The subscription rules in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 have been delayed more than once, from autumn 2026 to spring 2027. In August the government reversed course and brought the start forward to January 2027. The requirements themselves have not changed from the consultation response published in April. Only the timing has.
For consumer-facing membership bodies with auto-renewing memberships, including professional associations and member clubs, this is a change to the renewal journey, not only to the terms and conditions.
- Key pre-contract information shown prominently before sign-up, including cost, payment frequency and minimum total payable
- An express acknowledgement of the payment obligation at the final step
- Reminder notices before renewal payments, sent in a durable form such as email or SMS
- Fourteen-day cooling-off periods at the start, and again at renewal of longer contracts
- Cancellation that is straightforward and available in the same channel the member joined through
Cancelling online has to be as easy as joining
This is the requirement most membership sites will fail today. If someone joins through the website, they will need to be able to leave through it, typically from their account page, without having to phone or email the membership team. An email address to write to will not be enough on its own.
If your retention strategy depends on leaving being difficult, you have until January to find a new one.
A narrow exemption for some charities
The government plans to exempt charitable memberships that cover attendance at performances or visits to collections or places connected to the charity's purposes. That will help museums, galleries and heritage bodies. It is unlikely to cover a professional body's membership, so most associations should plan on the rules applying.
Where to start
Map the journey a member takes from joining to lapsing, then mark every point the regime touches: the join form, the confirmation email, the renewal reminder, the account page and the cancellation route. Most of the work is in the renewal reminder and the account area, and both are easier to change well before the January renewal peak than during it.
