Massachusetts subscription auto-renewal law
Effective September 2, 2025 (finalized March 2025) · Last reviewed 2026-06-26
The statute
940 CMR 38.00 (promulgated under M.G.L. c. 93A § 2(c))
Effective September 2, 2025 (finalized March 2025)
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M.G.L. c. 93A §§ 2, 4, 9 (Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act) — enabling authority for 940 CMR 38.00; no amendment to 93A itself in 2024-2025
Effective Statute long-standing; § 4 civil penalty at $5,000 per violation predates 2024
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What it addresses
Each requirement below is stated in plain English first, then cited to the statute so you can read the primary source.
Disclosure before purchase
Before a consumer accepts a negative option feature or trial offer, the seller must clearly and conspicuously disclose in writing: (1) any charges the consumer may incur as a result of accepting the offer; (2) any products for which charges may be incurred; (3) instructions for the consumer to reject or cancel the offer before being charged; (4) the specific calendar date by which the consumer must reject or cancel to avoid being charged; (5) the specific calendar date on which the consumer will be charged if the consumer fails to cancel; (6) what the charge is for and whether charges will increase after a certain period; (7) whether charges will recur on a set basis unless canceled by the subscriber; and (8) instructions on how to cancel a recurring charge or subscription. Calendar-date specificity (items 4 and 5) is expressly required, going beyond a mere deadline by number of days.
940 CMR 38.04Read the statute →
Cancellation mechanism
The seller must provide a simple mechanism to cancel the negative option feature that is at least as easy to access and use as the method the consumer used to initiate the negative option feature, and that is available through the same medium through which the consumer initiated (Internet, telephone, mail, or in-person). Specifically, if the consumer initiated through the internet, cancellation must be available through the same website or application used to sign up — not merely any online method. If cancellation is by telephone and no agent is available, the seller must provide an automated cancellation system or an adequate voicemail system that identifies the information needed to effectuate cancellation, and must return voicemail messages promptly enough to allow cancellation before a recurring charge occurs.
940 CMR 38.05(3)(a)-(b)Read the statute →
Renewal reminder
For negative option features with terms exceeding 31 days, a written notice must be delivered not less than 5 days and not more than 30 days before the renewal date. The notice must clearly and conspicuously disclose: (1) any financial obligations the consumer will incur upon failure to cancel; (2) the products for which charges will be made; (3) instructions on how to cancel; (4) the date by which cancellation is required; and (5) the date on which the financial obligation occurs upon failure to cancel. The notice must be delivered through a substantially similar medium as used at signup, or through a commonly-used medium that is reasonably calculated to be seen and understood by an ordinary consumer and that has been affirmatively chosen by the consumer as their preferred method of contact.
940 CMR 38.04(5)Read the statute →
For negative option features with terms of 31 days or less, the full pre-renewal notice requirements apply, with an alternative available: in lieu of the 5-30-day pre-renewal notice, the seller may provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure at least as frequently as the consumer is charged, disclosing the amount the consumer has been charged at auto-renewal and instructions for how to cancel the recurring charge to avoid incurring additional charges.
940 CMR 38.06Read the statute →
Free-trial conversion notice
Before a consumer accepts a trial offer that converts to a paid recurring subscription, the seller must clearly and conspicuously disclose the specific calendar date by which the consumer must reject or cancel the trial offer to avoid being charged, and the specific calendar date on which the consumer will be charged if the consumer fails to cancel. A general statement of the deadline in days or frequency is insufficient; the regulation expressly requires calendar-date specificity.
940 CMR 38.04Read the statute →
Penalties and enforcement
AG enforcement under M.G.L. c. 93A § 4: civil penalty up to $5,000 per knowing or willful violation, plus injunctive relief and restitution of moneys acquired through the unlawful practice. Private right of action under M.G.L. c. 93A § 9: actual damages or $25 minimum per claimant (whichever is greater); 2-3x (double to treble) damages for willful or knowing violations or bad-faith refusal to settle; attorney's fees and costs. Class actions are permitted under § 9. Violations of 940 CMR 38.00 are expressly deemed unfair or deceptive acts under M.G.L. c. 93A § 2. Sources: M.G.L. c. 93A § 4 (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93A/Section4); M.G.L. c. 93A § 9 (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93A/Section9); Rich May P.C. client alert (https://www.richmaylaw.com/goodbye-junk-fees-new-ago-regulations-eliminate-hidden-fees-on-sales-and-auto-renewing-subscriptions/).
No specific AG enforcement actions or named class-action suits under 940 CMR 38.00 were identified in sources reviewed as of June 2026, consistent with the regulation's September 2, 2025 effective date and the usual lag before enforcement. Multiple law-firm alerts (Holland & Knight, Oct. 2025; ZwillGen, Mar. 2025 updated Apr. 2026; FKKS, Mar. 2025) characterize the regulation as signaling enhanced state-AG enforcement during a period of federal consumer-protection rollbacks. The AG's office noted that consumers may file complaints at the AG Consumer Hotline (617-727-8400) or online. Class-action exposure under M.G.L. c. 93A § 9 is historically active in Massachusetts; no suits specifically citing 940 CMR 38.00 were identified in this review. Separately, HB389 (introduced 2025 legislative session) would add an explicit express-consent requirement for negative-option billing and ban 'data pass' billing practices; its enactment status was not confirmed in reviewed sources.
Caveats
(1) 940 CMR 38.00 took effect September 2, 2025; enforcement case law and settled regulatory interpretation under this specific regulation are nascent as of June 2026. (2) The official mass.gov regulatory landing page for 940 CMR 38.00 returned HTTP 404 during this research; all requirements were cross-verified through the official AG regulation PDF (mass.gov document download URL), the AG press release, and three independent law-firm client alerts (Holland & Knight, ZwillGen, FKKS). (3) The regulation PDF was indexed as binary/encoded content; verbatim subsection text for some provisions (e.g., 940 CMR 38.05(1)-(2) on affirmative consent as a standalone requirement) was not extractable verbatim from the PDF index. Accordingly, affirmative_consent and acknowledgment_confirmation categories were omitted — secondary sources describe the consent/initiation framework but the exact subsection text was not confirmed. (4) HB389 (proposed legislation) would add an explicit express-consent/no-data-pass requirement; it is not yet law and is not reflected in the requirements above. (5) The regulation applies broadly to sellers 'engaged in advertising, marketing, solicitation, or offering targeted to or resulting in a sale in Massachusetts,' giving it extraterritorial reach beyond Massachusetts-domiciled sellers. (6) Price-change notice as a standalone category was not confirmed in reviewed sources; the initial disclosure requirement (item 6 of 940 CMR 38.04) covers disclosure of anticipated future price increases at signup, and the renewal notice (940 CMR 38.04(5)) implicitly requires disclosing the then-current charge amount, but no specific standalone price-change-notice trigger was identified. (7) A July 29, 2025 AG Guidance document exists (https://www.mass.gov/doc/guidance-with-respect-to-unfair-and-deceptive-fees-07292025/download) and elaborates on telephone-cancellation voicemail rules; it should be consulted alongside the regulation text.
Last reviewed 2026-06-26
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