Does CAN-SPAM require a physical address in transactional emails?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 26 Jul 2025
Updated 15 Aug 2025
8 min read
The question of whether transactional emails require a physical address under the CAN-SPAM Act is a common one that often leads to confusion. Many email senders operate under the assumption that if an email is purely transactional (e.g., a receipt, password reset, or shipping confirmation), it's entirely exempt from all email compliance regulations, including the need for a physical address.
While transactional emails do indeed enjoy certain exemptions from the CAN-SPAM Act, the devil is in the details, specifically in the wording most provisions. This phrase implies that not all rules are waived. Furthermore, email deliverability isn't solely governed by a single law like CAN-SPAM. Various international regulations and the expectations of mailbox providers also play a significant role.
Understanding these nuances is crucial for ensuring your critical transactional messages reach the inbox reliably and avoid being flagged as spam or falling afoul of compliance requirements. In this article, we'll delve into the specifics of the CAN-SPAM Act, explore the implications for transactional emails, and discuss best practices for maintaining strong deliverability.
The nuance of CAN-SPAM's primary purpose rule
The CAN-SPAM Act, enacted in 2003, primarily targets commercial electronic messages. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines a commercial email as any message where the primary purpose is the advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service. This distinction is key, as transactional or relationship messages are treated differently.
A transactional or relationship message, on the other hand, facilitates an already agreed-upon commercial transaction, provides warranty information, delivers product updates, or offers security alerts. Examples include order confirmations, shipping notifications, password resets, or statements regarding an account. These messages are generally exempt from many of CAN-SPAM's requirements, such as the unsubscribe mechanism or the clear identification as an advertisement.
Commercial email
The primary purpose is to promote or advertise a product, service, or commercial content. These emails typically aim to persuade recipients to make a purchase, subscribe, or engage in a sales-related action.
The primary purpose is to facilitate a transaction or provide information about an existing relationship. These emails are typically expected by the recipient and are directly relevant to their actions or account.
Examples: order confirmations, shipping updates, password resets, account alerts, invoices.
However, it's crucial to understand what transforms a transactional email into a commercial one. If a transactional email includes promotional content that alters its primary purpose, it then becomes subject to all CAN-SPAM rules. This is a common pitfall that many senders overlook, jeopardizing their compliance. For more on this, you can read our guide on when does transactional email become commercial email.
Is a physical address always required?
One of the core requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act for commercial emails is the inclusion of a valid physical postal address. This can be a current street address, a Post Office box registered with the United States Postal Service, or a private mailbox that you have registered with a commercial mail receiving agency. The purpose of this requirement is to provide recipients with a legitimate way to contact the sender. The FTC's compliance guide for businesses explicitly states this requirement for commercial emails.
Given that transactional emails are exempt from most of CAN-SPAM's provisions, does this particular requirement apply? The answer is generally no. The physical address requirement is considered one of the commercial provisions from which transactional emails are exempt. The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide from the FTC clarifies that transactional messages, while needing accurate routing information, are otherwise exempt from most rules.
This means that if your email's sole purpose is transactional, you are not legally obligated by CAN-SPAM to include a physical address in the footer. However, the legal aspect is just one piece of the puzzle. Email deliverability and overall sender reputation are heavily influenced by recipient trust and mailbox provider algorithms. For additional insight, you might find our article on physical address and deliverability insightful.
International regulations and deliverability impact
While the CAN-SPAM Act might not explicitly require a physical address for transactional emails, relying solely on U.S. law can be short-sighted. International regulations, such as Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), often have broader requirements for sender identification, including physical addresses, even for emails that might be considered transactional under CAN-SPAM.
For instance, CASL generally requires commercial electronic messages to include the sender's mailing address, and its definition of 'commercial' can sometimes encompass messages that might be considered transactional under CAN-SPAM if they contain any promotional element or are sent in connection with a commercial activity. Similarly, GDPR emphasizes transparency regarding who is sending the data, which often implies including clear identification like a physical address. Countries like Germany and Japan also have their own strict identification requirements for email senders.
Compliance considerations
CAN-SPAM (USA): Transactional emails are largely exempt from the physical address requirement.
CASL (Canada): Often requires a physical address for commercial electronic messages, which can have a broader scope. Our guide on commercial emails in USA and Canada provides more detail.
GDPR (Europe): Emphasizes transparency for data processing, often necessitating clear sender identification.
Local Laws (Germany, Japan): Many countries have specific legal requirements for sender identification, including postal addresses, for various email types.
Beyond legal compliance, consider the impact on deliverability. Mailbox providers (like Gmail and Yahoo) use a complex set of signals to determine inbox placement, and sender transparency is one of them. An email lacking basic sender identification, even if transactional, might be viewed with suspicion. This could lead to increased spam filtering or even placement on email blocklists (or blacklists), ultimately hurting your sender reputation.
The potential deliverability hit often outweighs the effort of including the address. We've seen instances where the absence of a postal address, while not a direct cause for a blacklist, contributes to a recipient marking an email as junk, which in turn negatively impacts deliverability. If you are experiencing deliverability issues, reading why your emails are going to spam may help.
Best practices for maintaining trust and deliverability
Despite transactional emails being largely exempt from the CAN-SPAM physical address rule, the safest and most effective approach for reliable deliverability is to include a valid physical postal address in all your emails, including transactional ones. This practice demonstrates transparency and professionalism, building trust with both recipients and mailbox providers.
For organizations sending transactional emails on behalf of clients (white-labeling), consider displaying the client's physical address, or a clear Sent on behalf of [Client Name] by [Your Company Address] statement. This ensures proper identification while respecting the client relationship. Programmatically including the correct address based on the sender or recipient can streamline this process.
Implementation tip
Place your physical address prominently in the email footer. It should be easily visible but not intrusive to the main message. A simple, clear format is best.
Example footer address
Your Company Name
123 Main Street
Anytown, USA 12345
While transactional and marketing emails may have different compliance requirements, ensuring robust email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and consistent sender practices across all email streams is vital. Separating marketing and transactional emails on different IPs or subdomains is also a common practice to protect deliverability, as failures on one stream won't directly impact the other. For further insights into improving deliverability rates through technical solutions, consider reviewing boost email deliverability rates.
Navigating compliance and deliverability
Navigating the complexities of email compliance and deliverability requires a comprehensive understanding of various regulations, not just CAN-SPAM. While transactional emails in the U.S. might be exempt from the physical address requirement under CAN-SPAM's primary purpose rule, a broader perspective reveals why including one is almost always the better choice.
Beyond U.S. law, international regulations often mandate sender identification, and more importantly, including a physical address fosters trust and transparency. This transparency can significantly influence how mailbox providers and recipients perceive your emails, directly impacting your deliverability and reducing the likelihood of your messages ending up in the spam folder or on a blocklist.
Prioritize clarity and legitimacy in all your email communications, regardless of their primary purpose. By adopting a proactive approach that incorporates best practices for sender identification, you'll not only stay compliant but also build a stronger, more reliable email program that consistently reaches its intended audience.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Always include a physical address in all emails, even if not explicitly required by CAN-SPAM for transactional messages.
Use clear and accurate sender identification, including your domain and brand name.
Ensure your email sending infrastructure is properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Maintain separate sending reputations for marketing and transactional emails to mitigate risk.
Common pitfalls
Assuming blanket exemption for transactional emails under CAN-SPAM, overlooking other compliance rules.
Ignoring international regulations that might require physical addresses for all email types.
Omitting physical addresses, which can lead to recipient suspicion and increased spam complaints.
Failing to adapt sender identity (e.g., physical address) for white-labeling scenarios.
Expert tips
Programmatically inject the correct physical address into email footers based on the recipient's region or the specific client for white-labeled services.
For white-labeling, consider a 'Sent on behalf of' statement with both your address and the client's.
Regularly monitor your email deliverability and sender reputation to catch potential issues early.
Consult legal counsel specializing in email marketing if you have complex compliance scenarios.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says not including a physical address in a transactional email will not directly hurt deliverability, but cautioned that a lack of a full address could lead recipients to view the email with suspicion, potentially causing them to delete or mark it as junk, which would then impact deliverability.
October 1, 2020 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says a postal address should be included in messages because other laws beyond CAN-SPAM require it.
Gmail and 
Yahoo) use a complex set of signals to determine inbox placement, and sender transparency is one of them. An email lacking basic sender identification, even if transactional, might be viewed with suspicion. This could lead to increased spam filtering or even placement on email blocklists (or blacklists), ultimately hurting your sender reputation.
