1. Match the Black Friday Offer to the Subscription Terms
Business and Professions Code §§ 17601–17602 govern covered consumer automatic-renewal and continuous-service offers. The AB 2863 amendments apply to contracts entered into, amended, or extended on or after July 1, 2025. Black Friday promotions receive no special exemption.
Separate the Sale Deadline from the Discount Period
An advertising deadline tells customers when they must enroll to receive an offer. Their subscription discount may expire on a different date. Disclose the recurring charge, billing frequency, renewal term or continuous nature of service, cancellation policy, and any minimum purchase obligation. Explain known future pricing and potential changes.
Compare the advertisement, landing page, and mobile checkout. An advertising compliance review should check whether the promotional message accurately describes the subscription customers will purchase
Separate State Requirements from Federal Obligations
For online negative-option sales, the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) separately requires material disclosures before obtaining billing information, express informed consent before charging, and simple ways to stop recurring charges. The FTC’s vacated 2024 click-to-cancel amendments should not be treated as current federal requirements.
2. Verify Consent and the Confirmation Customers Can Keep
Businesses must obtain affirmative consent to the agreement containing the renewal terms and express affirmative consent to the renewal or continuous-service terms. Payment authorization alone does not establish that acceptance.
Preserve What the Customer Saw and Accepted
Place clear and conspicuous renewal disclosures near the request for consent. Avoid language or design that contradicts or undermines the customer’s choice. A separate, unchecked subscription checkbox can help document acceptance, but the statute does not prescribe that specific design.
Keep verification of affirmative consent for at least three years, or one year after termination, whichever is longer. Link the consent event to the customer, timestamp, and disclosure version. Today’s screenshot cannot establish what an earlier customer accepted.
Check the Confirmation Beyond the Payment Receipt
Provide an acknowledgment containing the renewal terms, cancellation policy, and cancellation instructions in a form the customer can retain. A receipt showing only the amount paid leaves these requirements unanswered. For a free gift or trial offer, explain how to cancel and allow cancellation before the consumer pays for the goods or services.
Preserving the confirmation template and sending record is a practical evidence measure. The consent-retention rule does not set a universal retention period for subscription records.
3. Schedule Notices Around the Customer’s Billing Events
Schedule notices around each customer’s trial expiration, renewal date, and fee change. This part of e-commerce compliance requires customer-specific dates rather than one campaign-wide mailing.
Distinguish the Notice Requirements
A subscription may trigger several notices. Match each event to its timing and content.
| Event | Timing | Main Information |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial or promotional price lasting more than 31 days | 3–21 days before expiration | Renewal terms, charges, cancellation route, and business contact information |
| Automatically renewing initial term of at least one year | 15–45 days before renewal | Renewal terms, charges, cancellation route, and business contact information |
| Fee change under an existing accepted subscription | 7–30 days before the change takes effect | Clear notice of the change and retainable cancellation information |
| Annual reminder | Annually for covered agreements | Product or service, charge amount and frequency, and cancellation method |
Free trial or promotional price lasting more than 31 days
- Timing3–21 days before expiration
- Main InformationRenewal terms, charges, cancellation route, and business contact information
Automatically renewing initial term of at least one year
- Timing15–45 days before renewal
- Main InformationRenewal terms, charges, cancellation route, and business contact information
Fee change under an existing accepted subscription
- Timing7–30 days before the change takes effect
- Main InformationClear notice of the change and retainable cancellation information
Annual reminder
- TimingAnnually for covered agreements
- Main InformationProduct or service, charge amount and frequency, and cancellation method
Where both trial/promotion and long-initial-term notices apply under § 17602(b), the statute requires only the long-initial-term notice under that subsection. That rule does not broadly eliminate separate fee-change or annual-reminder duties.
Electronic renewal notices must direct customers to cancellation through a link or another reasonably accessible electronic method. Use the enrollment or customary interaction medium for annual reminders. For originally in-person or voice-based transactions, use telephone, mail, or internet-based communication.
Review Discount Expiration As a Potential Fee Change
Do not assume advance disclosure of the regular price eliminates later notice duties. Section 17602(g)(2) covers changes in fees under existing offers, including changes customers affirmatively accepted in the original arrangement.
For a promotional-to-regular-price transition, assess the fee-change requirement alongside any trial-expiration notice. A discount lasting 31 days or less falls outside the specific longer-promotion notice trigger. It does not create a general exemption from disclosure, consent, cancellation, or applicable fee-change requirements.
4. Test Cancellation through to the Billing System
Online enrollment requires an exclusively online cancellation route that does not obstruct or delay immediate termination of the renewal feature. Provide a prominent direct link or button, or an immediately accessible, business-provided termination email that requires no additional information.
Check Retention Offers and Failed Logins
When presenting an online retention offer, simultaneously display a prominent, continuously visible nearby button or link labeled “click to cancel” or equivalent wording. Process cancellation promptly when the customer uses it.
Online account authentication is permitted for customers with accounts. However, customers unwilling or unable to authenticate online must have another statutory offline method to authenticate or terminate. Test that alternative rather than treating a failed login as the end of the process.
Preserve the Request and Confirm Its Effect
Test a cancellation request through to future billing. Preserve its submission, processing time, resulting status, and any later charge. Distinguish ending the renewal feature from refunding an earlier payment or resolving remaining contractual obligations.
An e-commerce transaction review can also identify which platform handles billing and which records the seller can retrieve. Before launch, an attorney can assess gaps between the offer, consent evidence, notice settings, and tested cancellation route.
5. Questions about Launching through Other Sales Channels
Customer location and platform responsibilities also need review.
Does an Out-of-State Seller Need to Review These Requirements?
The statute addresses offers to consumers in California. Evaluate the transaction and applicable exemptions rather than relying only on the seller’s address.
Does a Subscription Platform Handle the Seller’s Compliance?
A platform does not establish compliance by itself. Check its agreement and settings to identify who handles disclosures, consent, notices, and cancellation. Confirm the seller can retrieve supporting records.
04 Nov, 2026
