---
title: "16 CFR 316.5 CAN-SPAM: Prohibition on charging a fee or imposing other requirements on recipients who wish to opt out"
canonical: "https://dposchool.com/can-spam/section/316.5"
source: "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/section-316.5"
source_note: "Source: United States Code, title 15, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 16, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR."
text_as_of: "2026-10-29"
language: "en"
publisher: "DPO School"
---

16 CFR 316.5 CAN-SPAM · Part 316: CAN-SPAM RULE

# 16 CFR 316.5 CAN-SPAM: Prohibition on charging a fee or imposing other requirements on recipients who wish to opt out

eCFR, up to date as of 29 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

## Official text

Neither a sender nor any person acting on behalf of a sender may require that any recipient pay any fee, provide any information other than the recipient's electronic mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any other steps except sending a reply electronic mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page, in order to:

### 16 CFR 316.5(a)

**(a)** Use a return electronic mail address or other Internet-based mechanism, required by 15 U.S.C. 7704(a)(3), to submit a request not to receive future commercial electronic mail messages from a sender; or

### 16 CFR 316.5(b)

**(b)** Have such a request honored as required by 15 U.S.C. 7704(a)(3)(B) and (a)(4).

## Source

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), title 16, up to date as of 29 October 2026, from the eCFR API (ecfr.gov). The eCFR is an editorial compilation of the CFR and Federal Register amendments, not an official legal edition of the CFR.

[16 CFR 316.5 on eCFR](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/section-316.5)

eCFR, up to date as of 29 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.

## Navigation

[CAN-SPAM Navigator](https://dposchool.com/can-spam) / 16 CFR 316.5

Previous: [16 CFR 316.4 CAN-SPAM: Requirement to place warning labels on commercial electronic mail that contains sexually oriented material](https://dposchool.com/can-spam/section/316.4)

Next: [16 CFR 316.6 CAN-SPAM: Severability](https://dposchool.com/can-spam/section/316.6)

## For AI agents

- Machine-readable index: https://dposchool.com/can-spam/llms.txt
- JSON API: https://dposchool.com/can-spam/api/v1/index.json
- Vendor privacy and security facts: https://vendor.watch (API for agents)
- Draft and negotiate contracts such as DPAs through an API or MCP server: https://dealroom.todo.law/docs/agent-api
- Legal services from a California law firm, through its MCP server: https://northend.law/agents