This guide explains how Canada's anti-spam rules apply to booking messages so you can brief a designer or ask better questions of a lawyer. It is general information, not legal advice.
Appointment reminders are among the most useful messages a business sends. They are also an easy place to slip into anti-spam trouble without noticing, for example by adding a promotion to the bottom of a reminder. This guide explains how Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, often called CASL, treats the messages a booking website sends, and where the line between a reminder and a marketing message sits.
What CASL regulates
CASL's core rule, in section 6, prohibits sending a commercial electronic message to an electronic address unless the recipient has consented, expressly or implicitly, and the message meets the form requirements in subsection 6(2)1. Those requirements are that the message identifies the sender, sets out information that lets the recipient readily contact the sender and includes an unsubscribe mechanism1.
Whether a message counts as a commercial electronic message depends on more than its main purpose. Subsection 1(2) looks at the content of the message, the hyperlinks in it and the contact information it contains2. That matters for reminders, because a link to a sales page or an offer at the bottom of an otherwise factual message can change how the whole message is read.
The transactional exemption in section 6(6)
Section 6(6) lists messages to which the consent requirement does not apply, provided the message solely does one of the listed things1. The categories most relevant to booking websites are:
| Paragraph | What it covers | Booking example |
|---|---|---|
| 6(6)(a) | A quote or estimate the recipient requested | A price estimate for a home-service job the customer asked for |
| 6(6)(b) | Facilitating, completing or confirming a commercial transaction the recipient previously agreed to | A booking confirmation, a reminder of that booking, a change confirmation |
| 6(6)(c) | Warranty, recall, safety or security information about something the recipient uses or bought | A notice that a booked appointment cannot go ahead because the studio is closed for a gas leak or a power outage |
| 6(6)(d) | Factual information about an ongoing purchase, subscription, membership or account | A note that a class pack has two sessions left |
The key word is "solely". A reminder that confirms the time of a booking fits the idea of facilitating or confirming a transaction. A reminder that also advertises a new service no longer solely does that.
Exempt from consent is not exempt from everything
The 6(6) exemption removes the consent requirement in paragraph 6(1)(a). It does not, on its own wording, remove the form requirements in subsection 6(2)1. A university legal office's summary of the rules says that messages in these exempt categories should include the name, contact and unsubscribe information described in the content requirements3. The CRTC's information session material makes the same point for requested quotes and estimates: no consent is needed, but the sender must still meet the information requirements and add an unsubscribe mechanism4.
In practice, every booking message should:
- Name your business clearly as the sender.
- Include contact information. The CRTC's guidelines say a commercial message must include the sender's mailing address, valid for at least 60 days after the message is sent5.
- Include an unsubscribe or messaging preference link where required. Under section 11, the mechanism must let the recipient opt out at no cost, the address or link must remain valid for at least 60 days, and opt-outs must take effect without delay and within 10 business days6.
Different businesses handle the unsubscribe point in different ways for purely transactional messages, and this is a good question to put to a lawyer if your reminders go out in large volumes. Including a working preferences link is the cautious choice.
Replies to enquiries are different again
A reply to a question, complaint or request is treated differently from a reminder. The CRTC's information session material says replies to requests, inquiries or complaints are exempt from section 6 altogether4. If someone emails asking whether you have a Saturday appointment and you reply with the times, that is a reply to an enquiry. If you later send them a newsletter, it is not.
Where reminders drift into marketing
| Content in the message | How it reads |
|---|---|
| Date, time, location, what to bring, change link | Transactional |
| Parking directions or a note that the entrance has moved | Transactional |
| "Book your next visit and get 10% off" | Promotional content added |
| Link to a product shop or a seasonal sale | Promotional content added |
| "Refer a friend" offer | Promotional content added |
Once a reminder carries promotional content, it is safer to treat it as a commercial message that needs consent. The simplest approach is to keep reminders purely about the booking and to put offers in a separate newsletter that people opt into.
Getting consent for marketing at booking time
The booking form is a natural place to ask whether a customer wants news and offers. Ask with a separate checkbox that is unticked by default, say what kind of messages they will get and from whom, and record when and how consent was given. Do not make marketing consent a condition of booking.
Text messages count too
CASL's definition of an electronic address lists an electronic mail account, an instant messaging account, a telephone account or any similar account2, so text reminders sent to a phone are covered as well as email. They need the same care: identify the business, keep the content to the booking and offer a way to stop messages. Short messages have little room, so many businesses include their name and a short link to a page with full contact and preference details.
A reminder template that stays on the safe side
Linden & Loom Studio: reminder of your Cut and Style on Tuesday, May 11 at 10:30 a.m., 41 Example Street. Need to change it? Use your booking link: [link]. Questions: hello@example.ca. Message preferences: [link].
The business in this example is fictional. Notice what is missing: no offers, no product links and no "you might also like". That is the point.
What we build into booking sites
When we set up booking messages, we keep each message to one transactional job, include sender identification and contact details, add a preferences link and keep marketing consent as a separate, optional checkbox on the booking form. The details are on our reminders and confirmations page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need consent to send an appointment reminder?
A message that solely confirms or facilitates a booking the customer agreed to falls within a section 6(6) exemption from the consent requirement. The message should still identify you and include contact and unsubscribe information.
Can I add a small promotion to a reminder?
Adding promotional content means the message no longer solely does a transactional job, so the exemption may no longer apply. Send promotions separately to people who have consented.
Does CASL apply to text message reminders?
Yes. The Act's definition of an electronic address includes a telephone account as well as an email account, so text reminders are covered.
Sources
Checked on November 3, 2026.
- Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, S.C. 2010, c. 23, section 6. Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. (legislation)
- Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, S.C. 2010, c. 23, section 1. Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. (legislation)
- Commercial Electronic Messages (CEMs). Queen's University, University Secretariat and Legal Counsel. (secondary source)
- Information Session on Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. (regulator)
- Guidelines on the interpretation of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC), Compliance and Enforcement Information Bulletin CRTC 2012-548. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, October 10, 2012. (regulator)
- Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, S.C. 2010, c. 23, section 11. Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada. (legislation)