What is the Wet Van Dam?
The Wet Van Dam (the Van Dam Act) is the Dutch law that sets how a subscription with a consumer may be renewed automatically and how it can be cancelled. The core: after the first term the customer must be able to cancel at any time, with a notice period of one month at most.
This article gives general information about the rules as they apply in the Netherlands on 6 October 2026. It is not legal advice. Have your terms and your cancellation process checked by a lawyer.
The law has applied since 1 December 2011 and takes its name from the member of the Dutch parliament who introduced the bill. Officially it is an amendment of Books 2 and 6 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW) on 'tacit renewal and notice periods for memberships, subscriptions and other contracts'. The law works through your general terms and conditions: clauses on the black list (zwarte lijst, article 6:236 BW) count as unreasonably onerous, clauses on the grey list (grijze lijst, article 6:237 BW) are presumed to be. The customer can have such a clause annulled.
The rules cover contracts 'for the regular delivery of goods' and 'for the regular performance of services'. A subscription with which Brandpunt Koffie delivers coffee every four weeks, or Trouwe Poot pet food, is a contract of the first kind. The protection is for consumers.
Automatic renewal (stilzwijgende verlenging): what is allowed
Stilzwijgende verlenging, tacit or automatic renewal, means that a subscription continues after the agreed term without the customer agreeing to it again. That is not forbidden. It is allowed if you said so before the subscription was taken out and the customer is not tied in again afterwards.
The main rule is in article 6:236 under j BW. On the black list is a clause that renews or continues the subscription tacitly without the customer being able to cancel 'at any time' with a notice period of one month at most. ACM, the Dutch consumer and markets authority, sums it up for businesses: after the fixed term consumers may always cancel, with a maximum notice period of one month. According to ACM that holds for a renewal for an indefinite period and also for a renewal up to a new end date.
An example. Brandpunt Koffie sells an annual subscription that ends on 1 March and then continues. If the customer cancels on 15 March, the subscription stops on 15 April at the latest, even if the terms say it was renewed for a year.
A clause that obliges the customer to cancel at a particular moment is on the black list as well (under r). And a new offer the customer agrees to is, according to ACM, not a renewal but a new subscription. So make clear which of the two you are offering. A few kinds of contract have rules of their own:
| Kind of contract | What applies |
|---|---|
| Newspaper or magazine | Tacit renewal is allowed for three months at most each time. If the subscription continues for an indefinite period, the notice period is one month at most, or three months at most when the publication appears less than once a month |
| Trial subscription to a newspaper or magazine | Stops by itself after the trial period and may not continue |
| Other trial subscription | According to ACM ConsuWijzer, ACM's site for consumers, it may only continue if that was clear to the customer beforehand |
| Membership of an association | Other rules apply, from Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code |
Notice period (opzegtermijn): how long may it be?
One month at most. After a tacit renewal that follows from the black list. For the first term a longer notice period is on the grey list (article 6:237 under o BW). If your terms contain no notice period, the subscription stops on the day the customer cancels, according to ACM ConsuWijzer.
The first term itself is one year at most as a rule. A longer term is on the grey list, unless the customer can cancel at any time after one year with a notice period of one month at most (article 6:237 under k BW). During the fixed term a consumer cannot simply stop, unless you do not deliver what was agreed and do not put it right, or your terms allow it. If you let a customer go early, ACM says you may charge a cancellation fee of at most the value of the term that is left.
For the way of cancelling article 6:236 under o BW applies: you may not exclude or limit the customer's right to cancel in the same way as the subscription was taken out. For a webshop that means, according to ACM:
- Taken out online means cancellable online, in a place that is easy to find
- Cancelling in writing is always possible, for example by letter, web form or email
- No hurdles, such as steering towards a phone call or making the customer click through several times
- You confirm an online cancellation in writing or by email and state from when the subscription stops
Right of withdrawal for a subscription
The right of withdrawal (herroepingsrecht) is separate from the Wet Van Dam. It comes from the rules for distance selling: a consumer may withdraw from a contract concluded online within fourteen days without giving a reason (article 6:230o BW). For a subscription to products that period runs until fourteen days after the day on which the customer received the first product.
There are exceptions, for example for goods that spoil quickly or have a limited shelf life (article 6:230p BW). Whether your product falls under one of them is a question for a lawyer.
Withdrawing is not the same as cancelling: cancelling stops the subscription for the future, withdrawing reverses the purchase. Since June 2026 a webshop must have an online function for withdrawing (article 6:230oa BW). Our article about the withdrawal button covers that.
Does the Wet Van Dam apply to business customers?
Not directly. The black and the grey list apply to contracts with a natural person who does not act in the course of a profession or business. For a subscription with another business, Ondernemersplein, the Dutch government's site for businesses, says that in most cases the general rules for contracts from the Dutch Civil Code apply. You can then include a clause on tacit renewal in the contract and your terms.
There is a caveat. Freelancers and small businesses can sometimes rely on consumer law after all, according to KVK, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. This is called reflexwerking. It comes up, for example, when the customer concludes a contract with a clearly larger party about something outside their own field. In the end a court decides, so there is no certainty beforehand. If you deliver to small business customers, consider applying the same cancellation rules to them as to consumers.
What does this mean for your webshop?
For a webshop that sells products on subscription to Dutch consumers it comes down to these points.
- State clearly, right before the customer orders, the term, any minimum duration and how cancelling works
- Keep the first term to one year at most
- Let the subscription continue after that only if the customer can cancel at any time, with a notice period of one month at most
- Put cancelling online, in a place that is easy to find
- Confirm every cancellation by email, with the date on which the subscription stops
- Inform the customer about the withdrawal period and provide the online withdrawal function
- Have your general terms checked for clauses from the black and the grey list
A reminder before every delivery or before the end of the first term is not in the articles of the Wet Van Dam. It is good practice all the same: the customer knows what is coming and can skip, reschedule or cancel in time.
How to set it up in Shopify with Loyalo
With Loyalo customers manage their subscription themselves, in their Shopify customer account or in the portal with a login link by email. There they can pause, skip a delivery and cancel. Under Subscriptions › Settings you decide what customers may do themselves; leave cancelling switched on there.
- You set a minimum term (a minimum number of deliveries) and a notice period under Subscriptions › Settings, for all your plans at once. When a customer cancels earlier, the subscription stops after the term or the notice period and they get a confirmation of that.
- The widget on the product page can show those terms under the subscription choice.
- Before the next delivery an email goes out with buttons to skip or reschedule. You set the number of days beforehand yourself.
- Loyalo puts a withdrawal page in your store. The customer immediately gets an email with the date and time of receipt.
Loyalo provides these functions. Whether your shop meets the rules depends on your terms, your settings and your products.
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer cancel an annual subscription early?
During the fixed term a consumer cannot simply stop, unless the provider does not deliver what was agreed or the terms allow it. If the subscription continues after the first year, the customer can cancel at any time with a notice period of one month at most.
Is it forbidden to renew a subscription automatically in the Netherlands?
No. Automatic renewal is allowed if you said so before the subscription was taken out and the customer can cancel at any time afterwards, with a notice period of one month at most. A trial subscription to a newspaper or magazine may not continue.
What is the maximum notice period for a subscription?
One month, for almost all subscriptions. Only for a newspaper or magazine that appears less than once a month may it be three months at most.
Does the Wet Van Dam apply to businesses too?
Not directly: the black and the grey list apply to consumers. Small businesses can sometimes rely on consumer law according to KVK (reflexwerking), but in the end a court decides that.
May I ask for a minimum term?
Yes, of one year at most as a rule. A longer term is on the grey list, unless the customer can cancel at any time after one year with a notice period of one month at most. State the minimum duration clearly before the customer orders.
How must a customer be able to cancel?
In writing in any case, for example by letter, web form or email, and in the same way as the subscription was taken out. So a subscription taken out online must be cancellable online.
What is the difference between cancelling and withdrawing?
Cancelling stops the subscription for the future; that is what the Wet Van Dam is about. Withdrawing is possible within the withdrawal period of fourteen days and reverses the purchase.
Sources
All sources were consulted on 6 October 2026 and are in Dutch. The articles of the Civil Code were read in the text in force from 16 July 2026.
- Burgerlijk Wetboek (Dutch Civil Code) Book 6, article 236 under j, o, p, q, r and s: the black list (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Book 6, article 237 under k and o: the grey list (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Book 6, articles 230m, 230o, 230oa, 230p, 230v and 233 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Staatsblad 2010, 789: the act of 26 November 2010 known as the Wet Van Dam (officielebekendmakingen.nl)
- Rijksoverheid (Dutch government): Mag mijn abonnement stilzwijgend verlengd worden? (rijksoverheid.nl)
- ACM: Annuleren en opzeggen, guidance for businesses (acm.nl)
- ACM, news item of 10 June 2021: online afgesloten abonnement moet je online kunnen opzeggen (acm.nl)
- ACM ConsuWijzer: Abonnement opzeggen, and Bedenktijd (consument.acm.nl)
- Ondernemersplein: Abonnement stilzwijgend (automatisch) verlengen (ondernemersplein.overheid.nl)
- KVK: Consumentenrecht geldt soms ook voor ondernemer (kvk.nl)
Set the minimum term and notice period
The help article shows where you set the term, the notice period and the offer when a customer cancels.
To the help article