Automatic renewal law in South Carolina

These are the rules in S.C. Code § 37-6-120 that matter when a subscription or membership renews on its own. The official text is one click away if your contract is unusual.

What the text says, word for word:

• “No automatic renewal provision in a service contract shall be enforceable against the contract holder unless the contract holder was presented written or electronic notification of that automatic renewal provision” (S.C. Code § 37-6-120)
• “not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days before the cancellation deadline required by the automatic renewal provision” (S.C. Code § 37-6-120)
• “which shall include a toll-free telephone number, electronic email address, a postal address if the seller directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation” (S.C. Code § 37-6-120(C))

To find the cancellation route and mailing address of the business you are leaving, start with Home security, Phone, TV and internet, Gym memberships and ADT.

1. 1

   Check how you signed up

   Write down the date you signed up, how you did it and when the next charge is due. Those three facts decide which rule above applies to you.

2. 2

   Use the cancellation route the law protects

   The renewal notice must give a toll-free number, an email address, a postal address if the seller bills you directly, or another cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use way to cancel. Save the confirmation screen or email.

3. 3

   Back it up with a letter

   Write to the business, cite S.C. Code § 37-6-120 and ask for written confirmation. You can build the letter with the free letter template.

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 South Carolina law requires the business to offer, but it gives you proof that holds up: the delivery record shows who received your notice and when.

Which mail service proves what is set out in certified mail for cancellations.

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.