Short answer. If you sell auto-renewing subscriptions to UK consumers, the rules ask you to give the key terms before sign-up, including the 14-day right to cancel, then send set notices at set points: reminders before trials end and before renewals, a fresh cooling-off notice at some renewals, and a confirmation when someone cancels online. They are due from 1 January 2027, subject to Parliament.
Does the DMCC Act apply to my business?
Four quick questions. Not legal advice. If unsure, check with an adviser.
The six duties in plain English
- Tell people everything at sign-up. Price, how often they pay, how the subscription renews and how to cancel.
- Tell them about the 14-day right to cancel. It belongs in the key terms before sign-up. A separate cooling-off notice is required when a renewal cooling-off period starts (section 266).
- Remind them before a free trial or discount ends. The reminder goes out before the first full-price payment, inside the window you promised at checkout.
- Keep reminding them while the plan rolls on. Monthly, weekly and quarterly plans need a reminder at least every six months. Six-monthly plans need one before every renewal. Yearly plans need two.
- Give a fresh cooling-off period at some renewals. When a trial or discount turns into a full-price plan, and when a yearly plan renews.
- Make cancelling easy, then confirm it. Let people cancel online, then confirm in writing within 24 hours.
Who the rules are likely to cover
You sell to consumers, the subscription renews automatically (or a trial rolls into paid), you have UK customers, and you are not in an excluded sector. The “do the rules apply to me?” check takes a minute.
Dates are the hard part
Every reminder depends on the sign-up date and the billing interval. A monthly plan that started on 1 June needs reminders before the 1 December payment and before the following 1 June payment. The reminder date calculator lays every notice out for the next 24 months.
What this page is not
This is general information based on draft Regulations and draft guidance. It is not legal advice, and the final rules may differ.
Questions
When do the new rules start?
They are due from 1 January 2027, subject to Parliament. We call them draft Regulations until they are made.
Do I have to send reminders a set number of days before renewal?
No. The law does not fix the number of days. You choose a window, state it at checkout and stick to it.
Who is excluded?
The draft list includes utilities, financial services and insurance, telecoms, gambling, childcare and school education, residential lettings, package travel, timeshare, prescriptions, local grocery delivery rounds and cultural or heritage charity memberships. The list is still being settled.
Sources
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, subscription contracts provisions
- Draft Consumer Subscription Contracts (Cancellation and Information) Regulations 2026, laid 19 October 2026
- Government draft guidance on subscription contracts, October 2026
Not legal advice. If unsure, check with an adviser.