California's Automatic Renewal Law: What It Requires and How Subscription Businesses Are Sued Under It

Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).

Before a subscription renews on a consumer's card, California's Automatic Renewal Law requires three things of the business. It must present the renewal terms clearly and conspicuously next to the request for consent, obtain the consumer's express affirmative consent to those terms, and send an acknowledgment that explains how to cancel. A business that accepts sign-ups online must also allow cancellation online. The rules are in Business and Professions Code section 17602. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. defends subscription businesses in Orange County, Los Angeles, and across California against these claims.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss an automatic renewal demand letter or lawsuit.

What an automatic renewal demand is claiming

The Automatic Renewal Law sits among California's false advertising statutes. It applies to a business that makes an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (a).) A consumer is an individual who buys for personal, family, or household purposes. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17601, subd. (a)(4).)

The demand letters I read tend to make the same four accusations. The renewal terms were in the footer or behind a link. Nobody asked the customer to agree to the renewal itself. No confirmation email explained how to cancel. Cancelling required a phone call during business hours.

The answer usually turns on what the screen showed on the day that customer signed up.

What the statute requires at sign-up

This is how I read the statute when a claim comes in. It is a summary. Whether a particular checkout satisfies it takes a review of the actual screens.

The offer terms must be presented clearly and conspicuously before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled, in visual proximity to the request for consent. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (a)(1).) The required terms are that the subscription continues until the consumer cancels, the cancellation policy, the recurring charge and whether it may change, the length of the renewal term, and any minimum purchase obligation. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17601, subd. (a)(2).)

"Clear and conspicuous" is defined. It means larger type than the surrounding text, or contrasting type, font, or color, or text set off by symbols or other marks in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17601, subd. (a)(3).)

The business may not charge the card without the consumer's affirmative consent to the agreement containing the terms, and it must obtain express affirmative consent to the renewal terms themselves. It must also keep verification of that consent for at least three years, or one year after the contract ends, whichever is longer. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (a)(2), (4), (6).)

Acknowledgments, reminders, and price changes

After the sale, the business must send an acknowledgment the consumer can keep. It has to contain the offer terms, the cancellation policy, and how to cancel. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (a)(3).)

Reminders come later. If a free trial or promotional price lasts more than 31 days, a notice must generally go out at least 3 and at most 21 days before that period ends. If the initial term is one year or longer, notice is due at least 15 and not more than 45 days before renewal. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (b).)

A fee change requires clear notice, with cancellation instructions, no less than 7 and no more than 30 days before it takes effect. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (g).)

The cancellation rules plaintiffs cite

Every covered business must offer a toll-free number, an email address, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use way to cancel. A business that takes cancellations by phone must answer calls promptly during normal business hours. A voicemail asking to cancel must be processed or returned within one business day. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (c).)

Online sellers carry a heavier duty. A business that lets a consumer accept the offer online must let the consumer terminate exclusively online, at will, through a prominently located link or button or a pre-formatted termination email. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (d).) A retention offer is allowed during an online cancellation only if a "click to cancel" link or button stays on the screen with it. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (e).)

The current text includes amendments that apply only to a contract entered into, amended, or extended on or after July 1, 2025. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17602, subd. (j).) The sign-up date therefore matters, because an older, unchanged subscription may be measured against the earlier text.

What a violation costs, and who can sue

Goods shipped under a renewal without the required consent are deemed an unconditional gift, and the consumer owes nothing for them, including return shipping. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17603.) A violation is not a crime. All available civil remedies may be used, but a business that complies in good faith is not subject to them. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17604.)

A Court of Appeal has held that the statute gives a consumer no direct right to sue. A private plaintiff needs another statute, usually the Unfair Competition Law, which requires money lost because of the violation. (Mayron v. Google LLC (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 566, 573-574.) That causation question is the first one I test. Would this customer have declined to sign up, or cancelled sooner, if the flow had complied?

Public prosecutors can sue as well, and unfair competition penalties run up to $2,500 for each violation. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17206, subd. (a).) Private demands often arrive with a CLRA notice and allegations on behalf of a class, which we cover on our page about a business named in a class action.

What to do when the demand arrives

Preserve first. Capture the sign-up flow as the complaining customer saw it, the confirmation email, the consent record for that account, and the version history of the page. Do not redesign the checkout until the old one is saved; our litigation hold page explains why.

Next, read your terms of use for an arbitration clause and a class waiver, and ask whether customers agreed to them in a way a court will enforce, a subject covered on our clickwrap and browsewrap page.

We then compare the flow with the statute as it read on the sign-up date, test the claimant's standing, and respond. Some matters end with a refund and a corrected page. Others are litigated in the Orange County or Los Angeles Superior Court. Our business litigation practice handles both.

What to bring to the first meeting

The demand letter or complaint.
Screenshots or archived versions of the checkout flow and confirmation emails.
The customer's account history, including sign-up date, charges, and cancellation attempts.
Your terms of use and your business insurance policies.

Frequently asked questions

We sell a monthly subscription online. What does California require before we can auto-renew a customer's card?

California's Automatic Renewal Law requires three things. Disclose the renewal terms clearly and conspicuously beside the consent request. Obtain the consumer's express affirmative consent to those terms. Send a retainable acknowledgment with the terms and cancellation instructions. Because you sell online, you must also offer online cancellation under Business and Professions Code section 17602. Whether your own checkout meets those requirements depends on the actual screens.

A customer says our free trial turned into a paid plan without warning and wants every charge refunded. Do we have to pay?

It depends on what your flow disclosed. California requires a clear explanation of the price charged when a trial ends, and generally a reminder before a trial longer than 31 days expires. If those were missing, a refund is often the practical answer. A private lawsuit under the Unfair Competition Law still requires the customer to show money lost because of the violation.

Can a consumer sue directly under the Automatic Renewal Law?

No. A California Court of Appeal held in Mayron v. Google LLC that the Automatic Renewal Law creates no private right of action. Consumers instead sue under other statutes, most often the Unfair Competition Law, which requires an injury in fact and lost money or property caused by the violation.

Does the Automatic Renewal Law apply to business customers?

Generally not. California's Automatic Renewal Law covers offers made to a consumer, and its definitions limit that word to an individual acquiring goods, services, money, or credit for personal, family, or household use. A subscription sold to a company for its operations usually falls outside that definition. The contract's own renewal and cancellation terms still govern.

Does California require online cancellation for subscriptions?

Yes, when the consumer was able to sign up online. Section 17602 of the Business and Professions Code then calls for an online way to end the subscription at will: a prominent link or button, or a termination email the business has formatted in advance. The business may not add steps that obstruct or delay cancellation.

Talk to a California business litigation attorney

If your subscription business has received an automatic renewal demand, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is located at 327 Magnet, Irvine, CA 92618, and defends businesses in Orange County, Los Angeles, and throughout California.

This page provides general information about California law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the sign-up flow, the facts, and the court.