What is the purchase options cancellation policy in Shopify, and what should it say?

Why the policy appeared in Settings > Policies

Once you have set up a subscription, Shopify adds a purchase options cancellation policy to your store automatically. The Help Center lists it as Subscription policy, the last of seven policies in Settings > Policies.

In our development store on October 19, 2026, it carried a Required badge. No Help Center or shopify.dev page we read that day explains the badge or whether you can delete it. Shopify's subscription setup page, linked above, also says that after you set up your subscription app, you need to add a subscription cancellation policy, so treat the automatic entry as yours to fill in.

In Shopify adminOpen in your store

1. Settings
2. Policies

Zoom

Where customers see it, and what a blank policy shows

Customers meet it under different names:

• the cart page and the Express checkout section, as cancelation policy, with Shopify Subscriptions;
• the checkout footer, as Subscription policy;
• its own page at /policies/subscription-policy.

If the field is blank, customers see a generated template. With Shopify Subscriptions, customers must agree to the policy before they can complete their purchase, and the checkout disclosure, which can't be removed on any plan, links to it.

What your cancellation policy should say

Shopify's default checkout disclosure, if you haven't customized it, promises this:

Spell out that route in your policy; if yours differs, every plan lets you edit the disclosure's cancel text and cancellation instructions in the theme content editor. Rewrite whatever you start from, including Insert template, around that route.

In Shopify adminOpen in your store

1. Settings
2. Policies
3. Purchase options cancellation policy

Zoom

No Help Center or shopify.dev page we read on October 19, 2026 lists clauses the policy must contain. For stores that offer auto-renewing subscriptions, Shopify says you might need to update the automated store policy templates or add specific disclosures, and to consult a lawyer if you need help determining which requirements apply to your business.

The FTC's Click-to-Cancel rule was vacated on July 8, 2025; what subscription law still asks is in our compliance section.