Guide
How fast must you honour a "remove me" request? UK, EU, US and Canada
The legal deadlines are measured in days or a month. The sensible deadline is the same day.
Short answer
As fast as you can; the law sets only outer limits. US: within 10 business days [6]. Canada: no later than 10 business days [8]. EU: without undue delay and in any event within one month [4]; the UK regulator says the same for objections to marketing [1]. Gmail recommends 48 hours [9] and Yahoo asks for 2 days [10].
General information, not legal advice, as of the date above. Where a regulator says its guidance is under review, we say so. If your situation is unusual, ask a lawyer who practises in that country.
The deadlines side by side
| Where | What the source says |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | For an objection to direct marketing: "You must comply with an objection without undue delay and at the latest within one month of receipt of the request" [1]. The right is absolute: "there are no exemptions or grounds for you to refuse" [2]. The ICO's email marketing checklist asks you to "act on this promptly" [3]. |
| European Union | Information on action taken must be provided "without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request" [4]. Once someone objects to direct marketing, "the personal data shall no longer be processed for such purposes" [5]. |
| United States | "You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days." [6] Your opt-out mechanism must keep working: it must "be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message" [7]. |
| Canada | Effect must be given to an unsubscribe "without delay, and in any event no later than 10 business days after the indication has been sent" [8]. |
The mailbox providers are stricter than the law
Google says: "we recommend that you fulfill unsubscribe requests within 48 hours" [9]. Yahoo's list says "Honor unsubscribes within 2 days" [10]. A sender who waits ten business days to stop is inside the US and Canadian law and outside both providers' expectations.
What counts as a request
- The unsubscribe link or header. Treat it as final.
- A reply that says "remove me", "stop", "unsubscribe" or "not interested". A written reply is a request too; nobody is required to use your link. Stop at once, and do not ask them to fill in a form.
- A request to a colleague. If someone asks you to stop writing to the whole organisation, stop for the organisation.
The practical rule
- Stop the sequence the moment you see the request, not at the end of the week.
- Put the address on a do-not-contact list, so a later import cannot bring it back. The ICO's checklist asks for a "do not contact" list in the same words.
- Reply once, in one line, only if they asked a question. A confirmation is not required, and a second email to someone who has just said no is the thing to avoid.
- Check a request that arrives after your cut-off. Honour it anyway.
How Honest Intros does it
The unsubscribe link takes effect immediately: the address is suppressed and every queued email to that person, and to their organisation, is cancelled. A reply that asks you to stop is recognised as an opt-out when Honest Intros reads your mailbox, and it stops the whole organisation's sequence and suppresses the address. Nothing goes to a suppressed address: the suppression list is checked again at the moment each email is sent. We do not claim a clock time for the reply route: it happens when the mailbox is next read.
Questions
How long do I have to honour an unsubscribe request?
United States: 10 business days. Canada: no later than 10 business days. EU and UK: without undue delay and within one month. Gmail recommends 48 hours and Yahoo asks for 2 days.
Does a reply saying "remove me" count as an unsubscribe?
Yes. A written request to stop is a request to opt out. You should act on it even if the person did not use your unsubscribe link.
Do I have to reply to confirm?
No source here requires a confirmation email. Stopping is what matters; a short confirmation is optional and best skipped unless they asked a question.
See what it would write for you
Paste your website. Honest Intros learns what you sell and shows who it would write to, and what it would say.
Free to start. Nothing is sent until you approve it.