US State Automatic-Renewal Laws: An Overview of Common Requirements

An automatic renewal, sometimes called a "negative option," is any arrangement where a subscription keeps billing you unless you take an affirmative step to cancel. Because the default is to keep charging, lawmakers have long treated these offers as an area that needs consumer protection. In the United States, both federal law and a growing number of state laws set rules for how these offers must be presented, consented to, and cancelled.

At the federal level, the baseline is the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA), which Congress enacted in 2010 and codified at 15 U.S.C. sections 8401 to 8405. For goods and services sold online through a negative-option feature, ROSCA requires the seller to clearly and conspicuously disclose all material terms before obtaining billing information, obtain the consumer's express informed consent, and provide a simple mechanism to stop recurring charges. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also enforces the FTC Act's broader prohibition on deceptive and unfair practices.

On top of that federal floor, many states have passed their own automatic-renewal laws (ARLs). California was an early mover, and by 2026 the landscape is a patchwork: requirements differ from state to state, and several states strengthened their laws in 2025. Which rules apply to a given subscription can depend on where the consumer lives and where the business operates.

Despite the state-by-state variation, most automatic-renewal laws are built around the same three ideas. The first is clear and conspicuous disclosure. Before a consumer agrees to pay, the business must present the material terms, such as what the product is, the amount and frequency of charges, any deadline to cancel, and how to cancel, in a way that is easy to see and understand, typically close to where the consumer gives consent.

The second is express affirmative consent. The consumer must actively agree to the automatic-renewal terms, rather than having them buried in fine print or pre-checked boxes. Newer laws, such as California's, also bar businesses from including contract language that undermines a consumer's ability to give that consent, and they require companies to keep records of it.

The third is an easy way to cancel, and, increasingly, advance reminders. Many laws now require that if you signed up online, you must be able to cancel online through a simple mechanism, often in the same medium you used to enroll and no harder than signing up was. For longer subscriptions and for free-trial-to-paid conversions, several states also require the business to send a renewal reminder within a defined window before the charge or cancellation deadline.

The federal rules changed significantly, and then changed back, in 2025. In 2024 the FTC finalized amendments to its Negative Option Rule, widely known as the "Click-to-Cancel" rule, that would have imposed nationwide disclosure, consent, and easy-cancellation requirements. Most of those provisions were scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025.

On July 8, 2025, days before that deadline, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the amended rule in Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137. The court did not rule on whether the substance was good policy; it held that the FTC committed a procedural error by failing to prepare a required preliminary regulatory analysis for a rule with an estimated economic impact exceeding $100 million. As a result, the 2024 amended rule is not in force.

That vacatur did not erase other protections. ROSCA, the FTC Act, and state automatic-renewal laws all remain in effect, and the FTC and state attorneys general have continued to bring enforcement actions against deceptive subscription practices. In early 2026 the FTC restarted the rulemaking process, publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking and inviting public comment, so the federal rules could change again.

California's Automatic Renewal Law (Business and Professions Code sections 17600 and following) is among the most detailed. Assembly Bill 2863, signed in 2024, added requirements that apply to contracts entered into, amended, or extended on or after July 1, 2025. Among other things, it requires express affirmative consent, lets consumers who enrolled online cancel exclusively online, requires cancellation to be available through the same medium used to sign up, mandates annual reminders, requires advance notice of fee changes (generally 7 to 30 days), and requires businesses to retain proof of consent.

New York amended its automatic-renewal statute (General Business Law sections 527 and 527-a), with changes effective November 5, 2025. The amended law requires clear and conspicuous disclosure of material terms near the request for consent and a simple cancellation mechanism that is as easy to use as, and in the same medium as, the sign-up. It also adds reminder duties: for offers with an initial term of a year or more that renew for six months or longer, a pre-renewal notice must go out between 15 and 45 days before the cancellation deadline; where a free gift or trial lasts more than a month, a notice must be sent between 3 and 21 days before the first chargeable period.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Because the rules vary, the protections available for a specific subscription depend on the state involved and the details of the offer. Reading the terms you agreed to, especially the sections on renewal, cancellation deadlines, and how to cancel, is usually the best starting point for understanding your rights.

As a practical matter, it can help to save the confirmation you received when you signed up, note the renewal date, and locate the cancellation path before a renewal charge posts. If a business makes cancellation unreasonably difficult, obstructs an online cancellation that state law requires, or fails to disclose renewal terms, consumers can report the conduct to their state attorney general or to the FTC, which track and act on such complaints.