Illinois auto-renewal law: reminders and cancellation

Illinois's Automatic Contract Renewal Act (815 ILCS 601) asks subscription businesses to show the renewal terms clearly next to the consent request, get consent before charging, send an acknowledgment the customer can keep, and let people who signed up online cancel online. It also sets two notices: one during a free trial or promotional period of 15 days or longer, at least 3 days before the cancellation deadline, and a written reminder 30 to 60 days before the cancellation deadline for a contract of 12 months or more that renews for more than a month.

Below is each part and a simple Stripe setup. Everything here was read from the official text of the Act on the Illinois General Assembly's website on 25 October 2026. The current text of Section 10 carries Public Act 103-919, effective 1 January 2025, as its latest change.

Who it covers

Section 10 applies to any business that sells or offers products or services to a consumer under a contract that renews automatically unless the consumer cancels. Section 20 lists what's outside the Act:

• business-to-business contracts;
• banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations, savings banks and credit unions, and their subsidiaries and affiliates;
• providers covered by Article XXII of the Public Utilities Act;
• businesses regulated by the Illinois Director of Insurance, and their affiliates;
• contracts extended beyond the original term because the consumer started a change to the terms.

What "automatic renewal offer terms" means

Several duties refer to the "automatic renewal offer terms." Section 5 defines them as clear and conspicuous disclosure of:

1. that the subscription continues until the consumer cancels;
2. the timeframe in which they must cancel to avoid the next charge;
3. the recurring charges, and if the amount may change, that it may and what it will change to, if known;
4. the length of the renewal term, or that the service is continuous (unless the customer picks the term);
5. any minimum purchase obligation.

"Clear and conspicuous" means larger type than the surrounding text, or a contrasting type, font or color, or set off by symbols or other marks, so it clearly calls attention to the language.

At sign-up: terms, consent and an acknowledgment

What	What it asks for	Section
Terms next to the consent request	Show the automatic renewal offer terms clearly and conspicuously before the agreement is fulfilled, in visual proximity to the request for consent (for a voice offer, close in time)	601/10(a)(i)
Consent before charging	Don't charge the card or other payment method for the renewal service without first getting the consumer's consent to the contract with those terms	601/10(a)(ii)
An acknowledgment they can keep	Send the terms, the cancellation policy and how to cancel, in a form they can keep. A link to cancellation instructions that cover different platforms is allowed	601/10(a)(iii)
Free gifts and trials	Explain how to cancel and let the consumer cancel before they pay	601/10(a)(iv)

The two notices at a glance

Situation	When to send it	Section
Free trial or promotional period of 15 days or longer that then renews	During the trial or promo period, no less than 3 days before the cancellation deadline	601/10(a-5)
Contract term of 12 months or more that renews for more than one month	In writing, at least 30 and at most 60 days before the cancellation deadline	601/10(b)

A few details are worth noticing:

• Both windows count back from the cancellation deadline in your renewal terms, not from the charge date. If customers must cancel 7 days before renewal, count from that day.
• The trial notice goes out "in a method in which the consumer is accustomed to interacting" with you. If they use your app and email, either is a natural fit.
• The yearly reminder must be in writing and in a form they can keep, and must say clearly that the contract will renew unless they cancel, how to cancel (offered in a way the customer commonly interacts with you), and the deadline to cancel.

Cancellation

Subsection (b-5) covers offers made online:

• Offer an easy cancel mechanism. Provide a toll-free number, an email address, a postal address if you bill the customer directly, or another cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use way to cancel, and describe it in the yearly reminder.
• Online sign-up means online cancel. A customer who accepted the offer online must be allowed to end it exclusively online. The Act says this can be a ready-made cancellation email the customer sends without adding anything, or a link to a page they can use to cancel.

If something goes wrong

Section 10(c) gives a defense: a business isn't liable under this Act or the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act if it shows that, as routine practice, it has written procedures to comply and enforces them, that any failure was an error, and that when an error caused a failure it gives a full refund or credit from the renewal date until the account was ended or the next renewal notice, whichever came first.

Under Section 15, a violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Under that Act, the Attorney General or a State's Attorney can ask a court to stop the practice (815 ILCS 505/7), and a person who suffers actual damage can sue (815 ILCS 505/10a).

Changes proposed in 2026

Several 2026 bills would amend the Act, including SB3562, SB3380 and HB4468. As described in their official synopses, they would add things like cancelling in the same medium used to sign up, a notice at least 3 days before a material change to the terms, and a one-step online cancel link. When we checked the bill status pages on 25 October 2026, none had passed: the Senate bills showed "Re-referred to Assignments" and the House bill "Re-referred to Rules Committee." They aren't law, but they show where Illinois may be heading, so check for updates before relying on this page.

A simple setup for Stripe subscriptions

1. Sort your plans. Note which have a term of 12 months or more, which have a trial or promotional period of 15 days or longer, and any cancel-by deadline.
2. Put the five terms next to the button. That it continues until cancelled, the cancel deadline, the recurring price (and any planned change), the term length, and any minimum purchase, right above "Subscribe," in a style that stands out.
3. Send an acknowledgment email right after checkout with the terms, your cancellation policy and a cancel link.
4. Pick a send day inside each window. For example, 45 days before a yearly cancellation deadline and 5 days before a long trial's deadline.
5. Give online customers an online cancel path, such as the Stripe customer portal or your own cancel page, and keep a record of each request.
6. Write the procedure down and review it when you add a plan or change a price.

Why it's worth doing well

Clear terms and an easy exit build trust. In PlainRenew's cancel-flow dataset (169 subscription sites whose public pages our checker could read, checked 21 and 22 October 2026), 36 sites (21%) had no auto-renew wording we could find, and 97 (57%) had no cancel or manage-billing link on the pages it read. Those are text matches on public pages only, so the wording or link may appear at checkout or behind a login. Still, both are easy wins.

Quick FAQ

Does Illinois require a reminder for monthly plans? Not the yearly reminder in Section 10(b), which applies to terms of 12 months or more. The trial notice applies if a monthly plan starts with a trial or promotional period of 15 days or longer, and the online cancel rule applies either way.

Can the reminders be emails? The trial notice should use a channel the customer is used to interacting with you on. The yearly reminder must be written and retainable; the Act doesn't name a specific channel.

Does it apply if I only sell to businesses? No. Section 20(c) says the Act doesn't apply to business-to-business contracts.

Note: PlainRenew's rules page doesn't list Illinois yet, so this guide is based directly on the statute text. For other states, see our guides to California and New York.

Want to see how your public pages read against these rules? Run the free checker at plainrenew.com/check. It takes about a minute.