- The law
- Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) section 7(2) no. 3(c) and 7(3) no. 4; GDPR articles 7(3) and 21
- Who enforces it
- No single regulator: competitors and associations enforce the UWG through the courts, and the federal states' data protection authorities enforce the GDPR
- Penalties
- No fixed fine under the UWG: competitors, trade and consumer associations can demand that you stop, by warning letter (Abmahnung) and court injunction, with costs. Data protection authorities can also act under the GDPR
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
- Advertising by email is always an unreasonable nuisance if there is no valid address where the recipient can ask for such messages to stop, without costs other than transmission at basic rates.
- For emails sent under the existing-customer exception, the customer must be told clearly, when the address is collected and in every email, that they can object at any time.
- Once someone objects, the existing-customer exception no longer covers them, and consent they gave has been withdrawn.
- Under GDPR article 21, people can object to direct marketing at any time, and their data must then no longer be used for it.
Do
- Put a working unsubscribe link in every marketing email, and test it before sign-off.
- Include a sentence in every email to existing customers saying they can object at any time.
- Suppress people who object across every list and tool, straight away.
- Make withdrawing consent as easy as giving it (GDPR article 7(3)).
- Let people unsubscribe in one step, without a compulsory "why are you leaving?" question.
Don't
- Don't charge for opting out or route people to a paid phone line.
- Don't make people log in or confirm by post to unsubscribe.
- Don't keep emailing someone who has objected because they are on another list.
- Don't ignore an objection that arrives as a reply to an email: the authorities say an objection to marketing can reach you in any way.
Good to know
- The authorities say an opt-out made through a link in an email or a setting in a customer account must be acted on straight away. Every email after an objection is advertising without consent.
Sources
- Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), section 7 (Federal Ministry of Justice, gesetze-im-internet.de)
- GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), articles 7(3) and 21 (EUR-Lex)
- Guidance of the supervisory authorities on direct marketing under the GDPR, February 2022 (Datenschutzkonferenz), sections 3.7, 5.3 and 5.4
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.