notice in every email.
  • A from name and subject line that say who it's from and that it's marketing.
  • Offers and prize draws labelled, with their terms one click away.
  • A complete Impressum on the site, linked from every footer.
  • A free, working unsubscribe in every email, acted on promptly.

The pre-send checker flags a missing unsubscribe before you send, and Mailfois Upkeep can bring round a consent audit and the unsubscribe check on a schedule, with a record.

Frequently asked questions

The UWG requires prior express consent, and the German data protection authorities say double opt-in is required to verify consent given online. In practice, it's how you prove consent if challenged.

No. Section 7(2) no. 2 of the UWG requires prior express consent for email advertising to any recipient, businesses included, unless the existing-customer exception applies.

What is an Abmahnung?

A warning letter from a competitor, association or chamber demanding that you stop an unlawful practice, usually with a declaration to sign and costs to pay. If you don't comply, they can seek a court injunction.

Does the customer exception expire in Germany?

There's no fixed time limit, unlike Ireland's 12 months, but the authorities say the longer it has been since the last purchase or contact, the harder it is to justify emailing. The customer must not have objected, and every email must tell them they can object at any time.

Sources

Liam Kane

Liam Kane is an email and marketing automation specialist with over ten years in marketing and seven in email, planning and building campaigns on Marketo, Bloomreach and Silverpop. He founded Mailfois. More about Liam.

Everything you check before you send.

Open the pre-send checker