How to Stop Magazine Mail and Offers

If it is an active subscription

Find the account or subscription number on the mailing label. Contact the publisher or subscription company and follow its cancellation instructions. Ask whether the cancellation stops future charges, future issues, or both.

The Federal Trade Commission advises consumers to keep a copy of the cancellation request and notes about conversations with the company. Watch your card or bank statements after canceling. If unauthorized charges continue, use your financial institution's dispute process.

If the magazine is free

Some trade, membership, alumni, or promotional publications are funded by an organization rather than the recipient. Contact the publisher listed in the masthead or on the mailing label. Ask it to remove the exact name, address, and subscriber number from print circulation.

If someone else enrolled you as a gift, the publisher may need the donor's information. You can still ask it to stop delivery to your address.

For Costco Connection, Costco publishes a delivery opt-out in Preferences under Account Details. Magazine delivery is separate from promotional postal mail and membership auto-renewal; choose the setting for the problem you actually have.

The free Fisher House Patriot magazine has a published print-removal contact. Its magazine signup choices enroll readers; they are not a removal form. You can read an online issue without mistaking that for a change to paper delivery.

If you never ordered the subscription

Check for a gift, membership benefit, or earlier trial first. If you never agreed to the subscription, the FTC's U.S. guidance on subscriptions you never ordered says you do not have to pay for an unordered item or return it. This is different from canceling a subscription you did agree to, including an auto-renewing trial.

Contact the company that manages the subscription through its official website. Explain that you did not authorize it, ask it to stop delivery, and keep the request and any reply. Check your statements for charges you did not approve. The FTC explains how to dispute continued charges through your card issuer and report an unauthorized subscription. Do not send card details in response to an unexpected mailed notice.

If it is only a magazine offer

A postcard or envelope inviting you to subscribe is marketing mail, not a subscription to cancel. Contact the sender for a postal-marketing opt-out.

Consumer Reports publishes separate preferences for magazine and On Health offers, plus a different fundraising route. Use its promotional-mail choice if you want to keep paid issues and account notices.

DMAchoice can reduce prospect mail from participating marketers, but it does not cancel subscriptions. It excludes promotional mail from companies you have purchased from, subscribed to, or donated to in the past two years. Check its current registration terms and coverage before paying.

Check a renewal notice before responding

An unexpected renewal notice is not a reason to send payment details. The FTC warns that fake renewal notices can ask for credit card information. Verify the notice with the company through its official website or a contact route you already trust, not a phone number or link supplied only on the notice.

Use the label to avoid a dead end

Magazine fulfillment is often handled by a company other than the title printed on the cover. Keep the label until the issue is resolved. It can show the account number, expiration date, recipient spelling, and fulfillment source needed to find the correct record.

Junk Mail Magic can help with a sender-specific promotional-mail request. It is not a substitute for canceling a paid subscription or disputing an unauthorized charge. For a membership publication, see our AARP mail guide. See the complete junk mail guide for other mail types.

Check who sold or renewed the subscription

The publisher, a subscription agency, a membership organization, or a gift buyer may control the account. Check the original receipt and the merchant name on any renewal charge before contacting the cover title. Ask the company that billed you to confirm the cancellation date and whether a refund is due under its terms.

Stopping renewal does not always stop delivery

For a subscription bought through Magazines.com, its official customer-care FAQ directs you to sign in, open Recent Orders, and update Auto Renew Status. Turning renewal off prevents another term, but the issues you already paid for keep arriving until the current term ends.

If you want to stop the current subscription instead, the FAQ says to contact customer care about cancellation and refund eligibility. It lists 800-624-2946. These instructions apply to Magazines.com orders, not every magazine seller.

The same FAQ warns that publishers may still mail renewal offers after auto-renewal is turned off. Ask the publisher separately to stop promotional mail. A remaining paid issue, a new charge, and a renewal advertisement are different problems; keep the confirmation for the request you actually made.