8 Email Disclaimer Examples I Love (For Your Inspiration)

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If I reach the footer of an email in my inbox, it usually means one of two things: 1) The email was so engaging I read all the way to the end (that’s rare), or 2) I scrolled down to unsubscribe.

There, sandwiched between social icons and the company logo, lies the humble email disclaimer.

An email disclaimer is a legal statement that protects the sender from some legal liability. Legal disclosures may seem like the least exciting part of an email marketer’s job, but violating regulations can be costly.

I’m going to show you the types of email disclosures, examples of each, and best practices for a compliant, user-friendly disclosure.

Table of Contents

What is an email disclaimer?
When To Use an Email Disclaimer
The Best Email Disclaimers
Getting Disclaimers Right

What is an email disclaimer?

An email disclaimer is the text and links at the bottom of an email that contain essential information for the recipients, including the company’s terms and conditions, privacy policy, and how to unsubscribe.

Emails sent by an individual should place any email disclaimers in the signature, while mass emails should embed disclaimers in the footer. Setting them up this way means they appear consistent in every email you send.

When To Use an Email Disclaimer

When you need an email disclaimer, which ones to use depends largely on what business you’re in and where your customers live. Here are a few factors to consider:

The purpose of the email (commercial or transactional).
Whether your industry has specific regulations, like HIPAA.
Whether your email contains trademarks or copyrighted information.
Where you and your customers are located.

Location-Specific Email Regulations

Most countries have regulations concerning emails, including:

CAN-SPAM Act (United States).
CASL (Canada).
GDPR (European Union).
UK-GDPR (United Kingdom).
California (CCPA), Colorado, Utah, and Virginia all have email laws that took effect in 2023.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where your company is headquartered. If you have one person on your email address from any of the above places, you need to comply with the regulations for that area.

Working in marketing and communications for 15 years, I’ve worked with my fair share of attorneys. While it can feel creatively stifling to be told what you must and can’t include in your emails, it protects both you and your company.

Even the weakest of these regulations, CAN-SPAM, carries strict penalties. You can be fined up to $51,744 per email for any violations. In Europe or Canada, violations can run into the millions.

GDPR, CASL, and UK-GDPR are broad regulations covering how you should store and manage customer data (including email addresses). Across all these regulations, you should include in your email at a minimum: