CA Subscription Laws

California Subscription Cancellation Laws

California has a specific auto-renewal protection law: the Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17600). This gives you powerful rights when canceling subscriptions.

Automatic Renewal Law (ARL)

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17600

Clear disclosure of auto-renewal terms before purchase
Affirmative consent required
Easy online cancellation required
Full refund if terms not properly disclosed

Penalties: Consumers can recover actual damages plus $1,000 in statutory damages per violation

Federal Laws (Apply in California)

FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule (16 CFR Part 425) — cancellation must be as easy as signup
ROSCA (15 USC § 8403) — online subscriptions require clear disclosure + consent
Fair Credit Billing Act (15 USC § 1666) — dispute charges on credit cards
FTC Act § 5 (15 USC § 45) — prohibits deceptive billing practices
EFTA (15 USC § 1693) — unauthorized debit/ACH charge protections

What This Means for You

If a company in California didn't clearly disclose auto-renewal terms at signup, didn't get your affirmative consent, or makes cancellation difficult, their charges may be unlawful under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17600. SubScrub generates demand letters citing this specific law.

Cancel California Subscriptions

SubScrub automatically cites Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17600 and federal laws