Guides

Glossary of the UK subscription rules

Updated Invalid Date. Based on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the draft 2026 Regulations and guidance. Not legal advice.

Subscription contract. A contract between a business and a consumer for goods, services or digital content that renews or continues automatically until the consumer ends it, including free or discounted trials that roll onto paid terms (DMCCA s.254).

Concessionary period. A free or reduced-price period at the start of a subscription, such as a free trial (s.254(3), s.265(4)).

Renewal payment. Any payment the consumer could avoid by ending the contract (s.258(7)).

Relevant six-month period. The six-month blocks used to decide which renewal payments need a reminder notice: the first starts the day after sign-up, the next the day after the last reminded payment (s.258(2), (4)).

Reminder notice. A notice before certain renewal payments with ten required details, including the amount, the date and how to cancel (s.258, s.259, Schedule 23 Part 3).

Last cancellation date. The last day a consumer can end the contract and avoid the next renewal payment (s.259(5)).

Key pre-contract information. The short set of facts shown at checkout before the consumer commits: auto-renewal, prices, minimum total, how to cancel, reminder timing and a cooling-off summary (Schedule 23 Part 1).

Initial cooling-off period. 14 days after sign-up (or after the first delivery of goods) in which the consumer can cancel without penalty (s.265(1)).

Renewal cooling-off period. A further 14 days to cancel after a trial converts to paid or a 12-month-plus renewal (s.265(2), (3)).

Cooling-off notice. A separate notice sent when a renewal cooling-off period starts (s.266).

End-of-contract notice. Confirmation that a contract has been cancelled or will end, within 24 hours of an online request (s.261).

Durable medium. Paper, email or any form that the consumer can keep and reproduce unchanged, such as SMS. A disappearing in-app message does not count (s.280(1); Guidance FAQ 8).

Relevant implied terms. Duties treated as part of every subscription contract; if broken, the consumer can cancel and recover payments (s.262, s.263).

Proportionate refund. On cooling-off cancellation, the refund minus the value of what was supplied, worked out by time or units (draft regs 19 and 20).