New York automatic renewal law for restaurant memberships

A New York restaurant that sells a monthly wine club, a coffee subscription or a paid membership for regulars has an automatic renewal offer in the eyes of the law. General Business Law section 527-a sets out how such offers must be made, confirmed, canceled and reminded, and it gives the Attorney General the power to seek an injunction and restitution. This guide, checked in November 2026, reads the section as it appears on the New York State Senate's website. It is general information, not legal advice. Ask a lawyer how the section applies to your own program.

Who does the section cover?

It applies to any business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a New York consumer. A coffee club that charges a card each month until the guest says stop is a continuous service. A yearly membership that renews each January is an automatic renewal. The exemptions in the section are for franchised utilities, entities regulated by the Department of Financial Services, security alarm operators, licensed banks and credit unions and sellers of service contracts under the insurance law, none of which covers a restaurant.

What must you disclose before the guest agrees?

Material terms must be presented clearly and conspicuously before consent is requested. They include the product, the costs, the frequency of charges and the deadline to stop charges. For a free trial or a temporary price, you must explain how and when the price changes, including later prices. The terms must appear close to the request for consent, or close in time if the offer is made by voice. Put the price and the renewal date next to the button.

What counts as consent and confirmation?

The guest must give consent to the agreement. After the guest consents, the business must promptly send a notice the guest can keep. It must cover the terms of the agreement, the costs, the frequency of charges, the cancellation deadline and the ways to cancel. An email is the usual form. Keep the email template and the date of each version.

How must cancellation work?

Consumers must be able to cancel at any time through a method as easy as the one used to consent, using the same medium. Cancellation must be available through every medium used to obtain consent. If consent was given in person, the business must also offer an online or telephone cancellation option, where practical. Businesses cannot impose unreasonable conditions or obstruct or delay cancellation, and the section gives examples: hanging up on consumers who call to cancel and giving false information about how to cancel. Retention offers are allowed, but they cannot be used to block a cancellation.

When must you send reminders?

For an initial paid term of one year or more that renews for six months or more, notify the consumer 15 to 45 days before the cancellation deadline, with cancellation instructions. A material change, including a price increase, needs clear notice 5 to 30 days before the change. For a free trial longer than one month, notify the consumer 3 to 21 days before the cancellation deadline for the first paid period. After a price increase, the business needs new consent or must let the consumer cancel within at least 14 days of the charge, with a pro rata refund.

What are the penalties?

The Attorney General may seek an injunction on at least five days' notice, plus restitution, and does not have to prove injury. Civil penalties run up to $100 per violation and $500 for multiple violations from one act. For knowing violations, penalties reach $500 per violation and $1,000 for multiple violations from one act. A business can avoid liability by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the violation was unintentional, resulted from a bona fide error and occurred despite reasonable error-prevention procedures. Written procedures are your evidence.

What if goods arrive without consent?

If goods are sent under a continuous service or a renewal without affirmative consent, the section treats them as an unconditional gift. The consumer owes nothing for them, including return shipping. A bakery that ships a monthly box should never send one to a guest who has not agreed.

What records protect you?

Keep the wording of every sign-up page and confirmation email with the dates it was in use, a log of each reminder sent and each cancellation request with the date you handled it. The section gives a defense to a business that can show a bona fide error despite reasonable procedures, and the procedures are only as good as the records that prove them. A short written checklist, reviewed twice a year, is usually enough for a small program.

What should you do next?

Make a list of every plan that renews on its own. Test the sign-up and the cancel path on a phone. Set the reminder dates in your system for each type of term. Write a short procedure that explains how a complaint is handled, and keep it with your records. Then read how New York's cashless ban affects your register.

More guides for your business:

• New York gift card rules for restaurants: the nine year minimum
• New York credit card surcharge rules for restaurants: post the total
• How to take direct online orders in New York City without delivery apps

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