Do email marketing opt-outs ever expire?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit user shares that emailing someone who has unsubscribed will most likely result in spam complaints and could result in your IP address being blocked. They do not mention anything about opt-outs expiring.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares a quote from the FTC from 2008 which states that Congress has not imposed a time limit on opt-out requests.
Marketer from Email Geeks confirms that putting someone back on a mailing list after they have opted out violates Federal law (CAN-SPAM).
Email marketer from Mailchimp emphasizes that respecting unsubscribe requests is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. While Mailchimp doesn't enforce an expiration on unsubscribes, they recommend keeping lists clean and only emailing engaged subscribers.
Marketer from Email Geeks states there's no expiration date on opt-out requests.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor answers that it is best practice to unsubscribe a contact immediately and that resending email to someone that has unsubscribed is an easy way to get a spam complaint. They do not mention anything about opt-outs expiring.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that opt-outs are permanent and sending emails after someone has opted out is a violation of CAN-SPAM and the ESP's terms of service.
Email marketer from StackExchange shares that best practice is to not have an opt-out expiration date and you should remove them from any marketing emails.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that keeping your lists up-to-date and managing unengaged contacts is a key factor to improve email delivery rates. They do not mention anything about opt-outs expiring.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that you can retarget contacts on other channels to entice them to opt back in, but opt-outs do not expire otherwise.
Email marketer from Quora explains that it is not permissable to send an email to someone that has previously opted out, even after a time peroid. Best practice is to only email them if they opt-in again.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that email lists should be kept up to date and that unsubscribes are a key factor to ensure your email deliverability is strong. They do not mention anything about opt-outs expiring.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that managing subscriber lists is a key element to ensuring email deliverability. Laura advocates for a clear unsubscribe process and permission passes. She does not specifically mention that opt-outs expire.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that you should always include an unsubscribe link and manage requests appropriately as this is a legal requirement. They do not mention anything about opt-outs expiring.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Federal Trade Commission explains that the CAN-SPAM Act requires honoring opt-out requests and provides no specific expiration date for such requests. Senders must stop sending commercial emails to recipients within 10 business days of receiving their opt-out request.
Documentation from CAN-SPAM Act shares that senders must honor opt-out requests promptly. While the Act doesn't specify an expiration date for opt-outs, the implication is that they remain in effect indefinitely unless the recipient explicitly opts back in.
Documentation from General Data Protection Regulation states that under GDPR, consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. While GDPR doesn't explicitly mention an opt-out expiration, it heavily implies that once consent is withdrawn (opt-out), it remains withdrawn unless the individual actively provides new consent.