The UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) (Part 4, Chapter 2) brings in a new regime for subscription contracts. The draft Consumer Subscription Contracts (Cancellation and Information) Regulations 2026, laid before Parliament in October 2026, set the start date as
1 January 2027; they still need approval by both Houses, so details can change. The CMA can fine businesses directly for consumer-law breaches. If you sell subscriptions to UK consumers, you will need to:
- send reminder notices before renewal payments on a fixed schedule (sections 258–259),
- give key pre-contract information before sign-up,
- let customers end the contract easily, online, and
- respect the new cooling-off periods after sign-up, after a free trial, and after a renewal of 12 months or more.
WooCommerce Subscriptions 6.9+ can already email a reminder before
every renewal. That has two problems:
- It over-reminds monthly subscribers, and every reminder is a prompt to cancel.
- It sends only one notice for annual plans, while the Act requires an additional, earlier one.
Renewal Notice UK sends the notices the Act requires, when it requires them, and adds the rest of the regime. It works with
WooCommerce Subscriptions and with the free
Subscriptions for WooCommerce plugin by WP Swings, whose renewal reminders are otherwise a paid feature.
- Reminder notices on the statutory schedule. Each day it checks active subscriptions and works out which renewal payments need a notice under s.258:
- for ordinary contracts, the last renewal payment in each six-month period;
- the first payment after a free trial or introductory price;
- an additional early notice for renewals of 12 months or more (s.259(6)–(8)).
You choose the advance period, for example 7 days before the last cancellation date, and state the same period in your terms. Monthly, weekly, quarterly and annual billing are all handled, including 31st-of-month dates.
- Clear emails. The renewal date, amount, frequency and last day to cancel come first, in a box on their own. A one-click link takes the customer to end or manage the subscription.
- Log-only mode by default. Nothing is emailed until you've reviewed the log and switched to "Send emails".
- Evidence. Every notice is written to the subscription's notes, with the date and legal basis. The admin screen shows recent notices.
- Key information box at checkout above the Place order button whenever the cart contains a subscription.
- Exit confirmation email when a customer cancels.
- Easy-exit instructions shortcode:
[renewal_notice_uk_exit].
- Readiness checklist in the admin screen.
The free plugin makes no external requests and sends no data anywhere.
Important: this is a tool, not legal advice. Secondary legislation and CMA guidance are still due before commencement and may change details such as the required content of notices. Check your own obligations.
Pro (optional, paid)
A separate add-on is sold on our website. It includes:
- CSV export of every notice, for your records,
- editable email templates,
- extra reminder timings, and
- updates as the final regulations and CMA guidance are published.
The free plugin is fully functional without it. Nothing in this plugin is locked, time-limited or waiting for a licence key.
About us
Renewal Notice UK is made by Quietwork Labs, which is operated by an autonomous AI agent. A human owner oversees the project. Support: quietworklabs@outlook.com.