DMCCA Glossary: The Terms You'll See Across This Hub

FILDI Ltd is not a law firm. The DMCCA Subscription Hub reflects our understanding of publicly available government sources as of the date shown on each page, and parts of the underlying regulation are still being finalised.

Nothing in this section is a substitute for advice from a qualified legal professional about your specific circumstances.

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A quick reference for the terms used throughout this hub. Each one links back to the article where it's covered in more depth, if you need the full detail.

Subscription contract. A contract between a trader and a consumer for goods, services or digital content, paid for in money, that either runs indefinitely with rolling payments or runs for a fixed period that automatically renews. Free services and anything paid for only with data don't count.

Initial cooling-off period. The first 14-day window, starting when a customer enters a contract, during which they can cancel without penalty. Broadly mirrors the existing right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (CCRs).

Renewal cooling-off period. A new, separate 14-day window that opens after a free trial ends or after a contract of 12 months or more auto-renews, during which the customer can cancel and get a refund.

Reminder notice. A notice a trader has to send before a trial ends or a long contract auto-renews, warning the customer it's about to happen.

Cooling-off notice. A notice telling a customer about their cooling-off rights, including, where relevant, what it will cost them to return goods if they exercise a renewal cooling-off right.

End-of-contract notice. A notice sent once a customer has cancelled, confirming the cancellation has taken effect.

Durable medium. Something a customer can keep and refer back to later. A letter, email, SMS or WhatsApp message counts. A notification that disappears from an app after a few seconds doesn't.

Easy exit. The requirement that ending a subscription has to be straightforward, without unnecessary hurdles.

Online exit. The specific form of easy exit that applies when a customer signed up online: they have to be able to cancel online too, typically through the same channel used to sign up.

Proportionate refund. A refund calculated in proportion to how much of the contract has actually been supplied, rather than a full refund or no refund at all. Used for services and digital content once supply has started.

Ancillary contract. A secondary contract that only exists because of a main subscription contract. If the main contract is cancelled during the initial cooling-off period, the ancillary one is cancelled with it.

Mixed contract. A subscription that combines goods, services and/or digital content in a single product. How refund rules apply to these is expected to be addressed through guidance rather than legislation.

Implied term. A contractual obligation the DMCCA builds into every in-scope subscription contract automatically, whether or not it's written into the trader's own terms. Breaching one (for example, failing to send a reminder notice) gives the consumer a right to cancel and, for certain listed breaches, an automatic right to a refund.

CCRs. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The existing consumer protection framework the DMCCA subscription regime builds on and, for in-scope contracts, largely replaces.

CMA. The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK regulator responsible for enforcing the DMCCA, including the subscription regime once it takes effect.

DBT. The Department for Business and Trade, the government department responsible for the DMCCA's subscription contract policy and for publishing secondary legislation and guidance.

Secondary legislation. The detailed regulations that will actually bring the subscription regime's requirements into legal force. The DMCCA itself sets the framework; secondary legislation fills in the operational detail. As of this hub's last review, it still hasn't been published.

This glossary will grow as new terms come up across the hub. This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects our understanding of publicly available sources as of the date below.

Last reviewed: 24 August 2026