New York Automatic Renewal Law & What It Means For You

The New York Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) hit harder than I expected.

If you run a SaaS or subscription-based business and you’ve got users in New York, this law is something you can’t ignore.

It’s already active.

And the penalties for getting it wrong are real.

Legal Disclaimer

This article is not legal advice.

I’m just a SaaS founder who had to figure this out for my own business.

Please consult with a qualified attorney before acting on anything in this post.

This is meant to help you understand the basics, not serve as legal counsel.

What The New York Automatic Renewal Law Actually Says

The New York ARL requires you to:

• Clearly explain your subscription terms before the customer pays.
• Get the customer’s clear, affirmative consent to auto-renew.
• Send advance renewal notices for annual and longer-term plans.
• Give users a simple, easy-to-use cancellation method.

On paper, it sounds reasonable.

But when I went through our signup flow, I realized we weren’t hitting every point.

We had to make real changes.

How This Impacts Your SaaS Billing Flow

If you’ve got even one customer in New York, you’re now held to these standards.

That means you need to:

• Update your checkout experience to highlight renewal terms.
• Prove that your user opted in.
• Set up renewal reminder emails.
• Build (or improve) a self-service cancellation process.

This law isn’t just about being technically compliant.

It’s really about making sure you’re treating customers fairly and clearly.

That’s the bottom line here.

And honestly, it’s not a bad thing.

How I Audited Our Subscription System

I went through every step of our billing journey like I was a customer.

I put myself in their shoes.

These were the questions I asked:

• Do we clearly state that this is a subscription?
• Do we explain when and how the charge will recur?
• Can a user cancel without contacting support?
• Do we notify them before another big charge hits?

We made changes at almost every step.

Some were small.

Some weren’t.

How Raaft Helped Me Simplify Compliance

We already used Raaft for our cancellation flow.

It helped us keep churn under control.

But it also made it dead simple to comply with this law.

Raaft gave us:

• A frictionless way for customers to cancel
• The ability to show our renewal and cancellation terms in-app
• A feedback loop for why people leave

We didn’t build any of that from scratch.

And that saved us a ton of time.

What Other States Are Doing

New York isn’t alone.

California, Vermont, and others already have similar laws.

And more are on the way.

This is becoming the new baseline for subscription businesses.

You need to build billing flows that feel fair, wherever your customers are.

What I’d Recommend You Do Now

If I were starting from scratch, I’d:

1. Review my entire signup and billing flow.
2. Make sure renewal terms are easy to find and understand.
3. Ensure I’m logging clear consent.
4. Set up automatic renewal reminders.
5. Make cancellation ridiculously easy.

Yes, it’s a bit of work upfront.

But it’s better than dealing with fines or angry users down the road.

Also, if you’re currently lacking control over your cancellation flows, Raaft’s platform will give you some power back and allow you to curate the user experience.

Use Raaft today for free.