Draft rules would make subscriptions easier to cancel

The government put draft regulations before Parliament on 19 October 2026, setting out how new rules on subscriptions would work. The rules are due to start in January 2027, as we reported in August. The government published draft guidance on the rules the same day.

What is changing

The draft regulations set out the detail of subscription rules that Parliament passed in 2024. The draft guidance says that the law is meant to make leaving a subscription as easy as signing up.

Under the draft rules:

• people would be able to stop a subscription renewing at any time, and leave online if the company lets people sign up online
• companies would have to send reminders before a free or discounted trial ends, before a renewal of 12 months or more, and every 6 months for rolling weekly or monthly subscriptions
• people would have 14 days to cancel after signing up, after the first full payment at the end of a free or discounted trial, and after a renewal of 12 months or more
• people who cancel within those 14 days would get a refund, but might have to pay for any part of the service they have already used

The draft regulations would start on 1 January 2027.

What it means for consumers

Nothing changes until the rules start. The draft guidance says that the rules would apply only to subscriptions people sign up to on or after 1 January 2027, and that subscriptions taken out before then would stay under the current rules. Our guide explains what people can do now if they cannot cancel a subscription.

What happens next

Both Houses of Parliament must approve the draft regulations before they become law. No date has been given for the votes.

Once the rules start, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be able to fine companies that break them. The draft guidance says that fines could be up to £300,000 or 10% of a company's worldwide turnover, whichever is higher.