It depends which GoCardless terms you signed. If you signed up online on the standard self-serve terms, the agreement has no fixed term and you can end it by written notice or through your dashboard. If you signed an order form with GoCardless's sales team, your order form sets an initial term that renews automatically for 12 months unless you give written notice at least two months before it ends, so check its dates before you plan a switch.
In this article
The short version
- On GoCardless's self-serve terms, you can end the agreement by written notice or through the dashboard.
- On sales-led terms, your order form sets the initial term, which renews for 12 months.
- Notice to stop renewal must be given at least two months before the term ends.
- Committed contracts can't be ended until the subscription terms expire.
- Your mandates can still move by bulk change, so plan the change date around your term's end.
Which GoCardless terms you're on
GoCardless publishes two sets of general terms for UK merchants, and the answer is different for each.
If you opened your account online and pay GoCardless's listed prices, you're likely to be on the self-serve terms. The agreement starts when you sign up and continues until you or GoCardless end it. You can end it for convenience by giving written notice or by following the steps in your dashboard, and the standard terms don't set a minimum term or an exit fee. Once you've given notice, you can't submit new collections or access your account, any fees still owed are invoiced to you, and GoCardless can hold back funds until it's satisfied your liabilities are paid. So export your payment history first, and don't give notice until your mandates have moved to your new provider.
If you agreed custom pricing or signed an order form, you're likely to be on the sales-led terms, which work differently.
If you signed an order form
Under the sales-led terms, your order form sets an initial term, and its length is whatever your order form says. When that term ends, the order form renews automatically for a renewal term of 12 months. Either side can stop it renewing by giving written notice at least two months before the current term expires. Notices to GoCardless go by email to its legal notices address.
The standard sales-led terms don't include a general right to end the agreement part way through a term just because you'd like to leave. You can end it straight away if GoCardless becomes insolvent or commits a material breach it doesn't put right within 28 days. If GoCardless changes the agreement and you object, you can end it on 30 days' notice.
If your agreement involves commitment fees, it counts as a committed contract, and the standard terms say you can't end it until every subscription term has expired. What those commitment fees are, and how they're calculated, is set in your order form.
In practice, that leaves three things to find in your own paperwork:
- the end date of your initial term, or of the renewal term you're in now
- the notice deadline, which is at least two months before that date
- whether you've agreed commitment fees, and what they come to for the rest of the term
If you can't find your order form, ask GoCardless for a copy before doing anything else.
What to ask GoCardless before you give notice
Ask these in writing, so you have the answers on record:
- Which terms and order form apply to my account, and when does the current term end?
- What's the last date I can give notice to stop renewal?
- Are any commitment fees or minimums payable if I move my collections before the term ends?
- How will you support a Bacs bulk change of my mandates to a new provider, and when will you send the mandate data?
- How long will you hold funds after the agreement ends, and when will my final payout arrive?
GoCardless's own bank debit terms say that when the agreement ends, it will use commercially reasonable endeavours to help you move to another provider, including signing the bulk change deed and sending your new provider a machine-readable list of your customers' mandate details once its sponsor bank has approved the transfer.
When to switch, given your notice date
Moving your mandates and ending your contract are separate questions. Since a 2018 direction from the Payment Systems Regulator, the Bacs scheme has had to stop an outgoing provider blocking a bulk change, so your mandates can move. The contract only decides what you owe GoCardless and when the agreement ends, and the scheme rules don't cover it.
If you're on an order form, give your non-renewal notice before the deadline even if you haven't chosen a new provider yet, so you don't roll into another 12 months by default. Then work back from your term's end date. A bulk change needs a change date agreed with your new provider and approvals from both sponsor banks. With Adfin, the change date is at least five weeks after your request, so starting around two months before your term ends lets your collections move across close to the date your GoCardless agreement finishes.
With Adfin, 10 or more mandates move through the bulk change and your clients don't sign anything; with fewer than 10, clients sign a new Adfin mandate online. There's no contract, no monthly fee and no minimum term, so you won't face the same question again. Adfin's collection agents can also chase anything that slips during the switch, within rules you approve.
Related guides
- Switching payment provider: a complete guide
- How to migrate GoCardless direct debit mandates without asking clients to re-sign
- Do your customers have to re-sign direct debit if you leave GoCardless?
- Is it worth switching payment provider for a small saving?
Common questions
Does GoCardless have a minimum contract term? Not on the standard self-serve terms, which run until either side ends them. On sales-led terms, the initial term is set in your order form.
Does a GoCardless order form renew automatically? Yes. Under the standard sales-led terms it renews for 12 months unless either side gives written notice at least two months before the current term ends.
How do I give GoCardless notice? On the self-serve terms, by written notice or through your dashboard. On the sales-led terms, notices go to GoCardless by email to its legal notices address.
Can GoCardless stop me moving my mandates to another provider? Bacs rules stop an outgoing provider blocking a bulk change, and GoCardless's own terms commit it to helping with one when the agreement ends. Any fees in your contract still apply.
Can I leave GoCardless if it changes its fees or terms? On the self-serve terms you can end the agreement without charge when fees change. On the sales-led terms you can end it on 30 days' notice if you object to a change.
Is there an exit fee for leaving GoCardless? The standard terms don't set a separate early termination fee, but any commitment fees in your order form are payable until the term expires.
Sources
- GoCardless - General Terms Self-serve English Law (UK and ROW) (accurate as of November 2026) https://gocardless.com/legal/general-terms-self-serve-english-law-uk-and-row
- GoCardless - Sales-Led General Terms and Conditions (UK and ROW) (accurate as of November 2026) https://gocardless.com/legal/sales-led-general-terms-and-conditions-uk-and-row
- GoCardless - Definitions Document (accurate as of November 2026) https://gocardless.com/legal/definitions-document
- GoCardless - Bank Debit Terms (accurate as of November 2026) https://gocardless.com/legal/bank-debit-terms
- Payment Systems Regulator - Specific Direction 7 on Direct Debit FM switching (accurate as of November 2026) https://psr.org.uk/media/5puncvye/psr_specific_direction_7_direct_debit_fm_switching_january_2018.pdf
