Track Implied Consent Expiry Dates in Your CRM for Canadian Contacts

If you email Canadian contacts without an explicit signup, your CRM must store the date that permission began and the date it ends. Canada's anti-spam law allows some messages based on an existing business relationship, but only for a fixed time. Without those two dates, you cannot show that a message was allowed.

This post explains the time limits in the statute and the fields that make them easy to track. It applies to any service business that sends promotional email to people in Canada, wherever your own office is.

What the law says about implied consent

The law at issue is Canada's anti-spam legislation, often called CASL. Under section 10(9), consent is implied only in certain situations. One of them is that you have an existing business relationship with the person who receives the message.

Section 10(10) defines that relationship by time. A purchase or lease counts if it happened within the two-year period immediately before the day you send the message. An inquiry or application counts if it happened within the six-month period immediately before that day.

Section 10(13) covers non-business relationships, such as donations, volunteer work and memberships. It also uses a two-year period for those.

Why the burden falls on you

Section 13 states that the person who claims consent has the onus of proving it. In plain terms, you must show the proof. A regulator or a complaining recipient does not have to disprove it.

That is why a bare note such as "opted in" is not enough. You need to know which relationship you relied on, when it began and when it ended. Proof you cannot find is the same as no proof.

The fields to add to every Canadian contact

Add a small set of fields to your CRM. Keep them simple so your team fills them in the same way each time.

• Consent type: express, implied purchase, implied inquiry or implied non-business relationship.
• Consent start date: the date of the signup, purchase, inquiry or application.
• Consent expiry date: calculated from the start date. Use two years for purchases and six months for inquiries.
• Source of proof: a link to the order, the web form entry or the saved message.
• Last status change: who changed the record and when.

Express consent has no built-in end date in these fields, so leave the expiry blank for it. Express consent can still be withdrawn at any time, so keep the withdrawal fields live.

Set the dates the moment a record is created

Make the CRM fill the start date from the event itself. A web form submission sets an inquiry date. A paid invoice sets a purchase date. Staff should not type these dates by hand.

Then let the CRM calculate the expiry date with a simple rule. Inquiry date plus six months. Purchase date plus two years. A calculated field removes guesswork and keeps every record consistent.

Watch for events that start a new clock

A new purchase or a new inquiry creates a new relationship period. Your CRM should update the start and expiry dates when that happens. Record the old dates in the history so you can show what was true on the day of an earlier send.

The law measures the period back from the day you send the message. So keep a log of each send date too. That lets you check any past message against the dates that applied at the time.

Build a send filter that checks the expiry date

Dates only help if the system uses them. Build your promotional email list so it includes a contact only when one of two things is true. The contact has express consent, or the expiry date is later than the send date.

Run the filter at the time of each send, not once a month. A list built on the first of the month can include a contact whose six months end on the tenth. A live filter avoids that mistake.

1. Create a saved segment for Canadian contacts with a valid consent type.
2. Add the rule that the expiry date must fall after today, unless the type is express.
3. Exclude anyone with an unsubscribe or withdrawal on file.
4. Use this segment as the only source for promotional sends.

Plan a renewal message before the clock runs out

A contact whose implied consent is close to ending is a chance to ask for express consent. Set a reminder at about 30 days before the expiry date. Send a clear request that explains what you will send and how often.

The request itself must also be allowed. Check your legal advisor on how to word it and when to send it. Keep the wording and the date you sent it in the contact record.

If the contact does not reply, let the expiry pass. Move that person to a list for non-promotional messages only. Do not extend the date by hand.

Honor opt-outs fast and keep the record

Section 11(3) requires you to honor an unsubscribe request without delay, and in any event no later than 10 business days after it is sent. Section 11(4)(b) sets the same outer limit for withdrawals of consent. Your CRM should suppress the contact as soon as the request arrives, not on the tenth day.

The regulations add that the unsubscribe mechanism must be able to be readily performed. Test your own link from a phone. If it takes more than a click or two, fix it.

An opt-out overrides any expiry date. A contact with six months left who unsubscribes today is off your promotional list today. Keep the opt-out record permanently so the contact is never added back by an import.

A quick monthly check

Spend a short time each month on three checks. First, count how many Canadian contacts have no consent type or no start date. Second, list the contacts whose consent ends in the next 30 days. Third, sample five recent sends and confirm each recipient was in date on the send day.

Fix gaps as you find them. If a record has no start date and you cannot find proof, treat the contact as not eligible for promotional email until you collect express consent.

What this does not cover

This post covers the time limits and record keeping. The law has other rules, including what a message must contain and which messages are exempt. Confirm your own situation with a qualified advisor in Canada before you change your sending practice.