Automatic renewal law in Virginia

Each point below comes from the text on Virginia'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.

The key phrases, copied from the official text:

• “The cancellation mechanism shall be at least as easy to use as the mechanism the consumer used to initiate the automatic renewal or continuous service offer.” (Va. Code § 59.1-207.46(B)(1))
• “No consumer shall be required to interact with a live or virtual agent or representative to effectuate cancellation” (Va. Code § 59.1-207.46(B)(4))
• “no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days before the cancellation deadline or the end of the current contract term” (Va. Code § 59.1-207.46(E))
• “If a seller offers cancellation by telephone call, the seller shall not impose any cost to the consumer for the cancellation call.” (Va. Code § 59.1-207.46(B)(7))

Our company guides show how each business takes cancellations and where to write, for example Software subscriptions, News and magazine subscriptions, Streaming services and Microsoft 365.

1. 1

   Note how and when you agreed

   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 the way the law allows

   The seller must let you cancel through every method you could use to sign up, at least as easily, without talking to an agent unless sign-up itself went through one. In-person sign-ups must be cancellable online or by phone, and cancellation calls must be free. Save the confirmation screen or email.

3. 3

   Send a written notice you can prove

   Write to the business, cite Va. Code §§ 59.1-207.45 to 59.1-207.49 and ask for written confirmation. You can build the letter with the free letter template.

4. 4

   If the charges continue

   Show the business your proof and the statute, then dispute the charge with your card issuer. What to do if a company keeps charging you walks through it.

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

Certified mail for cancellations explains what each delivery record proves.

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.