The UK's new subscription contracts regime: what, when and why?
Complex new rules governing consumer subscription contracts in the UK are expected to come into force in Autumn 2026. We explain what the legislation requires and what businesses should be doing to prepare.
NOTE: The subscription contracts regime is complex and this briefing is only a summary of the key requirements and key issues that businesses need to consider. It is not intended to provide a fully comprehensive guide to the legislation.
Many UK consumer-facing businesses use a subscription model and the market as a whole is estimated to be worth £1.6 billion a year. The UK Government decided to regulate because of concerns that consumers often forget what they've signed up for and don't realise when contracts have renewed, potentially locking them into purchasing goods or services they aren't always using for a significant period. The new regime is intended to ensure that consumers:
As we explain below, however, the new rules are quite prescriptive and are not entirely straightforward to apply.
The new regime is being introduced under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. That Act also gives the UK's lead consumer regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), tough new powers to enforce consumer law, which it has recently begun to use. These include the ability to impose fines of up to 10% of turnover, together with "redress orders", which – in this context – could include an order to contact all affected consumers, offering them a right to cancel with a full refund.
But there are risks even if the CMA doesn't investigate. For example, if consumers have not been given the correct information about subscription contracts, it is likely that they will benefit from an extended cancellation period, possibly as long as 12 months (this is still to be confirmed), during which they could cancel without penalty. It's easy to see how an internet campaign alerting consumers to their ability to get out of certain subscription contracts could result in a business losing a significant proportion of its expected revenue stream for the next 6-18 months – none of which would require CMA intervention.
The Government has indicated that it expects to implement the new rules in "Autumn 2026" (it had originally stated that it would not implement before April 2026, but this was widely seen as the date the Government was aiming for). It's also important to note that most of the other consumer law provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 have been in force since April 2025 – and as noted above, the CMA is now beginning to use its new enforcement powers under the legislation. We are, however, still awaiting two key pieces of the regulatory jigsaw in this area:
Given that we don't yet have all the detail, it's reasonable to ask: why not wait until we do? For some businesses, that may be a viable approach. But many businesses will need to plan ahead to some degree – for example:
Although there are still areas of uncertainty, our view is that the legislation and the Government's consultation on the detail provide enough of a steer to enable at least some meaningful planning to take place now.
The concept of a "subscription contract" under the new regime is broad. It is defined as an agreement that provides for an automatically recurring or continuous supply of goods, services or digital content to the consumer for either an indefinite or fixed period. In particular, the following arrangements are – subject to the exceptions highlighted below – likely to be caught:
Subscriptions which offer an initial free period will also be caught. Even businesses which do not use subscriptions as part of their core offering may be caught - for example, a visitor attraction that offers annual season tickets which auto-renew.
NOTE: as the exclusions are set out in the legislation, this is an area which we can advise on now. It is important, however, not to interpret these exclusions too widely. For example, the exclusion for utilities does not mean that a contract for annual boiler or heat pump maintenance would be out of scope, merely because it relates to the energy sector (although if the service is provided under a contract of insurance, the financial services exclusion could apply).
The new regime requires the following pre-contract information to be provided to the consumer:
Both sets of information must be given to the consumer as close in time to entering the contract as possible – and there are strict rules about how they must be presented. For example, each set of information must be provided separately, so it's not possible to combine them – nor is it possible to rely on the fact that some of the same information may have been given to the consumer at an earlier stage of the sales process. Businesses will therefore need to give careful consideration to how the required information is integrated into consumers' "purchase journey".
As noted earlier, one consequence of failure to comply is that, in some cases, consumers may benefit from a cooling-off period that extends substantially beyond the usual 14 days – allowing them to cancel at a much later date.
The new regime requires businesses to send consumers regular reminder notices about upcoming renewal payments for their subscription contracts. As with pre-contract information, the rules are not entirely straightforward and the timing is likely to vary, depending on the terms of the subscription.
A business that offers a rolling subscription, auto-renewing monthly, would typically need to send reminders no more than once in every 6 month period (starting from the date the contract commenced). However, the notice would need to be provided to the consumer sufficiently far in advance of their next renewal payment that they could, if they wished, cancel the subscription and avoid having to make the payment. If the consumer is required to give 6 weeks' prior notice to cancel, then sending a reminder notice 5 months after the contract started will almost certainly be too late. In practice, the notice would probably need to be sent out at around the 4 month stage, to give the consumer sufficient time to consider whether they want to give 6 weeks' notice to avoid the next payment. Additional reminder notices are required where the consumer benefits from an initial free period before payments start.
As with pre-contract information, the new regime is quite prescriptive about the content of reminder notices. For example, they must not only include the amount of the renewal payment and when it will be payable, but also how it differs as compared with the previous renewal payment and how to end the contract to avoid liability for renewal payments.
The new regime also requires consumers to be given cooling-off periods, during which they can cancel their subscription contract and have any fees refunded. In all cases, there will be a 14 day cooling-off period at the start of the subscription. Further 14 day renewal cooling-off periods are required in the following circumstances:
For each renewal cooling-off period, a business must give the consumer a separate "cooling-off" notice. As with pre-contract information and reminder notices, the rules are quite prescriptive about both the timing and content of this notice. In particular:
An obvious concern in relation to cancellation rights is that some consumers may use the subscription during the 14 day cooling-off period and then cancel, seeking a full refund. The Government has been consulting on this issue and we are still awaiting its response. However, in its consultation, it suggested that in principle, businesses should be able to apply e.g. a pro rata reduction to any refund in order to reflect usage within the 14 day period. It therefore appears that businesses will be able to levy at least some charges in this scenario, but exactly how much remains to be seen.
The new subscription contracts regime – though well intentioned - is not particularly straightforward. At Travers Smith, we understand the importance of achieving compliance in a way which fits with how you want to engage with consumers and minimises disruption to your business. We won't lose sight of the bigger picture and can guide you through how the subscription contracts regime interacts with other relevant legislation, such as the distance selling rules and the law governing unfair terms and unfair practices.
More widely, our team has extensive experience in advising on consumer law matters (including CMA investigations). We recognise the need to adopt a pragmatic approach, focussing on the highest areas of risk whilst ensuring that you are still able to achieve your commercial objectives.
To find out more, please speak to any of the contacts listed below.
