What the regulations say about your minimum-term commitment and your cancellation
How long a mobile or internet contract can last, how much you can be charged if you leave early, when you can leave without paying for the minimum-term commitment (permanencia) because the conditions change, and within how many days the cancellation has to take effect, with the regulation each point comes from.
Reviewed on 14 October 2026Sources: Ley 11/2022 · Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios · Real Decreto 899/2009Who is behind this
The minimum-term commitment and its penalty
A consumer's contract with their mobile or internet operator cannot last more than twenty-four months (Ley 11/2022, art. 67.7, in force since 30-06-2022). Once that term has passed, it renews automatically; after the renewal, you can terminate it at any time with at most one month's notice, at no cost other than the service you receive during the notice period.
If you leave before the minimum-term commitment ends, the penalty has to be proportional to the days that were left. This is what the consolidated text of the Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios (the general consumer protection law) says, with effect from 01-01-2022:
«En caso de que el usuario incumpla el compromiso de permanencia adquirido con la empresa, la penalización por baja o cese prematuro de la relación contractual, será proporcional al número de días no efectivos del compromiso de permanencia acordado.»
Source: Texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios, art. 62.5
For example, with an agreed penalty of 180 €, a minimum term of 549 days and 184 days left when you leave, the proportional part is 180 × 184 / 549 = 60,33 €. The review does that calculation with your dates.
Laws
If the operator changes the conditions
The operator has to inform you of any change to the conditions at least one month in advance, clearly and comprehensibly and on a durable medium, and tell you that you can terminate the contract at no additional cost if you do not accept the new ones. You can do so within the month after being informed. This does not apply to changes that only benefit you, purely administrative changes with no negative effects, or changes imposed by law (Ley 11/2022, art. 67.8).
If you leave this way before the minimum-term commitment ends, you pay no compensation except for a subsidised handset that you keep: at most, its prorated value or what was left of the instalments until the end of the contract, if that is less (art. 67.10). If the increase comes from a contract clause that links it to a price index, the review shows it as information, without a figure.
Laws
Cancellation in two business days
You can cancel whenever you want, by notifying the operator at least two business days before the day you want it to take effect. And about what is charged afterwards, the regulation says (Real Decreto 899/2009, art. 7):
«El operador se abstendrá de facturar y cobrar cualquier cantidad que se haya podido devengar, por causa no imputable al usuario final, con posterioridad al plazo de dos días en que debió surtir efectos la baja.»
That royal decree remains in force insofar as it does not conflict with Ley 11/2022, until its implementing regulations are approved (first transitional provision). The regulation does not say which days are business days: the review does not count Saturdays, Sundays or national public holidays, which gives the latest possible day; anything you are charged for the following day it flags for review, without adding it, because a regional public holiday could move it, and anything after that it does count.
You can end the contract in the same way you entered into it (consolidated text of the Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios, art. 62.3), and the cancellation procedure has to give you a record of the content of your request (Real Decreto 899/2009, art. 7).
Laws
Where to get free information
The Ministry's Oficina de Atención al Usuario de Telecomunicaciones (telecoms user helpdesk) resolves disagreements with operators.
What the review does not check
- Whether the price you are charged is the one you agreed.
- Compensation for service outages.
- Whether you yourself asked for the premium-rate or third-party services you are charged for: only you know that.
- Whether you signed up for each fee you are charged: only you know that.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I be charged for the minimum-term commitment?
At most, the part of the agreed penalty that corresponds to the days that were left: the penalty has to be proportional to the days of the minimum term not completed (texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios, art. 62.5, with effect from 01-01-2022). For example, with 180 € agreed, a minimum term of 549 days and 184 days left, 180 × 184 / 549 = 60,33 €. A consumer's contract cannot last more than twenty-four months (Ley 11/2022, art. 67.7). And if you leave within the month after the operator informs you of a change of conditions, you pay no penalty: only, if you keep it, the subsidised handset, at most at its prorated value (art. 67.8 and 67.10).
Can I be charged for leaving?
With a minimum-term commitment, at most its part proportional to the days that were left (texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios, art. 62.5). If you leave within the month after the operator informs you of a change of conditions, no compensation except for a subsidised handset that you keep (Ley 11/2022, art. 67.8 and 67.10). After the renewal of a contract that has already completed its term, you can leave with at most one month's notice, at no cost other than the service for that time (art. 67.7). And anything accrued after the two business days in which the cancellation was due to take effect, for a reason not attributable to you, the operator cannot bill or charge (Real Decreto 899/2009, art. 7).
What happens to my documents?
If you upload your contract and your bills, they are sent encrypted to an Amazon Web Services server in Spain, which passes them to an AI model (Claude, by Anthropic, through Amazon Bedrock) within the European Union. They contain your name, your DNI, your address, your phone numbers and your account: the model is instructed not to copy any of that, nor the numbers you call, the customer or contract number or the IMEI; it does copy the name of the operator. Nothing is stored. If you prefer not to upload anything, you can type in the data and nothing leaves your device.
What does the 4,99 € pass include?
The pass is valid for any review on the site for 7 days, only in the browser you pay with. Here it is offered if what you are charged above the regulations adds up to 4,99 € or more. It lets you download the PDF report on your cancellation and, if the penalty goes beyond what the regulations allow, the letter asking for it to be reviewed. The letter giving notice of your cancellation without penalty after a change of conditions is free. On another device, in a private window or if you clear your browsing data, the pass is lost.