Louisiana Law Will Require an Easy-to-Use Way to Cancel Automatic Subscriptions Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Under Rep. Vincent Cox III's Act 830

By Staff @ Bayou Weekly

Starting Jan. 1, 2027, companies that sell automatically renewing subscriptions to Louisiana consumers will have to offer a cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use way to cancel, and they will have to spell out the terms before charging a payment method. Act 830 of 2026, known as the Click-to-Cancel Act, is the work of state Rep. Vincent Cox III of Gretna.

Cox, a Republican, represents House District 85. His official House page lists a district office in Gretna and names Jefferson Parish as the parish he represents. He was the primary author of House Bill 750 in the 2026 regular session. The bill page lists Rep. Tehmi Chassion and Sen. Royce Duplessis as co-authors.

The law covers paid subscriptions and purchasing agreements that renew at the end of a set term, or on a recurring basis, when the buyer is a consumer purchasing for personal, family or household use. It adds a new Chapter 70 to Title 51, R.S. 51:3301 through 3305.

Before a company can place a charge, it has to present the renewal terms clearly and conspicuously, near the request for acceptance, or at the same time if the offer is made by voice. Those terms include that the contract will automatically renew for a set term of no more than one year unless the consumer gives express written consent to a longer one. They also include the cancellation policy, any recurring charges, the length of the renewal term and any minimum purchase obligation. The company also has to obtain affirmative consent. It has to give the consumer an acknowledgment the consumer can keep, with the terms, the cancellation policy and cancellation instructions. For a free or discounted trial, it has to clearly explain the price after the trial ends, or how the pricing will change, and allow cancellation before a charge.

Cox described the problem while the bill was moving through the House. "If you sign up online, you should never be forced onto a phone call to quit, or vice-versa. If it takes one click to sign up, it should take one click to cancel," he told the Louisiana Radio Network in March.

The cancellation mechanism must be cost-effective, timely and easy to use. It must not be unreasonably burdensome or designed to deter cancellation. It may be online, by email, by telephone or by another commonly used communication method. The enrolled text does not require a single click, and it does not require that cancellation happen only through the same channel used to sign up.

If the contract terms change in a material way, companies have to give notice, in a form the consumer can keep, that includes how to cancel. They also have to give at least three days' notice before a renewal when the renewal term is 12 months or longer, when there is a material change, including a price increase, or when a trial converts to a paid subscription. That notice has to include the renewal terms, the amount to be charged and instructions on how to cancel.

The rules take effect Jan. 1, 2027. They will not change how subscriptions are canceled for the rest of 2026. Under the law's small-business section, a business with fewer than 50 employees or with annual gross revenue of less than $5 million, counting subsidiaries, parent companies and affiliates, is exempt. Banks, credit unions, licensed insurers, and services provided by a business or affiliate regulated by the Federal Communications Commission are also exempt, as are certain other contracts and providers listed in the chapter.

A company that violates the chapter may be assessed a civil penalty of no more than $500 per violation by the attorney general. Before an enforcement action or a penalty, the company generally gets written notice and 30 days to cure the violation. That cure period does not apply to willful or repeated violations.

The House Commerce Committee reported the bill 15-0 on March 30, and the full House passed it 95-1 on April 20. The Senate commerce committee reported it with amendments without objection on May 6, and the Senate passed it 21-16 on May 29. The House concurred in the Senate amendments 94-0 on May 31. Gov. Jeff Landry signed it June 9.

Bayou Weekly's legislator series has also covered a requirement that seafood retailers keep purchase records and new rules for the New Orleans RTA board.

Photo: Chrismiceli, via Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 (resized). The Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, December 2012.