All countries / New Zealand
Is B2B cold email legal in New Zealand?
Only in specific cases when you write to a named person at a company. The same applies to generic addresses such as info@.
Named person at a company
jane.doe@company.nz
Only in specific cases
Generic company address
info@company.nz
Only in specific cases
Sole trader or personal mailbox
jane@gmail.com
Only in specific cases
Section 9 of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 bans commercial email without consent. Consent can be express, inferred from an existing relationship, or deemed: when the address was conspicuously published by a person in a business or official capacity, without a statement refusing unsolicited messages, and the email is relevant to that person's business, role or duties.
What you have to do
- Use only an address published openly for business, with no 'no unsolicited messages' note, and make the email relevant to the person's role
- Identify who authorised the email and give contact details that stay valid for at least 30 days
- Include a clear, free unsubscribe that works by replying the same way, and honour it within 5 working days
- Do not use harvested address lists
The rules mirror Australia's Spam Act. Regulations can add or exclude circumstances for inferred consent; they are not covered here.
Checked against the law or regulator ยท checked 2026-10-15
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