Subscriptions Status Guide

In the same way that WooCommerce applies an order status to indicate the current state of an order during its life-cycle, WooCommerce Subscriptions applies a status to a subscription.

This guide details each status, explains when it is applied, and what it represents.

When a subscription is first created, it will have the Pending status.

The status is best observed when a store owner manually adds a subscription, and indicates that the system has created the subscription, but has not processed any payments on it.

In theory, the status also applies when a customer creates a subscription, but it’s only visible for the second or two between when payment is submitted and confirmation is received.

After the initial subscription payment processes (if it requires payment), the subscription transitions to Active.

This status indicates the subscription will renew or expire at a given time in the future. When a subscription is Active, the user connected with it receives the default subscriber role and may gain special access through other extensions, like WooCommerce Memberships. When a subscription is activated, Subscriptions also calculates the next payment date if it’s not already set.

A subscription displays as On-Hold when an associated order is awaiting payment, or when the store owner or customer manually suspends it.

A subscription can remain On-Hold indefinitely. If manually suspended, the subscription requires manual reactivation. If suspended while awaiting payment, it automatically reactivates once the payment processes.

When a subscription is On-Hold, WooCommerce assigns the user associated with it the default inactive role, and other extensions, like WooCommerce Memberships, may no longer grant them special access.

When a customer manually cancels a subscription, its status typically does not immediately transition to Cancelled. If the subscription has a pre-paid term that has not yet been fulfilled, it’s assigned Pending-Cancellation.

During this time, the user associated with the subscription retains the subscriber role and may still receive special access from other extensions, such as WooCommerce Memberships.

When the pre-paid term ends, the subscription’s status transitions to Cancelled.

Subscriptions that reach the end of their pre-paid term (if applicable) transition to Cancelled. Once cancelled the user associated with the subscriptions moves to the default inactive user role and other extensions, like WooCommerce Memberships, may no longer grant special access. Neither customers nor store managers can reactivate cancelled subscriptions. Instead, customers need to manually create a new subscription or repurchase the subscription product.

WooCommerce assigns the Expired status when a subscription reaches its end date. This end date may come from the product’s defined subscription length or from manual settings on the subscription itself. When a subscription expires, the system assigns the default inactive role to the associated user. Additionally, other extensions like WooCommerce Memberships may revoke their special access.

You cannot reactivate subscriptions with the Expired status. Customers must manually create a new subscription or repurchase the subscription product to regain access.