How to cancel a contract in Germany: notice periods, form and the cancellation button
By Ali Alawihee · Updated 5 November 2026
Gym, mobile or streaming: many contracts run on after you stop needing them. Since 2022, getting out has often been easier. Here is which notice applies, when an email is enough and how to prove receipt.
Notice periods since March 2022
Under the Fair Consumer Contracts Act (Gesetz für faire Verbraucherverträge), new limits apply to contracts from 1 March 2022; older ones keep the old rules (renewal for up to a year, up to three months' notice). Insurance is excluded and has its own rules (VVG).
For regular deliveries or services such as gyms, streaming or energy, section 309 no. 9 of the Civil Code (BGB) limits standard terms (AGB) as follows:
- Initial term: two years at most
- Notice before it ends: one month at most
- Automatic renewal: only open-ended
- After renewal: one month's notice at any time
Withdrawal, cancellation and special cancellation
Online, phone or doorstep contracts can usually be withdrawn within 14 days without a reason. Withdrawal unwinds the contract; cancellation only ends it for the future. Since 19 June 2026, online contracts must also offer a withdrawal function such as ‘Vertrag widerrufen’.
Electricity or gas price rises must be announced at least one month ahead; you may then cancel without notice from that date (section 41(5) EnWG), except for pure VAT changes. If you move and your internet provider cannot serve the new address, one month's notice applies (section 60 TKG).
The cancellation button for online contracts
Since 1 July 2022, websites offering ongoing paid contracts must also offer a cancellation button (section 312k BGB). ‘Verträge hier kündigen’ leads to a confirmation page for your details, the contract and the end date; ‘jetzt kündigen’ sends it.
Receipt and end date must be confirmed promptly in text form. If the button is missing or flawed, you may cancel at any time without notice. Financial services, including insurance according to the Verbraucherzentrale, are excluded.
Text form: when is an email enough?
Usually text form (Textform) under section 126b BGB is enough: an email, letter or fax naming you, no signature needed. Standard terms may not demand anything stricter or a special delivery method (section 309 no. 13 BGB).
Only where the law requires written form, as for a flat tenancy or employment, do you need a hand-signed letter. Phone cancellations are hard to prove.
Sample structure of a cancellation letter
Identify yourself and the contract clearly, and give the reason for a special cancellation:
- Sender: name, address, email
- Recipient: address from the contract or legal notice (Impressum)
- Subject: cancellation, customer and contract number
- Key sentence in German, for example: ‘Hiermit kündige ich den Vertrag fristgerecht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt.’
- Request confirmation of the end date in text form
- Date, name and, on a letter, signature
Proving that your cancellation arrived
A cancellation only takes effect once it arrives, and you must prove that. Registered post proves delivery, not content; according to the Verbraucherzentrale, after a 2025 Federal Labour Court ruling, online tracking alone is not enough; what counts is the proof of delivery.
Send your notice a few days early and keep proof:
- Cancellation button: screenshot the confirmation page
- Email: keep the sent message, ask for confirmation
- Einwurf-Einschreiben (registered letter to the letterbox): keep a copy and both receipts
- Einschreiben mit Rückschein (with advice of delivery): the recipient signs
No cancellation confirmation? What to do
If nothing arrives within a few days, ask in writing with a short deadline and, if needed, cancel again provably. With the cancellation button, the law presumes immediate receipt. If money you do not owe is still debited, your bank can reverse a SEPA direct debit within eight weeks.