HB529: HB529 Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act; enact

Georgia already regulates automatic renewal provisions in service contracts (O.C.G.A. Title 13) and online subscription renewals through the Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act (O.C.G.A. Title 10). This bill rewrites both sets of rules. For service contracts, sellers must disclose automatic renewal terms clearly and give consumers the choice to have the contract simply end instead of renewing; if a consumer exercises that choice, the renewal clause becomes void. Contracts of 12 months or longer that auto-renew must come with advance written or electronic notice, and longer contracts require the consumer's written acknowledgment before renewal is enforceable. For online subscriptions, the bill requires businesses that let customers sign up online to also let them cancel online, through a website link or a cancellation email, and sets rules for notices, material changes, and unauthorized shipments (which become free gifts to the consumer). It also updates the list of businesses exempt from these rules, such as banks, utilities, and insurers. The law would take effect December 31, 2025, and apply to contracts entered into on or after that date.

• Requires sellers offering service contracts with automatic renewal clauses to give consumers the option to let the contract end instead of automatically renewing.
• Voids any automatic renewal provision in a service contract once a consumer has exercised the opt out or if the seller violates the chapter's rules.
• Requires advance written or electronic notice, 30 to 60 days before the cancellation deadline, for service contracts of 12 months or more that auto-renew.
• Requires businesses offering online subscriptions to provide an online cancellation method, such as a website link or dedicated cancellation email, matching the ease of signing up online.
• Deems any goods shipped under an unauthorized automatic renewal or continuous service agreement an unconditional gift to the consumer, free of any obligation to pay or return them.
• Updates the list of businesses exempt from both the service contract rules and the online renewal transparency law, including banks, utilities regulators, and insurance-regulated entities.

Businesses that sell service contracts or online subscriptions with automatic renewal terms, and the consumers (including some nonprofits) who sign them. It also affects banks, utilities, insurers, and other regulated entities that are exempted from the rules, and the Attorney General's office, which enforces the online transparency provisions.

Georgians who sign up for subscriptions or service contracts that auto-renew would gain a clearer right to stop the renewal and an easier way to cancel online subscriptions without navigating obstacles. Businesses would face new disclosure, notice, and cancellation-method requirements, with the Attorney General able to seek injunctions and restitution for violations of the online renewal law.

• Section 1-1 rewrites O.C.G.A. Chapter 12 of Title 13, requiring sellers to disclose automatic renewal terms and give consumers an opt-out that voids the renewal clause if exercised (O.C.G.A. § 13-12-2).
• Contracts of 12 months or more that auto-renew require notice 30 to 60 days before the cancellation deadline, and contracts renewing for more than a year need written consumer acknowledgment and an affirmative response (O.C.G.A. § 13-12-3).
• Section 1-1 exempts certain entities from Chapter 12, including financial institutions, utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission, franchises, insurance-regulated entities, and local governments (O.C.G.A. § 13-12-4).
• Section 2-1 rewrites the Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act (O.C.G.A. Title 10, Part 8), requiring businesses to offer an online cancellation method whenever they allow online sign up (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-439.8).
• Businesses must disclose renewal offer terms clearly, obtain consumer consent before charging for renewal, and send notice of renewal charges within three days unless the consumer opted out (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-439.9).
• Goods sent under an unauthorized automatic renewal become an unconditional gift to the consumer with no obligation to pay or return them (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-439.10).
• The Attorney General may seek injunctions and restitution for violations of the online transparency part, but there is no private right of action, and businesses acting in good faith are shielded from civil penalties (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-439.13).
• The Act takes effect December 31, 2025, and applies to contracts entered into on or after that date.

1. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-03-06House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
4. 2025-03-06House Third Readers (House)
5. 2025-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
6. 2025-02-28House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
7. 2025-02-27House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-02-21House Second Readers (House)

• Carter Barrett (R, HD-024)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-031)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   169 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #265

• consumer protection
• automatic renewal contracts
• online subscriptions
• cancellation rights
• Georgia commerce law