Emailing Your Church: When You Need Consent

Two kinds of church email

The ICO treats promoting your aims, fundraising, recruiting volunteers and inviting people to events as direct marketing. That applies to churches and charities as much as shops.

A neutral message about church life isn’t marketing. Rota reminders, a change to service times, an AGM notice or a giving receipt can go to anyone involved. Add an appeal to the bottom, though, and the whole message becomes marketing.

Marketing needs consent, or the soft opt-in

To send marketing emails, you normally need each person’s consent. It must be a clear opt-in, never a pre-ticked box, and you need a record of who agreed, when, how and to what wording.

Every marketing email must include a simple way to unsubscribe, free and with no login.

The charity soft opt-in

Since 5 February 2026, charities can email people without consent if every one of these is true:

• your church is a charity and collected their details itself
• they gave their details while showing interest in or supporting your work, such as giving or volunteering
• you offered a simple way to opt out when you collected them
• your emails only promote your own church’s charitable purposes
• every email includes a way to opt out

It isn’t backdated. It only covers details collected on or after 5 February 2026. For everyone already on your list, you still need consent.

What doesn’t count

Details from a fundraising platform, a connected organisation or another charity can’t be used under the soft opt-in. Nor can details collected for something unrelated, like signing in to the church Wi-Fi.

A line in your privacy notice isn’t enough either. People need to be offered the opt-out at the moment they give their details.

Keep a record of every agreement

If someone complains, you’ll need to show when and how they agreed. Keep the date, the method, the wording they saw and any later change of mind.