Automatic renewal law in New York

Each point below comes from the text on New York's official legislature or code site, read on the review date. The full text has definitions and exceptions, so open it before you rely on one point.

What the text says, word for word:

• “fail to provide the consumer with the option to cancel at any time using a simple cancellation mechanism that is as easy to use as the mechanism that the consumer used to provide consent” (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 527-a(1)(d))
• “the business shall at least offer cancellation through an online mechanism or over a telephone number” (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 527-a(1)(d-1))
• “at least three days before but not more than twenty-one days before the cancellation deadline for the first chargeable period” (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 527-a(1)(h))
• “hanging up on consumers who call to cancel, providing false information about how to cancel, misrepresenting the consequences or costs of cancellation” (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 527-a(1)(e)(i))

The cancellation route differs by company; see News and magazine subscriptions, Streaming services, Meal kits and The New York Times for the details we hold.

1. 1

   Check how you signed up

   Find the email or contract that confirmed the subscription and note the next renewal date, so you know how much time you have.

2. 2

   Cancel through the protected channel

   You can cancel at any time with a mechanism as easy as the one you used to sign up, through the same medium and every medium the business accepts sign-ups in. If you signed up in person, the business must also offer cancellation online or by phone. Save the confirmation screen or email.

3. 3

   Put it in writing as well

   A short letter that names N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §§ 527, 527-a and the date you are cancelling from gives you a dated record. The letter template generator lays it out for you.

4. 4

   If you are billed again

   Contact the business with your dated proof first, then your card issuer. The steps are in when a company keeps charging after you cancel.

A mailed letter does not replace the routes New York law requires the business to offer, but it gives you proof that holds up: the delivery record shows who received your notice and when.

See certified mail for cancellations for the proof each mail service gives you.

The federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act requires online sellers using automatic renewals to provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC's 2024 click-to-cancel amendments are not in force: on July 8, 2025 the Eighth Circuit vacated them (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137), on February 12, 2026, in a rule effective that day, the FTC recodified its Negative Option Rule "as it existed before the effective date" of the 2024 amendments (91 FR 6507), and on March 13, 2026 it asked for public comment on "the need for amendments" (91 FR 12318). Our state-by-state overview and the FTC click-to-cancel guide have the details.