Wegweiser Consumers · Your rights when buying and contracting Deutsch

🪤 Subscription traps, cancellation button and contract terms

Subscriptions must be cancellable online with two clicks. Long terms and silent renewal are limited in general terms and conditions.

Subscription trap Cancellation button Subscription Contract term Renewal Notice period Gym § 312k BGB

In brief

If you can conclude a contract online, the provider must also make it cancellable online. That is what the cancellation button is for.

  • The button reads "Cancel contracts here".
  • You then confirm with "Cancel now".
  • The provider must confirm the cancellation immediately in text form.
  • If the button is missing, you can cancel at any time without notice.

Step by step

  1. Find the buttonOn the website: "Cancel contracts here".
  2. Enter details and confirmEnter contract, name and cancellation date. Then "Cancel now".
  3. Keep the confirmationThe provider must confirm the content, date and time. Save the confirmation.
  4. If there are problemsAlso send the cancellation by e-mail or letter and ask the Verbraucherzentrale.

Deadlines

Immediately
Confirmation of the cancellation by the provider§ 312k BGB
2 years
Maximum commitment through a term in general terms and conditions§ 309 Nr. 9 Buchst. a BGB
1 month
Maximum notice period for terminating the renewed contract / period before expiry§ 309 Nr. 9 Buchst. b, c BGB
Watch out – common mistakes
  • The cancellation button does not apply to financial services (exception in § 312k).
  • The button must be labelled with nothing other than the prescribed words (or equivalent).
  • If the button is missing, cancellation is possible at any time without notice (§ 312k Abs. 6 BGB).
  • For "free" offers with hidden subscriptions: check the order button and price carefully.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Cancellation button, § 312k BGB

§ 312k BGB applies to consumer contracts in electronic commerce concerning continuing obligations; financial services and contracts with stricter forms of termination are excluded. The trader must provide a button labelled with nothing other than "Cancel contracts here" and, on the confirmation page, a button labelled "Cancel now", and must immediately confirm the cancellation electronically in text form with content, date and time. Under § 312k Abs. 6, if the buttons are missing the consumer can cancel at any time without a notice period.

Terms in general terms and conditions, § 309 Nr. 9 BGB

The rule applies only to general terms and conditions in contracts for the regular supply of goods or the regular provision of services or work. The following are invalid: a term binding the other party for more than two years, a binding tacit renewal, unless the contract is only renewed for an indefinite period and the customer can cancel at any time with at most one month's notice, and a notice period longer than one month before expiry of the originally agreed term.

Cost trap, § 312j BGB

Under § 312j Abs. 3 BGB, the order button must be labelled "order with obligation to pay" or a similarly unambiguous wording. Under para. 4, otherwise no contract is concluded.

Who is responsible
  • Provider (addressee of the cancellation)
  • Verbraucherzentrale
  • Amtsgericht (local court)
Further reading
Right of withdrawal and the withdrawal buttonCold calling and unwanted calls

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Subscription traps, cancellation button and contract terms“?
Subscriptions must be cancellable online with two clicks. Long terms and silent renewal are limited in general terms and conditions.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
  • Immediately: Confirmation of the cancellation by the provider (§ 312k BGB)
  • 2 years: Maximum commitment through a term in general terms and conditions (§ 309 Nr. 9 Buchst. a BGB)
  • 1 month: Maximum notice period for terminating the renewed contract / period before expiry (§ 309 Nr. 9 Buchst. b, c BGB)
What should I do first?
  • Find the button: On the website: "Cancel contracts here".
  • Enter details and confirm: Enter contract, name and cancellation date. Then "Cancel now".
  • Keep the confirmation: The provider must confirm the content, date and time. Save the confirmation.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • The cancellation button does not apply to financial services (exception in § 312k).
  • The button must be labelled with nothing other than the prescribed words (or equivalent).
  • If the button is missing, cancellation is possible at any time without notice (§ 312k Abs. 6 BGB).
Evidence
  • gesetze-im-internet.de, § 312k BGB, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • gesetze-im-internet.de, § 309 BGB, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Noerr, Umsetzungsgesetz Widerrufsbutton (Vergleich Kündigungsbutton), retrieved 20 September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.