How it worksPricingLog InSign Up Free
Email complianceReviewed September 7, 2026

Email compliance

Email compliance combines laws governing commercial messages, mailbox-provider sender requirements, and protocols used to authenticate mail and process unsubscribes.

Terms in this channel

Who this applies to#

  • The cited rules apply to commercial email and to senders reaching personal Gmail or Yahoo recipients, with scope that varies by authority and provider

What Email compliance requires#

  • Commercial email needs accurate routing and subjects, sender identification, a postal address, and a working opt-out process under the cited US guidance
  • Gmail and Yahoo publish additional authentication and unsubscribe requirements for bulk senders reaching their recipients
Audit structure

Separate legal obligations, mailbox-provider rules, and protocol mechanics before deciding which requirement applies

What this does not require#

  • Gmail's minimum bulk-sender DMARC rule permits p=none, so it does not require a quarantine or reject policy at that minimum

Common mistakes#

  1. Treating one provider's sender guidance as a worldwide email law
  2. Treating authentication, unsubscribe handling, and inbox placement as one test

Email compliance checklist#

  • Identify the law and recipient geography that apply
  • Check the current rules for every mailbox provider you send to at scale
  • Verify authentication, unsubscribe handling, and suppression separately

OnVoard's take#

Build the audit in layers. Keep those layers separate. Start with law, add each mailbox provider's current rules, then test the protocols and operational controls that satisfy them.

Official sources#