Cold Email in Germany: What § 7 UWG Says and What to Do Instead

Is cold email legal in Germany?

The text of § 7 (2) no. 2 of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) says that advertising by email without the addressee’s prior express consent is always to be treated as an unacceptable nuisance. The only exception in the text is § 7 (3), for advertising to your own customers under four conditions. The wording of no. 2 does not distinguish between consumers and businesses. A marketing email to a business address, sent without consent, falls within the wording of the ban.

IHK München, a chamber of commerce, says the same in its guidance for companies. It states that the law does not distinguish between B2B and B2C for email and that there is no B2B exception.

This is a reading of the statutory text. This guide has not reviewed court decisions, and courts decide how the wording applies to real cases. Treat it as a starting point for a conversation with a lawyer.

What does § 7 UWG say about advertising by email?

Section 7 is headed unacceptable nuisances (unzumutbare Belästigungen). Paragraph 1 makes a commercial practice illegal if it causes an unacceptable nuisance to a market participant, in particular advertising where it is apparent that the addressee does not want it. Section 2 (1) no. 3 defines market participants as competitors, consumers and any other person who supplies or demands goods or services. Businesses are therefore covered.

Compare the last two rows with the first. For phone calls the text separates consumers from other market participants and accepts presumed consent for the latter. For email, no. 2 asks for the addressee’s prior express consent and makes no such split.

Section 6 (2) DDG adds a rule for the header and subject line of commercial emails. They must not hide the sender or the commercial character of the message.

The English text of the UWG on the official federal site is a translation. The German version is authoritative. The introductory note to the UWG states that it also implements Article 13 of Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy in electronic communications.

When does the existing customer exception apply?

Section 7 (3) UWG lifts the ban for advertising by email only if all four of the following are true.

1. The entrepreneur obtained the customer’s email address in connection with the sale of goods or services.
2. The entrepreneur uses the address for direct advertising of their own similar goods or services.
3. The customer has not objected to this use.
4. The customer was told clearly, when the address was collected and each time it is used, that they can object at any time, and that this costs nothing beyond transmission costs at basic rates.

The exception is about customers. By its wording it does not reach prospects, visitors to your website, people whose address is public, or contacts from a purchased list, because condition 1 requires the address to come from the customer in connection with a sale. It also covers only your own similar goods or services.

IHK München states that an email address in the imprint is a mandatory disclosure and not consent to receive advertising. The German data protection authorities say in their direct marketing guidance of February 2022 that, without the conditions of § 7 (3) UWG, using email addresses for advertising generally needs consent.

What does the GDPR add for business email addresses?

The GDPR applies where an email address relates to an identifiable person. Article 4 (1) defines personal data as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An address that contains a person’s name is the clear case. Whether a given address counts is a question for the individual case.

The UWG and the GDPR apply side by side. The UWG sets out which advertising is allowed. The GDPR sets out what you may do with the personal data. The points below are the ones read for this guide.

• Legal basis, Article 6 (1). Consent is one basis. Legitimate interests are another, unless they are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights of the person. Recital 47 says that processing for direct marketing may be regarded as carried out for a legitimate interest.
• How the two texts meet. The German authorities write in their February 2022 guidance that, because Article 6 (1) (f) requires a balance of interests, the valuations of § 7 UWG are taken into account. If § 7 does not allow a contact channel, there is no legitimate interest to start with. IHK München says the same in its own words.
• Information duty, Article 14. If you did not obtain the data from the person, you must give the information listed in Article 14 (1) and (2), which includes the source of the data. Article 14 (3) sets the deadline at a reasonable period and at the latest one month, or at the latest at the time of the first communication where the data are used to contact the person. The authorities read this as whichever deadline comes first.
• Right to object, Article 21. Where personal data are processed for direct marketing, the person may object at any time, and the data may then no longer be processed for that purpose (Article 21 (2) and (3)). Article 21 (4) requires that the right is explicitly brought to the person’s attention at the latest at the first communication, clearly and separately from other information.
• Consent, Articles 4 (11) and 7. If you rely on consent, you must be able to demonstrate it (Article 7 (1)), and the person can withdraw it at any time (Article 7 (3)).

The GDPR has more provisions that may matter for a mailing list, such as the principles in Article 5 and the rights of access and erasure. They are outside this guide.

How do you prove consent? Double opt-in explained

Section 7 UWG does not mention double opt-in. Article 7 (1) GDPR says that the controller must be able to demonstrate that the person consented. Double opt-in is the common way to build that proof for email.

1. Someone enters their address in a sign-up form that states who will send what.
2. You send a confirmation email to that address with a link.
3. The person clicks the link, and only then is the address activated for your mailings.
4. You store the wording the person saw, the time of the sign-up and the time of the confirmation.

The German data protection authorities write in their February 2022 guidance on direct marketing that double opt-in is called for to verify an electronic declaration of consent, and that the controller has to document the full consent wording for each person. They add that storing only an IP address is not enough, and they refer to a decision of the Federal Court of Justice from 2011 for the proof requirements. This guide has not read that decision.

That is the view of the authorities. The texts of § 7 UWG and of GDPR Articles 6 and 7 do not name double opt-in. A sign-up form is the right place for a clear consent request. Keep the box unticked, because recital 32 says pre-ticked boxes do not constitute consent, name the sender and the kind of content, and link your privacy information.

What can you do instead of cold email?

You can reach new customers without sending unsolicited marketing email. The options below do not replace each other. Pick the ones that fit your market and your capacity.

• Search and ads. People who are looking for a service find you through SEO or Google Ads. You invest in content or pay for clicks, and nobody receives a message they did not ask for.
• Your own website with a contact form. A page that answers the questions buyers ask, with a clear form, lets the buyer start the conversation. Our German SEO guide covers how to get such pages found.
• A newsletter people opt in to. Offer something worth signing up for, use double opt-in and send what you promised.
• Referrals and introductions. A mutual contact who introduces you is a different situation from an unsolicited message. Ask existing customers and partners to introduce you.
• Professional networks. Publishing useful content and replying to people who engage with it does not involve advertising by email. The platforms have their own rules, which this guide does not cover.
• Events and trade fairs. Meet people in person and collect consent for follow-up on a signed or ticked form.
• Post. IHK München states that advertising by letter is generally allowed unless the recipient has objected, and that it must be recognisable as advertising. That is the chamber’s summary, and this guide has not checked it against the statute.

Digital030 works on search, ads, websites and lead generation for companies in Berlin and Brandenburg, led personally by Simon Krebs, who speaks fluent English and German. Our marketing agency page for Germany shows how we work, and the first 30-minute call is free.

A checklist before you send a commercial email

1. Do you have the addressee’s prior express consent for this kind of message?
2. Can you show what the person agreed to, when, and on which wording?
3. If you rely on the existing customer exception, are all four conditions of § 7 (3) met, including the notice about objecting at collection and at every use?
4. Does the message show clearly who sends it and on whose behalf?
5. Do the header and the subject line show the sender and the commercial character of the message (§ 6 (2) DDG)?
6. Is there a valid address or link to stop further messages, at no cost beyond transmission costs?
7. If the data did not come from the person, did you include the Article 14 information, with the source of the data?
8. Is the right to object to direct marketing brought to the person’s attention clearly and separately, at the latest in the first message?
9. Do you store objections and unsubscribes so that the address is never used for advertising again?
10. Where did the list come from? If another company collected the addresses, ask a lawyer what the original consent covered before you use it.
11. If you are based outside Germany, do not assume your home rules decide. Section 3 (4) no. 3 DDG takes the admissibility of unsolicited commercial email out of the country-of-origin rules in § 3 (1) and (2). A lawyer can tell you which law applies in your case.
12. Has a lawyer who knows the current case law checked the whole process?

This guide has not evaluated case law, decisions of authorities after the dates in the source list, or sector rules. Courts have the last word on how the texts apply to a real case.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• UWG § 7 Unzumutbare Belästigungen (official German text): The text of § 7 (1) to (3). The German text is authoritative (accessed 2026-10-19)
• Act against Unfair Competition, official English translation: Section 7, compared with the German text. The translation includes amendments up to the Act of 12 February 2026 (accessed 2026-10-19)
• Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG), full German text: §§ 2 and 8 and the introductory note. Current to the amendment by Article 6 of the Act of 12 May 2026 (accessed 2026-10-19)
• Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG), full text: § 6 on commercial communications and § 3 on the country-of-origin principle (accessed 2026-10-19)
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016, English text: Articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 14 and 21 and recitals 32 and 47, read in the copy hosted by the Polish data protection authority UODO. The official publication is on EUR-Lex (accessed 2026-10-19)
• Data Protection Conference (DSK), guidance on personal data for direct marketing, February 2022: View of the German supervisory authorities on the GDPR, § 7 UWG and double opt-in. Guidance, not law (accessed 2026-10-19)
• IHK München, Marketing per E-Mail (Newsletter), Telefon, Brief: A chamber of commerce’s summary for companies. It refers to court decisions that this guide has not reviewed (accessed 2026-10-19)

General information as of 19 October 2026, not legal advice. Laws change. The German versions of the laws are authoritative, and the English wording here is a working translation by Digital030, except where the official translation is named. Check your own case with a lawyer.