Minnesota's Automatic Renewal Law: a subscription cancellation guide

Part of: US state automatic renewal laws

Minnesota's Automatic Renewal Law took effect January 1, 2025. It requires easy online cancellation and renewal notices, and it restricts the save offers a business can show during cancellation.

A checklist to comply with Minnesota's law

Audit your cancel and renewal flow against these obligations.

What Minnesota's Automatic Renewal Law requires

The rules live in Minnesota Statutes 325G.57 and run across the whole subscription, from signup to cancellation.

1. Clear disclosure and consent at signup

Present the auto-renewal terms clearly and conspicuously before the customer buys, and get their affirmative consent to those terms.

2. A confirmation after signup

After the transaction, send an acknowledgment that confirms the terms of the agreement.

3. Renewal and annual notices

For a subscription with no end date, send written notice of the ongoing service at least once a year, by mail or email. Give notice before any material change too.

4. Free-trial notice

For a free trial longer than 30 days, notify the customer 5 to 30 days before it ends, so they can cancel before any charge.

5. Easy online cancellation

Cancellation must be easy and timely. If you offer online subscription management, customers must be able to cancel on your website, whichever way they signed up.

Save offers need the customer's permission

When a customer gives notice to cancel, Minnesota bars you from making offers, gifts, or contract changes until the customer grants permission to receive them, and you can ask for that permission only once per cancellation.

Without permission, you can still ask why a customer is leaving, as long as an answer is not required. You can explain what they lose, and you can offer to pause, downgrade, or suspend the subscription.

Who does it apply to?

It applies to businesses offering automatically renewing subscriptions to consumers in Minnesota, wherever the business is based. The law covers purchases for personal, family, or household use, so purely B2B subscriptions fall outside it.

Penalties and the good-faith safe harbor

Non-compliance can carry civil penalties. The law also builds in a safe harbor: under Section 325G.63, a seller is not subject to civil penalties if it made a good-faith effort to comply with each provision that applies to it.

Basically, if you make an honest effort to follow the rules, you won't be fined for a mistake. You'll just need to fix it.

How Churnkey helps you stay compliant and reduce churn

Churnkey offers a Cancel Flow that is compliant and retains customers, two outcomes that are hard to balance at once.

Getting started is easy, with an SDK, an embedded option, or a self-serve hosted page.

Churnkey's automatic compliance detects each customer's location and shows the right cancel option for their state.

Minnesota's save-offer rule is exactly why per-region control matters. You can keep offers out of the Minnesota cancel flow and still use what the law allows, like a pause, a downgrade, or asking why they are leaving. Elsewhere, Churnkey can present a fair offer they are free to decline, and you can A/B test flows to find what saves revenue.

We work with businesses across many states and countries, each with its own evolving rules, so we can help you configure flows that support compliance. Review the rules with your legal team and meet with ours to set up your flows.

Churnkey is GDPR compliant and SOC 2 Type II certified.

FAQ

What is Minnesota's Automatic Renewal Law?

A consumer protection law effective January 1, 2025 (Minnesota Statutes 325G.56 to 325G.59) that requires easy online cancellation, renewal and trial notices, and permission before save offers during cancellation.

Does it apply to my business?

If you offer automatically renewing subscriptions to consumers in Minnesota, yes, wherever your business is based.

Can I show a "save" offer when someone cancels in Minnesota?

Only with the customer's permission, which you request after they start cancelling and may ask for once. Without it, you can still ask why they are leaving (not as a condition), explain what they lose, and offer a pause, downgrade, or suspension.

How many times can I present an offer during cancellation?

Once per cancellation, and only after the customer gives permission to receive it. Asking the reason, explaining consequences, and offering a pause, downgrade, or suspension do not require permission.

Does the law apply to B2B subscriptions?

No. It covers purchases for personal, family, or household use, so purely business-to-business subscriptions fall outside it.

Is there a penalty if I get it wrong?

Non-compliance can bring civil penalties. Under Section 325G.63, a seller that made a good-faith effort to comply with each applicable provision is not subject to those civil penalties.

What are the notice requirements?

For subscriptions with no end date, send written notice of the ongoing service at least once a year. For free trials longer than 30 days, notify the customer 5 to 30 days before the trial ends.

Does asking why a customer is leaving break the rules?

No, as long as answering is not a condition of cancelling. Minnesota lets you ask the reason, explain the consequences, and offer a pause or downgrade.

How can Churnkey help my business?

Churnkey provides a Cancel Flow with easy online cancellation and automatic compliance by location, so you can hold save offers back for Minnesota while using the pause, downgrade, and reason options the law allows. We can help you configure flows that support compliance, but review the rules with your legal team.