Federal subscription law (ROSCA, FTC Act, Regulation E)
The federal rules every US subscription business follows — ROSCA's disclosure, consent and simple-cancellation duties, the FTC Act and Regulation E — as 7 cited requirements, with who enforces them. Generated from Checkbox's legal catalog; pending attorney review.
At a glance
| Applies to | Online subscription and negative-option sales to US consumers, nationwide |
| Laws | Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA); Electronic Fund Transfer Act / Regulation E — preauthorized transfers |
| Effective | 2010-12-29; 1980-05-10 |
| Status | In force; In force |
| Requirements in the catalog | 7 (1 with a notice window) |
| Private right of action | public enforcement only; yes |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
The laws
Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA)
- Citation: 15 U.S.C. §§ 8401-8405 (Pub. L. 111-345)
- Effective: 2010-12-29
- Status: In force
- Verified: 2026-10-29, official text read in full (confidence: high)
Online negative-option sales: clear and conspicuous disclosure of all material terms before obtaining billing information, express informed consent before charging, and simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. No amendments.
Scope: Applies to goods or services sold in a transaction effected on the Internet through a "negative option feature" (16 C.F.R. § 310.2(w): a provision under which the customer's silence or failure to take affirmative action to reject goods or services or to cancel the agreement is interpreted as acceptance) — i.e. free-to-pay conversions, automatic renewals and continuity plans sold online. Enforced by the FTC (violations are treated as rule violations under FTC Act § 18, enabling civil penalties and consumer redress) and by state attorneys general.
Electronic Fund Transfer Act / Regulation E — preauthorized transfers
- Citation: 15 U.S.C. § 1693e; 12 C.F.R. § 1005.10
- Effective: 1980-05-10
- Status: In force
- Verified: 2026-10-29, official text read in full (confidence: high)
Recurring debits from consumer asset accounts need a signed or similarly authenticated written authorization, a copy to the consumer, and 10 days' advance notice of varying amounts.
Scope: Debit card, prepaid card and ACH billing only (not credit cards).
FTC Negative Option Rule ("Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans")
- Citation: 16 C.F.R. Part 425
- Effective: 2026-02-12
- Status: Researched, not evaluated
- Verified: 2026-10-29, official text read in full (confidence: high)
NOT CATALOGED. The 2024 click-to-cancel amendments (89 FR 90476) were vacated by the Eighth Circuit on July 8, 2025 (Custom Commc'ns, Inc. v. FTC, 142 F.4th 1060) and never took effect. The FTC restored the 1973 prenotification-plan rule effective Feb. 12, 2026 (91 FR 6507); it applies only to prenotification negative option plans (periodic announcements of selections), not ordinary subscriptions. An ANPRM was published Mar. 13, 2026 (91 FR 12318; comments closed Apr. 13, 2026); no proposed or final rule as of 2026-10-29. Re-check the Federal Register before relying on this.
| Amendment | Effective | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 89 FR 90476 (Nov. 15, 2024) — "Rule Concerning Recurring Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Programs" | 2025-01-14 | Click-to-cancel amendments; compliance date for most provisions was July 14, 2025. Vacated July 8, 2025 before taking effect. |
| 91 FR 6507 (Feb. 12, 2026) | 2026-02-12 | Conforming final rule recodifying the pre-2024 prenotification rule after the vacatur. |
| 91 FR 12318 (Mar. 13, 2026), RIN 3084-AB54 | 2026-03-13 | Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (no rule text; no legal effect). |
Requirements
Each row is one obligation in the catalog, in plain English, with the provision it comes from. "Applies when" lists the conditions under which it applies (otherwise it always applies to covered offers). The ids are stable and match the dataset and Checkbox API results.
At sign-up
| Requirement | Applies when | Effective | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
Clearly and conspicuously disclose all material terms before obtaining billing information Before collecting the consumer's billing information, the seller must provide text that clearly and conspicuously discloses all material terms of the transaction: that the consumer will be charged on a recurring basis until they cancel, the amount and frequency of the charges, any free-trial length and the charge after it, and how to cancel. US-FED.8403.1 | always | 2010-12-29 | 15 U.S.C. § 8403(1) |
Obtain express informed consent before charging The seller must obtain the consumer's express informed consent before charging the consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account or other financial account for the negative-option product or service. US-FED.8403.2 | always | 2010-12-29 | 15 U.S.C. § 8403(2) |
After sign-up (acknowledgment)
| Requirement | Applies when | Effective | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
Written authorization for recurring debits from a consumer bank/debit account, with a copy to the consumer Preauthorized (recurring) electronic fund transfers from a consumer's account — e.g. a subscription billed to a debit card, prepaid card or bank account (ACH) — may be authorized only by a writing signed or similarly authenticated by the consumer, and the merchant that obtains the authorization must give the consumer a copy of it. US-FED.1005.10.b | paid by debit / ach | 1980-05-10 | 15 U.S.C. § 1693e(a); 12 C.F.R. § 1005.10(b) (Regulation E) |
Before charges (notices and reminders)
| Requirement | Applies when | Effective | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
Advance notice when a recurring debit will change in amount When a preauthorized debit from a consumer's account will vary in amount from the previous transfer or from the authorized amount (e.g. a subscription price increase billed to a debit card or by ACH), the payee must send written notice of the amount and date of the transfer at least 10 days before the scheduled transfer date. US-FED.1005.10.d | paid by debit / ach | 1980-05-10 | 15 U.S.C. § 1693e(b); 12 C.F.R. § 1005.10(d) (Regulation E) |
Cancelling
| Requirement | Applies when | Effective | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
Provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges The seller must provide simple mechanisms for the consumer to stop recurring charges from being placed on their credit card, debit card, bank account or other financial account. US-FED.8403.3 | always | 2010-12-29 | 15 U.S.C. § 8403(3) |
Terms must not deny the simple mechanism to stop recurring charges ROSCA requires simple mechanisms for consumers to stop recurring charges. Terms of service or policies that say a subscription cannot be canceled, or that it can only be canceled by phone, mail or in writing, contradict that mechanism and mislead subscribers about how to stop the charges. US-FED.8403.3.terms | always | 2010-12-29 | 15 U.S.C. § 8403(3) |
Refund and cancellation terms must match what the offer promises All material terms of a negative-option offer must be disclosed clearly before billing information is collected. A refund or money-back promise made in marketing or at checkout that the written refund policy takes back ("no refunds", a shorter window) is a misrepresented material term. US-FED.8403.1.terms | always | 2010-12-29 | 15 U.S.C. § 8403(1); 15 U.S.C. § 45(a) (FTC Act § 5) |
Notice windows
When each notice must be sent. A notice outside its window does not count, so schedule sends against the exact dates.
| Notice | When | Applies when | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advance notice when a recurring debit will change in amount | at least 10 days before the charge | paid by debit / ach | 15 U.S.C. § 1693e(b); 12 C.F.R. § 1005.10(d) (Regulation E) |
Several states use overlapping windows; one email can often satisfy all of them. See free-trial notices and price increases.
Who can sue, and remedies
Private right of action: No private right of action: enforced by public officials only.
ROSCA: FTC and state attorneys general only. Violations are treated as FTC rule violations: civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation (counted per consumer) and consumer redress (e.g. Amazon $2.5B, Adobe $150M).
Recorded in the catalog: refunds or restitution.
Private right of action: Yes: the law lets consumers sue directly.
EFTA § 1693m: actual damages plus statutory damages of $100-$1,000 per individual (class: lesser of $500,000 or 1% of net worth, unverified) and attorney's fees. Critical when debit or ACH billing is confirmed; the copy of the authorization should reach the consumer before the first debit (CFPB guidance).
Recorded in the catalog: statutory damages.
Private right of action: Yes: the law lets consumers sue directly.
EFTA § 1693m: actual damages plus statutory damages of $100-$1,000 per individual (class cap unverified) and attorney's fees.
Recorded in the catalog: statutory damages.
Remedy figures come from the cited statutes and from public enforcement records summarized in Checkbox's litigation research; figures from secondary sources are marked "unverified" where they appear.
Check your subscription flow
Checkbox evaluates these requirements automatically: the sign-up page, the emails and the cancellation flow are checked against the federal rules (and every other jurisdiction's) on every check. 20 machine checks cover this page.
- Free to start: get test API keys or connect the MCP server at
https://app.checkbox.site/mcpfrom your coding assistant. - Preflight a disclosure, a Stripe Checkout Session or an email before you ship: preflight checks.
- Start from the subscription compliance checklist.
Data and citation
This page is generated from the open subscription law dataset (catalog 2026.11.01.1, CC BY 4.0), available as JSON and CSV. Cite it as: Checkbox, "Federal subscription law (ROSCA, FTC Act, Regulation E)", checkbox.site/laws/federal, catalog 2026.11.01.1 (last reviewed 2026-10-29). Report an error: support@checkbox.site.
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.