The new subscription law for publishers, in plain English
Publishing runs on introductory offers: £1 for the first month, 50% off for a year, then the full price. From 1 January 2027 a new UK law says every one of those offers needs an email before it ends and a 14 day change of mind period when the full price starts. Annual print subscriptions get a reminder and a change of mind period every time they renew. And a subscriber who signed up online must be able to cancel online, not by phoning a call centre. We plug into Stripe and do it for you.
Your typical plans and what the law asks for each
| Plan | What the law asks for |
|---|---|
| Digital, £1 for the first month then £9.99 | An email before the first £9.99 payment and a change of mind period, with its email, when the full price starts. A change of mind period at sign-up. Then a payment reminder at least once every six months. |
| Digital, 50% off for 12 months, then full price | An email before the first full price month and a change of mind period when it starts. The sign-up page must show the full price next to the offer. |
| Print and digital, annual, renews each year | A reminder before every annual renewal and a fresh 14 day change of mind period, with its email, each time it renews. Print issues already delivered during the 14 days are returnable goods unless your terms treat them otherwise. |
| Weekly print delivery billed monthly | A change of mind period at sign-up, then a payment reminder at least once every six months. |
What we do for your publication
We connect to Stripe and read your plans and subscribers. It emails subscribers before every introductory offer ends and before every renewal the law requires, as a standalone email in your branding, never a line at the bottom of a newsletter. It gives them a cancel page that takes one step. And it keeps a record of every email, click, refund and consent, so if the regulator asks you have the answer.
It also tells print issues from online access when working out a refund, so each gets the right rule.
The end of the introductory offer
The email before the first full price payment is the one publishers most often miss. It must say the offer is ending, the full price, the date it is charged, and how to cancel by the deadline. It must stand on its own, not sit at the bottom of a newsletter. When the full price starts, a 14 day change of mind period opens and an email is due at its start. See trials and introductory offers.
Subscribers who start reading straight away
Articles, audio and video are digital content. A subscriber who starts reading inside the 14 days can give up the right to a refund for what they have used, but only if they clearly agree and accept that they lose the right, recorded at the time. Without that, a change of mind cancellation is refunded in full.
We store the agreement with its timestamp and the refund sum uses it only when both parts are there.
Print, delivery and returns
A print subscription is a contract for goods. Issues delivered before a change of mind cancellation are returnable goods rather than food, so the price is refunded when they are returned, unless the issue is something that by its nature cannot be returned. Set the product type for each product so the sum uses the right rule.
Cancelling without phoning the call centre
Subscribers who signed up online must be able to cancel online in one clear step. Sending them to a phone line no longer counts on its own. One offer to stay is allowed, and a survey can follow the confirmation but not come before it. You confirm the cancellation in writing within 24 hours. See one click cancel.
Worked example: digital subscription, £1 for the first month then £9.99, signed up 10 January 2027
Change of mind email on 10 January, period to 24 January. The £1 payment is taken on 10 January. The first £9.99 payment is 10 February: an email from 3 February (7 days notice promised), no later than 7 February, saying £9.99, the date, the last day to cancel and how.
A second change of mind period opens 10 February with its email, to 24 February. The subscriber cancels online on 20 February: refund of £9.99 less ten days if no valid agreement is on record, within 14 days, and a cancellation confirmation by 21 February.
Questions
- Can the reminder go in the newsletter?
- No. Payment reminders must stand on their own and must not be mixed with marketing. The subject line must make the purpose clear.
- Our offer runs for 12 months. When is the email due?
- Before the first payment at the full price, a reasonable time before the last day the subscriber can cancel to avoid it, and within the notice you promised at sign-up. We schedule it from the price change date in Stripe.
- Does an annual print subscription that renews need a change of mind period each year?
- Yes. Renewing for another 12 months or more opens a 14 day change of mind period with an email at its start.
- Are gift subscriptions covered by the law?
- Only if they renew or the buyer will be charged again unless they cancel. A fixed term gift that simply ends is not covered.
This page explains the law in plain English. It is not legal advice. The detailed rules are still being finalised by the government.