Price increases on subscriptions

How to raise the price of an existing subscription under US automatic-renewal laws — California's 7–30 day notice, New York's consent-or-refund rule, Regulation E for debit and ACH, the other states' material-change notices — with the email, the schedule and Stripe code.

Raising the price of an existing subscription is a material change: most automatic-renewal laws require notice before it takes effect, and New York now requires more than notice. Getting it wrong turns every renewal at the new price into a potential claim. This guide covers what to send, when, and what New York adds.

#The rules

Three rules stand out:

• California wants the fee-change notice 7 to 30 days before the change, with how to cancel (§ 17602(g)). Arkansas copies it.
• New York requires notice 5 business days to 30 days ahead (Checkbox schedules it 7–30 calendar days ahead) and, separately, either the customer's affirmative consent to the new price, or a right to cancel within 14 days after the first charge at the new price with a pro-rata refund of the unused term (§ 527-a(1)(b-1)). Whether notice plus continued use counts as consent is an open question; the refund alternative suggests it does not. New York City adds the same notice rule (NYC).
• Debit card or ACH billing: Regulation E requires notice of a change in the amount of a recurring transfer at least 10 days before the debit (federal).

#A schedule that satisfies all of them

Send the notice 14 to 30 days before the first charge at the new price: inside California's and New York's windows and Regulation E's 10 days. For subscribers in New York, also do one of:

1. Ask for consent: an "Accept the new price" button in the email or in the app, recorded with a timestamp; if the subscriber does not accept, do not charge the new price (keep the old price or end the subscription at the end of the term, as your terms say), or
2. Offer the cancel-and-refund path: state in the notice and in the receipt of the first higher charge that the subscriber can cancel within 14 days of that charge and get a pro-rata refund, and honour it.

checkbox check notice-schedule --price 14.99 --interval month --start-date 2026-11-02 \
  --price-change-date 2026-12-15 --new-price 19.99 --jurisdictions US-CA,US-NY --json

#The notice

Say the old price, the new price, the date it takes effect, how often it is charged, and how to cancel — online, with a link. For New York, add the consent or refund choice.

checkbox check email --kind price_change --subject "Your Acme Pro price is changing" \
  --text "On December 15, 2026 the price of your Acme Pro subscription will change from \$14.99 to \$19.99 per month. Your subscription renews automatically every month until you cancel. If you do not want to pay the new price, cancel before December 15 online at https://acme.example/account/cancel." \
  --previous-price 14.99 --merchant-name Acme --price 19.99 --interval month \
  --cancel-url https://acme.example/account/cancel --offline

#With Stripe Billing

Change the price at the next renewal, not immediately, and do it only after the notice window has opened and closed correctly. A subscription schedule makes the date explicit:

import Stripe from 'stripe';

const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY!);

export async function schedulePriceChange(subscriptionId: string, newPriceId: string) {
  const sub = await stripe.subscriptions.retrieve(subscriptionId);
  const item = sub.items.data[0]!;
  const schedule = await stripe.subscriptionSchedules.create({ from_subscription: subscriptionId });
  await stripe.subscriptionSchedules.update(schedule.id, {
    end_behavior: 'release',
    phases: [
      // Current price until the end of the paid period (the notice goes out 14-30 days before this date).
      { items: [{ price: item.price.id, quantity: item.quantity }], start_date: schedule.phases[0]!.start_date, end_date: item.current_period_end },
      // New price from the next renewal.
      { items: [{ price: newPriceId, quantity: item.quantity }] },
    ],
  });
}

Store, per subscriber, the notice you sent (content, date, channel) and, for New York, the consent or the refund request. Those records answer a complaint months later.

#Related

• Free trials: the notices you must send
• Subscription compliance checklist
• Emails and notices: Checkbox Notices can send price-change notices for you.

Checkbox is compliance software, not a law firm; nothing in these docs is legal advice (details). You remain solely responsible for your subscription program, and Checkbox takes on no legal liability for it (Terms). Checkbox is a System1 company; Trust center · Status. For AI agents: every page is available as Markdown at the same URL plus .md; the index is /llms.txt.