--- title: "Test marketing email rules by country · Proxy Mail QA" description: "Check consent, pre-ticked boxes, unsubscribe deadlines and misleading subject lines in 11 places, from the EU and US to Japan, with test accounts that live there." url: https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/marketing-rules-by-country --- 1. [Home](https://proxymail.qa/) 2. [Use cases](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases) # Testing marketing email rules by country Whether a marketing email is allowed depends on what the person agreed to and where they live. Give each test account a country, record what it agreed to when it signed up, and each marketing email is checked against that country's rules, naming the rule and its source. Updated 21 October 2026 ## The accounts you need For each country you sell in, make one account per choice the form offers. Give each the country when you create it (**Add account**, then **Country**), so its persona lives there. | Account | At sign-up | What it checks | | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Declined | Left marketing unticked | No marketing arrives, where consent is needed first | | Opted in | Ticked marketing | Marketing arrives, with an unsubscribe link and the sender’s details | | Pre-ticked | Left a box that started ticked | In the EU and UK, that isn’t consent: no marketing should follow | | Not confirmed | Ticked marketing, but didn’t confirm the email | In Germany, or where your project requires double opt-in, no marketing before confirming | | Unsubscribed | Opted in, then unsubscribed | Marketing stops in time | | Under-age | A persona of 12 (UK) or 15 (EU) | Consent from a child needs a parent’s | | Declined, in Singapore | Left marketing unticked | Anything it gets starts its subject with | ## Set them up 1. **Create the accounts** with a country each, and a date of birth for the under-age one. 2. **Sign up each one** on your staging site. Before submitting, note whether the marketing box was already ticked. 3. **Record what each agreed to**: in the account’s sheet, open **Consent** and set marketing, whether the box was pre-ticked, and double opt-in. Agents and tests use `record_consent` (MCP), `PUT /v1/addresses/{address}/consent` (REST), `recordConsent` (Node.js and the mobile helpers) or `record_consent` (Python). 4. **Trigger the marketing**: a newsletter, an offer, an abandoned cart. ## The rules Every check names the rule, the place and its source, with the date we checked it: 19 Oct 2026\. Rules that depend only on what was recorded fail; guesses from the email’s text only warn. | Check | Where | The rule | Source | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | marketing\_consent | EU and EEA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea | Marketing email needs prior consent (the UK and EU allow a soft opt-in for existing customers). In the US, Singapore and Hong Kong it’s skipped: they’re opt-out | [ePrivacy Directive, Article 13](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32002L0058); [ICO](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/); [ISED](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en/getting-consent-send-email); [ACMA](https://www.acma.gov.au/dealing-with-spam); [DIA](https://www.dia.govt.nz/Spam-NZ-Spam-Law); [UCA Art. 3(1)(o)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1988/223%5F223%5F223/en); [Specified Electronic Mail Act](https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3767); [Network Act, Art. 50](https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng%5Fservice/lawViewContent.do?hseq=64717) | | prechecked\_consent | EU and EEA, UK | A pre-ticked box isn’t consent | [CJEU, Planet49](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62017CJ0673); [ICO](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/consent/what-is-valid-consent/) | | double\_opt\_in | Germany (a warning), or any project that requires it (a failure) | Email advertising needs prior express consent the sender can prove; confirming by email is the usual proof | [UWG § 7](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg%5F2004/%5F%5F7.html) | | unsubscribe\_deadline | US, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong: 10 business days; Australia, New Zealand: 5; EU, EEA, UK, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea: promptly | Marketing after an unsubscribe warns inside the time allowed and fails after it. Weekends are skipped; public holidays aren’t | [FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business); [ISED](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en/getting-consent-send-email); [ACMA](https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-05/Fact%20sheet%20-%20email%20and%20SMS%20unsubscribe%20rules.pdf); [ICO](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/); [DIA](https://www.dia.govt.nz/Information-about-unsubscribing); [Spam Control Act](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/SCA2007); [UEMO, Cap. 593](https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap593) | | postal\_address | US, Canada | The email gives a postal address (a warning: found by reading the text) | [FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business); [ISED](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en/getting-consent-send-email) | | sender\_identity | All of the above | The From line names the sender (a warning) | [FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business); [ISED](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en/getting-consent-send-email); [ACMA](https://www.acma.gov.au/dealing-with-spam); [ICO](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/); [DIA](https://www.dia.govt.nz/Spam-NZ-Spam-Law); [UCA Art. 3(1)(o)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/1988/223%5F223%5F223/en); [Specified Electronic Mail Act](https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3767); [Network Act, Art. 50](https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng%5Fservice/lawViewContent.do?hseq=64717); [Spam Control Act](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/SCA2007); [UEMO, Cap. 593](https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap593) | | minor\_marketing | UK (under 13), EU and EEA (under 16; a member state may set 13 to 15) | Consent from a child to an online service needs a parent’s (a warning) | [ICO](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/a-guide-to-lawful-basis/consent/); [GDPR, Article 8](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679) | | misleading\_subject | US, Canada, Hong Kong | No subject that starts like a reply or forward (Re:, Fwd:) when it’s marketing, and no same-day deadline (“last day”, “ends tonight”) when the email’s coupon lasts days longer (a warning: read from the subject) | [FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business); [Washington RCW 19.190.020](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.190.020); [California § 17529.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes%5FdisplaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=17529.5); [Competition Act s. 74.011](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-34/section-74.011.html); [UEMO, Cap. 593](https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap593) | | ad\_label | Singapore | Commercial email to someone who didn’t agree to it, sent in bulk, starts its subject with (a warning: whether it was bulk isn’t known) | [Spam Control Act](https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/SCA2007) | ## What to check - **Nothing without consent:** the declined and pre-ticked accounts get no marketing where consent comes first (the EU, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea), while receipts and security emails still arrive. - **Confirmation first:** where you use double opt-in, nothing arrives before the confirmation link is used. - **Honest subject lines:** a subject that says the sale ends today matches the offer in the email, and nothing pretends to be a reply. - **Unsubscribe in time:** after unsubscribing, marketing stops well inside the deadline. Mark the account as unsubscribed in the inbox, and any later marketing is flagged. - **Who it’s from:** every marketing email names the sender and, for the US and Canada, gives a postal address. ## The emails to check Each marketing email’s checks show in the inbox and on the Accounts page’s Marketing row, and Reports collects the failures. The checks run on what arrived: they don’t see what your app stored, so record consent as the person chose it on the form. This is a test aid for your own app on staging, not legal advice. ## Automating this? Make it a test: create the address with a country, record what the form asked with recordConsent (npm) or record\_consent (Python), trigger marketing, then checkEmail with category marketing. A rule broken fails the test. [Node.js client](https://proxymail.qa/docs/node) [Python](https://proxymail.qa/docs/python) [Set up your coding agent](https://proxymail.qa/docs/api#agent-setup) ## Try it on your next sign-up test Free plan, no credit card. Create an address and watch the code or link arrive. [Create a free account](https://app.proxymail.qa/?mode=signup&from=site-use-cases-marketing-rules-by-countr) ## Questions ### Do I need to switch anything on? Yes, for now. Marketing and offer emails is in Labs: switch it on in the app under **Account settings → Labs**. It applies to your API keys and agents too; until then their marketing tools answer with an error that says so. ### Is this legal advice? No. It's a test aid: it shows which emails don't match the rules as the official guidance describes them, so you can find a bug before it reaches real people. For what your business must do, ask a lawyer. ### Which countries are covered? The EU and EEA, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. For a persona from anywhere else the rules are skipped, and every check says so. ### Why are there no rules for US states? The federal CAN-SPAM Act overrides state laws on commercial email, except where they deal with falsity or deception. What survives is about misleading subject lines and senders: Washington's Commercial Electronic Mail Act (its Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that a sale's false deadline in a subject line breaks it, at $500 an email) and California's § 17529.5\. Since an app rarely knows a user's state, `misleading_subject` applies them to every US persona. ### How does Proxy Mail QA know what the account agreed to? You, your agent or your test record it: after filling in the sign-up form, record whether marketing was ticked, whether the box was already ticked when the page loaded, and whether a confirmation email is pending. Using the confirmation link marks double opt-in confirmed. ## Related guides - [Test age gates and age-restricted contentOne account per age band, from under 13 to turning 18 tomorrow, with parental consent emails and each date of birth noted.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/age-restricted-content) - [Test content that depends on locationAn account per country for geo-blocked content, regional prices, tax and consent, and a traveller who crosses a border.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/location-based-content) - [Test predictor game scoringA player for every scoring rule, with picks and expected points in the notes, so the leaderboard proves the rules work.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/predictor-games) - [Test membership tiers and paywallsFree, trial, paid, top-tier and lapsed accounts, and every subscription email from welcome to payment failed.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/membership-tiers) - [Test roles and permissionsOwner, admin, editor, viewer, removed user and another customer’s admin, each invited by email and signed in for real.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/roles-and-permissions) - [Test ticket ballots and prize drawsEnough entrants for some to win and some to lose, with priority members, duplicates, and a winner who never pays.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/ballots-and-prize-draws) - [Test referral rewards and welcome offersReferrer, friends and first-time customers, plus the self-referral and repeat claims your rules should refuse.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/referrals-and-welcome-offers) - [Test both sides of a marketplaceBuyer, seller, a second buyer and a moderator, so every order, message, refund and review email is checked from both ends.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/marketplaces) - [Test email changes, lockouts and account deletionAn old and a new address for change of email, plus accounts to lock out, reset, protect with codes and delete.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/account-changes) - [Test email preferences and unsubscribeAn account per preference setting, to prove opted-out users get nothing and unsubscribe works in one click.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/email-preferences) - [Test welcome series and drip emailsOne new account per series, a timeline of what arrived and when, and a check that each email came in order and on time.](https://proxymail.qa/use-cases/drip-and-welcome-series) [See every email testing problem we solve](https://proxymail.qa/solve)