These examples are our own, built from the contents the Act and draft regulations require. The government has not published model wording. They're a starting point to adapt with your own legal advice, not approved templates.
The new subscription rules list what each notice must contain. They don't give you the words. The examples below are written for one common case: an annual print and digital subscription, paid by continuous card payment, with an introductory offer. Swap in your own titles, prices and dates, and check the result against your own advice. For the rules behind them, see our guide to the 2027 subscription rules.
Words in square brackets are placeholders, including the reminder periods: the law doesn't set a number of days, so choose periods that give your readers a real chance to decide, and state them at sign-up.
1. Key information at sign-up
This goes on the order page, before the order button, together and set apart from everything else. Online, it must be visible in the journey itself, not behind a link.
Your subscription in brief
Your first 3 issues cost £[5]. After that, unless you cancel, you'll be charged £[120] a year (equivalent to £[10] a month) on [date], and every year after that until you cancel.
You can cancel at any time in your account at [web address] or by calling [phone number]. Cancelling stops future payments; you keep the issues you've paid for.
The minimum you'll pay is £[5].
We'll remind you before each payment: [21 to 28] days before your annual renewal, plus an earlier reminder [about two months] before. We'll also remind you before your first full-price payment.
You can change your mind within 14 days of receiving your first issue, and for 14 days after your first full-price payment and each annual renewal. Full details of your cancellation rights are in our [subscription terms].
The order button itself should make clear they're agreeing to pay, for example Subscribe and pay. Your full terms (company details, delivery, complaints, the cooling-off details in full) then go out by email straight after sign-up, before the first issue.
2. Reminder before the first full-price payment
Subject: Reminder: your [title] subscription moves to £[120] a year on [date]
Your introductory offer ends soon. Unless you cancel, we'll charge £[120] to your card ending [1234] on [date]. That's £[115] more than your last payment of £[5].
After that, your subscription will renew every year at £[120] (£[10] a month equivalent), with the next payment on [date a year later], until you cancel.
If you don't cancel before [date], the minimum you'll pay is £[120].
To cancel and avoid this payment, go to [web address] or call [phone number] by [last date]. It takes a minute.
[anything else you'd like to say about the next year's issues goes below this point.]
3. Annual renewal reminders
Annual subscriptions need two reminders: the normal one, and an additional, earlier one at a reasonable time before it. Both carry the same core details.
Subject: Reminder: your [title] subscription renews on [date]
Your subscription renews on [date]. Unless you cancel, we'll charge £[120] to your card ending [1234]. That's the same as last year. [or: That's £[12] more than last year's £[108].]
It will then carry on renewing every year at £[120], with the next payment after this one on [date a year later], until you cancel. If you don't cancel by [last date], the minimum you'll pay is £[120].
To cancel and avoid this payment, go to [web address] or call [phone number] by [last date].
If the subscription has a fixed end, the reminder must say so instead of giving the next payment date, for example: "This is your last annual payment. Your subscription will end on [date]."
4. Six-monthly reminder for monthly payers
Monthly payers don't need a reminder every month, only roughly every six months.
Subject: Reminder: your [title] subscription continues at £[10] a month
This is your regular reminder. Your subscription continues, and unless you cancel, we'll take £[10] on [date], the same as your last payment, and then £[10] on the [day] of every month until you cancel. If you don't cancel by [last date], the minimum you'll pay is £[10].
To cancel and avoid this payment, go to [web address] or call [phone number] by [last date].
5. Renewal cooling-off notice
Sent on, or as soon as practicable after, the first full-price payment and each annual renewal. It must be sent separately, with nothing else in it: no offers, no newsletter.
Subject: Your [title] subscription has renewed: you can still change your mind
Your subscription renewed on [date] and is continuing.
You have 14 days to change your mind and cancel, from [start date] until [end date]. To cancel, go to [web address], call [phone number] or email [address] saying you want to cancel.
If you cancel in this period, we'll refund your renewal payment within 14 days. For the digital edition, we'll deduct a fair amount for the days you had access. For printed issues you've received, you'll need to return them, at your own cost, within 14 days of cancelling, or pay for them. [adjust to your own policy, and check it with your adviser.]
6. End of contract notice
Sent within 24 hours if they cancelled online, or within three working days otherwise.
Subject: Your [title] subscription has been cancelled
We've cancelled your subscription as you asked. It will end on [date], and you won't be charged again. You'll keep receiving the issues you've paid for until then.
[if you'd like to come back, you can resubscribe at any time at [web address].]
7. The exit page
If readers can subscribe online, they must be able to cancel online. A clearly labelled Cancel subscription button in the account, or a short form, works. Asking them to confirm who they are is fine. A retention offer is fine if it's easy to say no and carry on. A compulsory "tell us why you're leaving" question is not.
Making it happen every time
Good wording is the easy part. The hard part is making sure every reminder goes out inside the period you promised, for every title, with the right dates and amounts, and that you can prove it later. That's a job for your subscription system. In Avio, our platform for larger publishers, renewal series are configured per product and every renewal batch is tracked. If you'd like help setting this up, or you'd rather our bureau ran it for you, get in touch.
Questions
Can we put an offer in the renewal reminder?
Yes. The draft guidance says marketing can be included in a reminder or an end of contract notice, as long as the required information is more prominent. Putting it first is the simplest way to show that. The renewal cooling-off notice is different: it must be sent separately, with no marketing.
Do we have to use these exact words?
No. The law sets the information that must be given, not the wording. Use plain language that fits your title, and keep the required details together and easy to find.
Can the first and second annual reminders be the same email?
They need to be two separate reminders, the additional one earlier, at a reasonable time before the main one. The content can be largely the same, with the dates updated.