- The law
- German Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG) sections 5, 6 and 33; Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) section 7(2) no. 3
- Who enforces it
- No single regulator: competitors and associations enforce the UWG through the courts; fines under the DDG are imposed by the authorities
- Penalties
- Up to €300,000 for intentionally disguising the sender or the commercial nature of an email in its header or subject line; up to €50,000 for a missing or incomplete Impressum
What’s changed (2026/27 edition). Germany is new to Mailfois's email rules in the 2026/27 edition.
What it means for your email
- Commercial communications must be clearly recognisable as such, and the person or company they are sent for must be clearly identifiable.
- In an email's header (from name and address) and subject line, neither the sender nor the commercial nature may be disguised or concealed. That means deliberately designing them so the recipient gets no information, or misleading information, before opening it.
- Offers such as discounts, extras and gifts must be clearly recognisable, with their conditions easy to find and clearly stated. The same goes for prize draws and competitions.
- Advertising by email is also an unreasonable nuisance under the UWG if it hides who it is sent for, or asks the recipient to visit a website whose own commercial communications break these labelling rules.
- Your website must carry an Impressum: your name and address, legal form and representative for a company, 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.
Do
- Use a from name and address that clearly name the brand.
- Write subject lines that don't pretend to be personal or service messages when they are marketing.
- Label offers and prize draws, and link to their terms.
- Link to your Impressum from every email footer (good practice: the law requires it on your website), and keep it complete.
Don't
- Don't use a subject line like "Your order" or "Re:" on a marketing email.
- Don't send from a name designed to hide who's behind the email.
- Don't link to a site with no Impressum.
Good to know
- Older guidance refers to these rules as sections 5 and 6 of the Telemedia Act (TMG), which the DDG replaced.
Sources
- Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG), section 5 (Federal Ministry of Justice, gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG), section 6 (Federal Ministry of Justice, gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG), section 33 (Federal Ministry of Justice, gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), section 7 (Federal Ministry of Justice, gesetze-im-internet.de)
Researched by Mailfois · 2026/27 edition · checked 20 October 2026
Not legal advice. This is a plain-English summary. Check the sources for anything specific, or take professional advice. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we'll credit you if you'd like.