If you signed up for a subscription online in California, you have the right to cancel it online, at will and right away, with no obstructive steps in the way. Businesses must also get your clear consent before they charge you, and they must tell you how to cancel. California does not promise a refund on every renewal, though. Whether you can get money back depends on what the company disclosed, what you agreed to, and what happened when you tried to cancel.
This guide explains the rules in plain terms. It covers how to cancel, what free trial and renewal notices must say, when a refund claim is strong, and what evidence to keep.
TL;DR
- If you enrolled online, the business must let you cancel online. For contracts entered into, amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025, that means a prominent link or button in your account, or an immediately accessible cancellation email.
- There is no blanket refund right and no general three-day right to cancel an ordinary online purchase. Refund claims are strongest when the company failed to disclose the renewal, had no affirmative consent, kept billing after you cancelled, or made cancelling a maze.
- Free trials longer than 31 days require a reminder notice 3 to 21 days before the trial ends. Annual plans require notice 15 to 45 days before renewal.
- Cancel with the merchant first and save the confirmation. Then dispute any later charge with your card issuer and report violations to the Attorney General.
- Save the signup page, emails, screenshots and statements. Disputes turn on evidence.
Table of Contents
- What the law covers
- How you are allowed to cancel
- Free trials and renewal notices
- Can you get a refund?
- A cancellation routine that protects you
- Who enforces the law, and what else applies
- Our perspective
- When to talk to a lawyer
- FAQ
- Sources
What the law covers
California’s Automatic Renewal Law sits in the Business and Professions Code, sections 17600 to 17606. It applies to three kinds of offers:
- A paid subscription that renews automatically.
- A continuous service that keeps going until you cancel.
- A free or discounted trial that turns into a paid plan unless you act.
The law protects consumers, meaning individuals buying for personal, family or household purposes. If you bought a software seat or service for your business, you may fall outside that definition, and your contract terms matter more.
Before a company charges you, it must clearly disclose that the plan renews or continues, the cancellation policy, the recurring charge and any possible change, the length of the renewal term, and any minimum purchase obligation. It must also get your express affirmative consent and send an acknowledgment you can keep, with cancellation information in it.
A pre-checked box or a buried line in the terms is a poor substitute for that consent. The state’s own free trial guidance tells shoppers to avoid pre-checked boxes for this reason.
How you are allowed to cancel
Online signup means online cancellation
The rule is symmetry. If you enrolled online, the law requires a cancellation method you can use at will and immediately, without obstructive or delaying steps. These rules come from AB 2863. The amendments took effect January 1, 2025, but the new cancellation-method definitions apply to contracts entered into, amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025.
For those contracts, the method must be one of two things:
- A prominently located direct link or button in your account, profile or settings.
- A cancellation email address the business supplies that works immediately.
The author of the bill, Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, framed it as making sure Californians can cancel unwanted renewals as easily as they signed up. A company that makes signup one tap and cancellation a scavenger hunt is the target.
Phone, email and mail
Businesses must also give you a way to cancel that does not depend on a website. Under section 17602, that means a toll-free phone number, an email address, or a postal address when they bill you directly, or another cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use method. Phone cancellations must be handled promptly during normal business hours. If you leave a voicemail, the business must process the request or call you back within one business day.
Retention offers
A company may mention a discount or explain what you lose by leaving. It cannot use that pitch to block you. If you call, say plainly that you want to cancel. Online, the cancel link or button has to stay available while any offer is shown.
Free trials and renewal notices
Most “surprise” charges come from trials. A free month is legal. A trial that rolls into a paid plan without clear disclosure and consent is not.
| Situation | Notice required |
|---|---|
| Automatic renewal, initial term of one year or longer | At least 15 and no more than 45 days before renewal |
| Free or discounted trial or introductory price lasting more than 31 days | At least 3 and no more than 21 days before it ends |
| Fee change you previously accepted | 7 to 30 days before it takes effect |
| Ongoing subscription | Annual reminder with the service, charge amount and frequency, and how to cancel |
These figures come from the Attorney General’s consumer alert. Each notice must state the renewal terms, the charge, how often it recurs, and how to cancel.
Notice what the table leaves out. A seven-day trial has no mandatory reminder under these timing rules. Even a lawful subscription can charge you if you miss a disclosed deadline. The Attorney General’s guidance suggests a few habits: read the trial terms, put the end date in your calendar, and check your statements. If a trial is long enough that you will forget it, set two reminders.
Can you get a refund?
This is the part most people get wrong. California does not provide a blanket refund for every auto-renewing subscription, and there is no general three-day right to cancel an ordinary online purchase. The widely quoted three-day rule applies to specific transactions, not to subscriptions in general.
So “I forgot to cancel” is a weak position on its own. These are stronger:
- No clear disclosure. The renewal terms were hidden, vague, or shown away from the signup button.
- No affirmative consent. You never agreed to recurring charges, or the company cannot show that you did.
- Charges after cancellation. You cancelled, got confirmation, and were billed anyway.
- Obstructed cancellation. Cancelling was materially harder than signing up: no online option, endless screens, a phone line that never answered.
- Missing notices. A required reminder or acknowledgment never arrived.
Each of these maps directly onto a requirement in the statute. That is why the paperwork matters. The law requires businesses to keep verification of your consent for at least three years, or one year after the subscription ends, whichever is longer. Your records are the other half of the comparison.
What “terminate” means
To terminate a subscription is to end the automatic renewal or continuous service so future charges stop. It does not automatically trigger a refund of past charges, and access may continue through the period you already paid for if the contract says so.
A cancellation routine that protects you
- Find the cancellation control in your account settings, or use the phone, email or mail method the company disclosed.
- Say no to retention offers unless you want one. Keep going until you see a confirmation.
- Save proof. Screenshot the confirmation page and keep the email, with the date and time showing.
- Follow up in writing if you get no confirmation. A short email stating the date you cancelled and asking for written confirmation is enough.
- Watch the next statement. If a charge appears after cancellation, ask the merchant for a refund promptly.
- Dispute with your card issuer if the merchant will not fix it.
- Report the business to the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report.
Order matters. Do not assume that calling your bank ends the subscription. Cancel with the merchant first and get confirmation. The Attorney General’s guidance recommends contacting the company, then disputing the charge, then reporting deceptive conduct.
Evidence to keep
- The signup page, or screenshots of it, and the terms you saw
- The confirmation or acknowledgment email
- Renewal and reminder notices, or proof that none came
- Cancellation screenshots, chat transcripts and call dates
- Bank or card statements showing every charge
Who enforces the law, and what else applies
The law is enforced by the Attorney General and by city and district attorneys. Reports go through the Attorney General’s online portal. The law also works alongside broader protections against unlawful, unfair or deceptive practices, including so-called dark patterns, which are interface designs that steer you toward choices you did not mean to make.
Federal law can apply too. The FTC has said that hidden charges, enrollment without consent, and burdensome cancellation or refund procedures are recurring problems with negative-option offers, meaning offers where the seller treats your silence as acceptance. In a 2024 letter to Governor Newsom, the FTC’s consumer protection director described California’s click-to-cancel bill as addressing those harms. For a plain-language overview of how trials and negative-option plans work, see the FTC’s consumer advice page.
If you want more detail on the practical side, our posts on click to cancel in California and on escaping unwanted subscription traps go deeper.
Our perspective
We see the same pattern in subscription disputes. The consumer is rarely arguing about a missed date. The real question is whether the company set things up fairly: did it disclose the renewal, ask for consent, send the notices, and offer an exit as easy as the entrance?
That is why we tell people to document everything, early. A screenshot of a cancel page taken on the day you tried it can matter more than any argument you make later. We also tell people not to overestimate a single small charge. One $7.99 renewal is usually best handled through the merchant and your card issuer.
The cases that call for a lawyer look different. They involve many customers charged under the same confusing flow, or a company that keeps billing after repeated cancellations. These are the situations California’s statute was written for, and they are the kind of consumer cases our firm takes on, including cases larger firms avoid. Most are handled on a contingency basis, so you pay nothing unless there is a recovery.
— Mark
When to talk to a lawyer
You do not need an attorney to cancel a streaming plan. Consider a consultation when:
- You were charged repeatedly after documented cancellation attempts.
- The amounts are large, or recurring across many months or years.
- You believe many customers were enrolled through the same flow.
- The company ignored a written demand and a chargeback failed.
Our illegal subscription practice handles California auto-renewal claims, and we offer free case consultations. Bring your evidence folder and we can tell you whether the facts line up with the statute. Businesses that want to stay on the right side of the law can read our guide on avoiding auto-renewal class actions. If the charge that bothers you is a hidden fee rather than a renewal, see our page on junk fee and drip pricing claims.
This article is general information, not legal advice about your situation. Deadlines for legal claims can be short, so speak with a California consumer protection attorney soon if you think you have a claim.
FAQ
Can I get a refund for an auto-renewing subscription in California?
Not automatically. California has no blanket refund right for renewals. Your claim is stronger if the company did not disclose the renewal, lacked your affirmative consent, billed after you cancelled, or made cancelling deliberately difficult. Ask the merchant first, then dispute with your card issuer.
Do I have three days to change my mind on a purchase?
No, not for ordinary online purchases or subscriptions. California does not provide a general three-day right to cancel. Any right to cancel or return depends on the specific transaction type and the seller’s own policy.
What happens if I forget to cancel a free trial?
You will probably be charged if the trial terms were properly disclosed and you consented. For trials over 31 days, the business must send a reminder 3 to 21 days before the trial ends. If it did not, or if the disclosure was unclear, you may have grounds to ask for a refund.
Does cancelling end my access immediately?
Not necessarily. Cancelling stops future renewals. The contract may let you keep access through the period you already paid for.
Where do I report a company that will not let me cancel?
Report it to the California Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report. City and district attorneys also enforce the law. Include your screenshots, dates and statements.
Sources
- California Business and Professions Code section 17601
- California Business and Professions Code section 17602
- AB 2863, as amended
- Attorney General Bonta consumer alert on the Automatic Renewal Law
- California Attorney General: Free Trial Offers
- Governor Newsom signs consumer protection bills, September 2024
- FTC letter to Governor Newsom on click-to-cancel
- FTC Consumer Advice: Getting In and Out of Free Trials and Auto-Renewals