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All about auto-renew payment compliance

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Zane Pimiskern
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Auto-renew payment compliance means following the laws and best practices that govern automatic recurring charges. This article covers how to add consent language to your Terms and Conditions and membership form. It also covers how to tell members before you charge them, and how to keep records of consent.

Note: These instructions are a courtesy, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply in your country or state, or consult a legal professional.

About auto-renew payment compliance

Auto-renew payment compliance covers the laws, regulations, and best practices that apply to automatic recurring charges. The aim is to be transparent, get proper consent, and offer an easy way to cancel. For your organization, that means providing compliance mechanisms for members enrolled in auto-renew payments.

Some states, including California and New York, regulate auto-renewal payments. If your organization sits outside those states, these mechanisms are still a best practice. For background on the current legal landscape, see California automatic renewal law amendments.

Adding a consent clause to your Terms and Conditions

An automatic renewal clause states that a contract renews for another term unless one party gives notice to end it. Add one to your organization's Terms and Conditions. Some state laws require it, and it gives members a single place to check what they agreed to.

The clause should:

  • Define the initial term and the renewal period
  • Specify the notice period for termination and how to give that notice
  • Outline any changes that take effect on renewal, such as price increases
  • Explain how members opt out

Your organization decides what the clause contains. The requirements depend on the country or state you operate in.

Providing consent messaging on your membership form

The Label on the Automatically Renew field should state that selecting the checkbox gives consent to auto-renew payments. To edit it:

  1. Go to Forms > Form List.
  2. Select EDIT for your membership form.
  3. Select the Automatically Renew field.
  4. Edit the Label to state that selecting the checkbox gives consent to auto-renew payments.
  5. Add a link to your organization's Terms and Conditions in the label text.

The form editor with the Label field for the Automatically Renew element open, showing consent messaging

Tip: If the label runs long, add the Terms and Conditions link to the label field for the Membership section instead. A separate label element placed directly above the Automatically Renew field also works.

For more information, see Membership forms.

Including auto-renew information in renewal reminders

State each of the following in your renewal reminder emails:

  • The product or service being renewed, such as the member type
  • The amount of the charge and how often it recurs
  • The steps to cancel or opt out

To add this information:

  1. Go to Database > Member Types.
  2. Select EDIT NOTIFICATIONS for the member type with auto-renew payments enabled.
  3. Edit each renewal notification to include the charge amount, the frequency, and the opt-out steps.

Some state regulations require a renewal notification at least every 12 months. For member types that renew annually, send the notification within 45 days of the auto-renewal and no later than 15 days before it.

For more information, see Customizing renewal notifications.

Obtaining and storing consent records

Some states require organizations to keep consent records. The minimum retention is 3 years, or 1 year after cancellation—whichever is longer.

To create a record of consent, export the form submissions where members opted in to auto-renew payments. On the Export Submissions screen, select both Submission date and Automatically Renew. The export lists every member enrolled in auto-renew payments along with the date they enrolled. For step-by-step instructions, see To export a submission list.

The Export Submissions screen with the Submission date and Automatically Renew attributes selected

Your organization decides where to store these records and for how long, based on the regulations that apply to you.

Providing members with instructions on opting out

Members need to know how to opt out of auto-renew payments. Tell them in each of these places:

  • The auto-renew clause in your Terms and Conditions
  • Your renewal reminder notifications
  • Your membership application form

For the steps members follow, see Cancelling auto-renew payments.

If auto-renew is set to required, members cannot opt out on their own. In that case, tell members how to reach an administrator who can cancel the auto-renew subscription for them.

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