Reference
US subscription & auto-renewal law, by requirement
What US subscription law asks of your signup, cancellation, and renewal reminders, in plain English, with the citation for each. This is a reference, not legal advice; confirm anything that matters with your counsel.
| Where | Law | Applies to | What it requires | In effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal (US) | Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) 15 U.S.C. § 8403 | Signup | Before charging, clearly disclose all material terms and obtain the customer's express informed consent to the negative-option feature. You must spell out the terms and get a clear yes before the first charge on a recurring plan. A pre-checked box or buried terms is not enough. | Standing |
| Federal (US) | Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) 15 U.S.C. § 8403 | Cancellation | Provide a simple mechanism for a consumer to stop recurring charges. There has to be an easy way to stop the charges. Making cancellation hard to find or complete is the classic ROSCA problem. | Standing |
| Federal (US) | FTC Act Section 5 (unfair or deceptive acts) 15 U.S.C. § 45 | Cancellation | Do not use dark patterns that impede cancellation (forced phone-only cancellation when signup was online, misdirection, or repeated retention interruptions). If someone signed up online, they should be able to cancel online. Forcing a phone call, or burying the cancel button behind guilt-trip screens, is the kind of dark pattern the FTC pursues. | Standing |
| CA | California Automatic Renewal Law, as amended by AB 2863 Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17602 | Cancellation | Offer a cancellation method that matches how the consumer signed up (an online sign-up must have an online cancel path). In California, the way out has to match the way in. Sign up with two clicks online, and cancelling can't require a phone call during business hours. | 2025-07-01 |
| CA | California Automatic Renewal Law, as amended by AB 2863 Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17602 | Renewal reminders | Send an annual reminder for subscriptions of a year or longer, disclosing terms and how to cancel. Long subscriptions need a yearly nudge that reminds the customer they're still paying and how to stop. | 2025-07-01 |
| CA | California Automatic Renewal Law, as amended by AB 2863 Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17602 | Signup | Obtain the consumer's express affirmative consent to the automatic-renewal terms before charging, presented clearly and conspicuously. The auto-renewal terms have to be shown plainly and agreed to on purpose, not slipped past the customer at checkout. | 2025-07-01 |
Want to know where your own flow stands?
Run a free check, or a full audit that maps every gap to these laws with screenshot evidence.
This table is a growing reference and does not yet cover every state auto-renewal law. Fixout produces evidence and engineering findings, not legal advice.