B2B Cold Outreach in Germany: What § 7 UWG Allows by Phone, Email and Letter

What § 7 UWG regulates

§ 7 UWG of the German Act against Unfair Competition prohibits commercial practices by which a market participant is “unreasonably harassed”. Subsection 1 sets out the principle: advertising is unlawful if it is apparent that the recipient does not want it. Subsection 2 lists cases in which unreasonable harassment is always assumed – regardless of how polite or relevant the advertising is.

For phone calls, the law distinguishes two groups of recipients: consumers and “other market participants”. Under § 2(1) no. 3 UWG, a market participant is, besides competitors and consumers, any other person active as a supplier or buyer of goods or services – including companies, traders and freelancers. For them, the rules on phone calls are less strict; for email, the same rules apply as for consumers.

The channels at a glance

Scroll the table sideways.

Phone: what “presumed consent” means

Towards a business, § 7(2) no. 1 UWG requires “at least presumed consent”. That sounds more generous than it is. The Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) has published two decisions on the point, both issued under the earlier version of the provision (§ 7(2) no. 2 UWG, old version):

• “Telefonwerbung für ‚Individualverträge‘” (judgment of 16 November 2006 – I ZR 191/03): whether presumed consent can be assumed depends on the circumstances before the call and on the type and content of the advertising. A construction trade business could not be presumed to be interested in phone advertising for an unspecified brokerage service for which it would have to pay a considerable sum in advance. The press release no. 164/2006 adds: a trader can generally be presumed to be interested in being contacted by phone by potential customers – but not when the call serves to offer the caller’s own services.
• “Suchmaschineneintrag” (search engine listing; judgment of 20 September 2007 – I ZR 88/05): an unsolicited sales call to a trader can be unreasonable harassment if the caller could not assume beforehand that the recipient would agree to the call as planned. A free listing in an internet search engine’s directory did not, as a rule, justify that assumption, because the call also served to offer a paid listing.

The data protection authorities summarise this in their guidance of the German data protection authorities on direct marketing (February 2022, in German): a mere connection to the recipient’s business – their examples are advertising for office supplies, phone and electricity providers or paid brokerage of orders – is not enough to assume that the business owner agrees to the call. What is needed in any case is a specific reason that derives from the recipient’s own sphere of interest; as an example they name a previous business contact.

In practice, this means:

• The industry alone is no licence. “Every haulier needs tyres” is a connection to their business, not a specific reason.
• The reason must exist before the call. According to the Federal Court of Justice, what matters are the circumstances before the call – not whether the person shows interest during the conversation.
• Document the reason. Record for each contact what your assumption is based on: an enquiry, a trade fair conversation, an existing supply relationship, a public tender.
• A “no” counts. Anyone who says they do not want calls goes on a suppression list that is checked before every campaign.

Whether presumed consent exists in an individual case is decided by the courts on the specific facts if there is a dispute. Have your approach reviewed by a lawyer before a larger phone campaign.

Email: express consent, between businesses too

For advertising “using an automated calling machine, a fax machine or electronic mail”, § 7(2) no. 2 UWG requires the recipient’s prior express consent. The provision makes no distinction between consumers and businesses. The first marketing email to a business you have no relationship with is therefore unlawful without consent – regardless of whether it goes to a personal address or to info@, and regardless of where the address came from.

The Federal Court of Justice has confirmed this several times for recipients who are not consumers. Even a single unsolicited marketing email can be an unlawful interference with the right to an established and operating business (order of 20 May 2009 – I ZR 218/07, “E-Mail-Werbung II”; there, a law firm had received a newsletter). Recommendation emails that users send to third parties via a company’s website are treated no differently from the company’s own marketing emails (judgment of 12 September 2013 – I ZR 208/12, “Empfehlungs-E-Mail”). And according to the judgment of 14 March 2017 – VI ZR 721/15, valid consent requires, among other things, that the recipient knows that their statement constitutes consent and that it is clear which products or services of which companies it covers.

The exception for existing customers

§ 7(3) UWG allows email advertising without consent if all four of the following conditions are met:

1. The business obtained the address from the customer in connection with the sale of goods or services.
2. It uses the address for direct marketing of its own similar goods or services.
3. The customer has not objected to this use.
4. When the address is collected and each time it is used, the customer is clearly informed that they can object to the use at any time without incurring any costs other than transmission costs at basic rates.

The exception therefore requires that the advertiser obtained the address from the customer directly. It does not cover addresses from a purchased list.

Letter: the channel without a consent requirement

Postal advertising is not mentioned in § 7(2) UWG. The principle of subsection 1 applies: it is unlawful if the recipient has made clear that they do not want it – for example because they have objected. Under data protection law, a balancing of interests under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR can serve as the legal basis; the supervisory authorities refer to recital 47 of the Regulation, according to which processing personal data for direct marketing purposes may be regarded as carried out for a legitimate interest.

Data protection law only applies, however, when personal data is processed. The address of a GmbH is not personal data; that of a sole trader or freelancer is. In that case two obligations apply:

• Information under Art. 14 GDPR: anyone who has not collected data from the data subject must inform them, among other things, of the source – where the data is used to communicate with them, at the latest at the time of the first communication (Art. 14(3)).
• Objection under Art. 21(2) and (3) GDPR: the recipient can object to processing for direct marketing at any time; after that, the data may no longer be used for that purpose.

Data protection and competition law interlock

In their guidance, the supervisory authorities state that the assessment under data protection law must take into account the values expressed in § 7 UWG for the form of advertising in question. If a contact channel is not permitted under § 7 UWG, in their view there is no legitimate interest in the first place. A breach of competition law can therefore also be a data protection breach where personal data is involved.

What happens in case of a breach

• Warning letter and injunction. Under § 8 UWG, competitors, qualified trade associations, qualified consumer associations and, among others, the chambers of industry and commerce and the organisations established under the Crafts Code can demand removal and a cease-and-desist.
• Recipient’s claim for injunctive relief. For unsolicited marketing emails to businesses and freelancers, the Federal Court of Justice bases the recipient’s claim for injunctive relief on § 823(1) and § 1004(1), second sentence, of the German Civil Code (BGB) (order of 20 May 2009 – I ZR 218/07; judgment of 12 September 2013 – I ZR 208/12; judgment of 14 March 2017 – VI ZR 721/15). The recipient does not have to be a competitor.
• Administrative fines only for consumers. The regulatory offence under § 20 UWG – a fine of up to 300,000 euros, enforced by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) – concerns sales calls to consumers without consent. The provision does not provide for a fine for B2B calls.
• Data protection authorities. Where personal data is involved, the data protection authority may also take action.

Which claims exist in an individual case and what they cost depends on the circumstances; a lawyer can clarify this.

What this means for working with a company list

A company list – whatever its source – is suitable for three things: postal advertising, a working basis for calls where you check the specific reason for each business yourself, and market analysis and CRM matching. It is not suitable for mass emails.

This is how we handle it at firmenkontaktdaten.de: where available, the email column contains the publicly listed general business address; it serves to identify the business and to make contact once consent has been given. The page Export and sample file shows how a file is structured; the target groups you can select are listed under Company addresses by industry, for example trades and construction companies or freight forwarders. Our sources and the legal framework are described in our methodology.

Checklist before a campaign

1. Choose the channel and note the requirement under § 7 UWG (letter / presumed / express consent).
2. For calls: record the specific reason for each business.
3. Flag sole traders and freelancers in the list (legal form) and prepare the information under Art. 14 GDPR.
4. Keep a suppression list and check it before every mailing and every call campaign.
5. Name the sender clearly and provide a simple way to object.
6. If in doubt, have your approach reviewed by a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Is B2B cold outreach allowed in Germany?

It depends on the channel. Under § 7 UWG, an advertising letter to a business only becomes unlawful once the recipient has made clear that they do not want it. A sales call requires at least presumed consent. A marketing email requires prior express consent – between businesses as well (§ 7(1) and (2) UWG).

May I call a business without any prior contact?

Only if specific circumstances allow you to assume that the business agrees to the call. According to the Federal Court of Justice, what matters are the circumstances before the call and the type and content of the advertising (judgment of 16 November 2006 – I ZR 191/03). Under the guidance of the data protection authorities, it is not enough that your offer generally fits the business of the person you call; you need a specific reason that derives from that person’s own sphere of interest.

May I send an email to info@ if the address is in the legal notice (Impressum)?

Not for marketing purposes. Stating the address in the Impressum is a legal obligation under § 5 DDG, not consent to advertising. § 7(2) no. 2 UWG does not distinguish between personal and general addresses.

Does a purchased address list change these rules?

No. A list provides addresses and publicly listed contact details, but no consent. Consent must be given to the advertiser. Anyone offering you “email addresses with consent” should be able to prove who consented to what, and when.

What are the consequences of a breach towards businesses?

Competitors, qualified associations and chambers can demand removal and a cease-and-desist under § 8 UWG; in practice this starts with a formal warning letter (Abmahnung). For unsolicited marketing emails, the Federal Court of Justice has also granted the recipient a claim for injunctive relief (for example, judgment of 14 March 2017 – VI ZR 721/15). The administrative fine under § 20 UWG, by contrast, applies to sales calls to consumers, not to businesses.

As of 11 October 2026. Statutory texts from gesetze-im-internet.de, decisions of the Federal Court of Justice from the versions published on bundesgerichtshof.de, all retrieved on the same day. This article is general information and does not replace legal advice on an individual case.