Glossary
What is PECR?
PECR, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, is the UK law that covers marketing by email, text and phone. For email, it needs consent from individuals, but the ICO says the consent rule does not apply to corporate subscribers such as companies and LLPs. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals, and UK GDPR still applies to named people.
Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 24 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.
How does PECR treat B2B email?
| Recipient | Consent needed under PECR? | Other duties |
|---|---|---|
| Company or LLP address | No, according to the ICO | Do not hide your identity; give a valid opt out address |
| Sole trader or some partnerships | Yes, or a soft opt in | Treated as individuals |
| Named person at a company | PECR consent rule does not apply | UK GDPR applies to their personal data |
Summary of ICO guidance read 19 October 2026 for is cold email legal.
Why does UK GDPR still matter?
A work address that identifies a person is personal data, even when they act in a business capacity. You need a lawful basis, often legitimate interests, and the person's right to object to direct marketing is absolute: when they object, you stop. See GDPR legitimate interest.
What changed recently?
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amended PECR regulation 22 from 5 February 2026, and the ICO notes its B2B guidance is under review. Check the ICO's pages before relying on a summary. The United Kingdom market page links the current sources.
How Sellinger handles it
Cold email can carry an unsubscribe line and the standard one click unsubscribe headers (List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post). It is a per mailbox setting. When a contact replies with an opt out such as STOP or unsubscribe, in English, Bulgarian or German among other forms, the contact goes on the team's suppression list, the agent stops and the lead is closed out. A weak or unclear phrase never writes the permanent record: the agent stops and a person decides.
An erasure function takes an email address, phone number or LinkedIn address, anonymizes the matching leads in the workspace and adds the identifiers to the suppression list so the person cannot be imported and contacted again. This is not legal advice. Laws change and your facts matter, so check with a lawyer in the countries you target.
Common questions
Can I cold email UK companies?
Are sole traders companies under PECR?
Does PECR cover LinkedIn messages?
Sources and method
ICO PECR and business to business marketing guidance and PECR regulation 22, as summarised on the United Kingdom market page and in is cold email legal, read 19 October 2026. Sellinger behaviour from the fact register.
Related: GDPR legitimate interest, CAN-SPAM Act, United Kingdom market, Is cold email legal?.
