Emailing and calling businesses in the Netherlands

Can I email businesses from a list in the Netherlands?

The ACM says to send electronic advertising only to recipients who consented first, to show clearly that you are the sender, and to make unsubscribing easy. Article 11.7(3) lets you message companies and business owners without prior consent only at contact details they published for receiving such messages.

Main rules: Telecommunicatiewet article 11.7 (Telecommunications Act) and Civil Code book 6 article 193c. A summary of the official guidance linked below, checked 2026-11-11; not legal advice.

Email

  • Consent must be a deliberate choice, not a pre-ticked box or your terms and conditions. The ACM says you must be able to prove it for up to 5 years.
  • Existing customers may get messages about products related to earlier purchases, if they can unsubscribe.
  • Use your real company name, not an alias, and give a valid address or number for stop requests (article 11.7(7)).
  • Every message must offer a quick, free way to unsubscribe.

Phone calls

  • The ACM says you may call natural persons, including an eenmanszaak, vof or maatschap, only with consent or under narrow exceptions, such as customers from the past 3 years.
  • For calls to companies, check the ACM's guidance.
  • Call from a visible number, give your name and company, and say you want to sell something.

Sole traders and small firms

The ACM treats an eenmanszaak (sole trader), vof and maatschap as natural persons for telemarketing.

Sources

Other countries: outreach rules by country.