Tennessee subscription auto-renewal law

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(1) requires that a business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a Tennessee consumer present the offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner before the subscription or purchasing agreement is fulfilled, in visual proximity (or, for voice offers, temporal proximity) to the request for consent. Per T.C.A. § 47-18-103, visual terms are clear and conspicuous when larger than surrounding text, in contrasting type/font/color, or set off by symbols; audible terms must be in a volume and cadence sufficiently audible and understandable. Required offer-term disclosures include: a description of the cancellation policy; an explanation of recurring charges and whether those charges will change; the length of the subscription; any minimum purchase obligation; and that the subscription continues until the consumer cancels it.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(1); T.C.A. § 47-18-103 (clear-and-conspicuous definition)Read the statute →

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(2) requires a business to obtain the consumer's affirmative consent to the agreement containing automatic renewal or continuous service offer terms—including any terms at a promotional or discounted price—before charging the consumer's credit or debit card or a third-party account. Effective July 1, 2024, SB 1894 added a statutory definition: 'affirmative consent' means a clear, affirmative act signifying the consumer's freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement to the offer terms, and includes a written statement (including one written by electronic means) or an unambiguous affirmative action. A seller that fails to obtain the required affirmative consent must refund the charge to the consumer upon request, provided the request is made within 7 days of the charge.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(2); definition of 'affirmative consent' added by 2024 Tenn. Pub. Acts (SB 1894), eff. July 1, 2024Read the statute →

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(3) requires a business to provide the consumer with an acknowledgment in a manner capable of being retained by the consumer. The acknowledgment must include: the automatic renewal or continuous service offer terms; the cancellation policy; and information on how to cancel. Where the offer includes a free gift or trial, the acknowledgment must also disclose how to cancel and must allow the consumer to cancel the automatic renewal or continuous service before the consumer pays for goods or services.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(3)Read the statute →

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(b) requires a business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to provide at least one of the following cancellation methods, described in the required acknowledgment: a toll-free telephone number; an electronic mail address; a postal address (if the seller directly bills the consumer); or another cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation. This requirement applies regardless of how the consumer signed up.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(b)Read the statute →

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(c) provides that where a business allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or continuous service offer online, it must also allow the consumer to terminate the automatic renewal or continuous service exclusively online. The online termination mechanism may include a pre-formatted termination email provided by the business that the consumer can send to the business without providing additional information.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(c)Read the statute →

Effective July 1, 2024, T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a) as amended by SB 1894 requires that when the automatic renewal will occur more than 60 days after the consumer provides affirmative consent, the business (or the entity with the direct billing relationship with the consumer) must provide the consumer with a clear and conspicuous notice of when the consumer will be charged. The statute does not specify the required form of notice or the precise timing window for its delivery before the charge. Multiple commentators note that the trigger language is ambiguous: it could be read to require a notice before any renewal occurring more than 60 days after initial signup, or more narrowly to apply only where the initial term or free trial itself exceeds 60 days. The Cobalt LLP analysis notes this is 'the only pre-bill notice the law requires, as there is no annual or other renewal notice requirement either in the bill or existing law.'

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a) as amended by 2024 Tenn. Pub. Acts (SB 1894), eff. July 1, 2024Read the statute →

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(1) and (a)(3) together impose requirements where an automatic renewal or continuous service offer includes a free gift or trial. At the point of the offer, the business must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of the price that will be charged after the trial ends, or of how subscription pricing will change upon conclusion of the trial. In the acknowledgment, the business must disclose how to cancel and must allow the consumer to cancel the automatic renewal or continuous service before the consumer is required to pay for goods or services.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(a)(1) and (a)(3)Read the statute →

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(d) requires that in the event of a material change in the terms of an automatic renewal or continuous service that a consumer has accepted, the business must provide the consumer with a clear and conspicuous notice of the material change and information about how to cancel, in a manner capable of being retained by the consumer. The statute uses the phrase 'material change' without defining it; price changes and alterations to core subscription terms would typically qualify. The statute does not establish a minimum advance-notice window before the material change takes effect.

T.C.A. § 47-18-133(d)Read the statute →