---
title: "SaaS subscription and negative-option checklist"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/us-saas-negative-option-checklist"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a24-us-saas-negative-option-checklist"
area_id: "A24"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A24-T1-R1", "A24-T1-R3", "A24-B7-1"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# SaaS subscription and negative-option checklist

> A review checklist for an internet subscription. 15 USC § 8403 applies only to a charge through a negative option feature as the Telemarketing Sales Rule defines it.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/us-saas-negative-option-checklist  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

A review checklist for an internet subscription. 15 USC § 8403 applies only to a charge through a negative option feature as the Telemarketing Sales Rule defines it. The rest of the commercial terms are read from the draft.

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Technology, Media & Telecommunications / IT Contracts](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts.md)
- Jurisdictions: United States
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 2 authorities it cites, for United States.

## When to use it

Use when reviewing a SaaS or other online subscription before it is signed or published. It is not the subscription agreement. It does not treat every auto-renewing contract as a negative option.

## Used for these tasks

- [Review a vendor contract against the technology playbook](https://ailawframework.com/practice/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/review-a-vendor-contract-against-the-technology-playbook.md)
- [Build a one-sided terms table for a standard-form technology contract](https://ailawframework.com/practice/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/build-a-one-sided-terms-table-for-a-standard-form-technology-contract.md)
- [Review a SaaS agreement for AI-specific clauses](https://ailawframework.com/practice/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/review-a-saas-agreement-for-ai-specific-clauses.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may quote the fee, the renewal clause, and the cancellation path from the draft the lawyer provides. The lawyer decides whether section 8403 applies.

**AI may:**

- Quote the price, the renewal, and the cancellation mechanism from the draft
- Leave the section 8403 rows blank until the lawyer has read the Telemarketing Sales Rule definition
- Flag a consent screen that asks for billing information before the material terms

**AI must not:**

- Must not decide that the contract uses a negative option feature
- Must not rewrite the commercial terms or add a cancellation right the statute does not state
- Must not send or publish the subscription

**The lawyer checks:**

- The negative-option definition has been read before any 8403 row is ticked
- Material terms, consent, and the stop-charge mechanism are each either present or marked missing
- Electronic-signature points are limited to the subsections that were opened

## Authorities

- [15 USC § 8403 (internet charges through a negative option feature, as defined in the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/8403)
- [15 USC § 7001(a), (b), (e) and (h) (electronic contracts and signatures; no duty to agree to electronic form; retention)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7001)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/us-saas-negative-option-checklist and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*