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From 12 January 2027, cloud providers may no longer impose switching charges when a customer changes provider. This is set out in Article 29(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, the EU Data Act. Many guides turn this into the statement that egress fees will be "banned completely" from 2027. That is not correct.
What is banned are charges for the switch, including the data transfer the switch requires. Traffic in ongoing operations remains chargeable, and for in-parallel use of several providers, providers may pass on their costs permanently.
This article is a reference on exactly that question: what becomes free on 12 January 2027 and what does not, with a legal reference for each statement, the deadlines from Article 25 and the current state of the AWS, Azure and Google Cloud exit programmes. How to plan a cloud exit with a cost picture, dependencies and target architecture is covered in the guide Cloud exit for SMEs. As of 13 October 2026.
This article is not legal advice. Please clarify with your legal counsel how the rules apply to your contracts.
Key points:
- From 12 January 2027, switching charges are banned, including data egress charges for the switch (Article 29(1), Article 2(35) and (36)).
- Until then, only reduced switching charges are allowed, capped at the costs directly linked to the switching process (Article 29(2) and (3)).
- There is no general egress ban. Traffic in ongoing operations remains chargeable, and providers may charge their costs for in-parallel use (Article 34(2)).
- Standard service fees and proportionate early termination penalties are not switching charges (Article 2(36), Recital 89).
- Since 12 September 2025 the rules apply to existing contracts too, to IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, and to providers outside the EU with customers in the EU.
Table of contents
- What changes on 12 January 2027
- Free or still chargeable: the overview
- Worked example: one-off switch versus ongoing traffic
- Common misconceptions about egress and switching charges
- What AWS, Azure and Google Cloud already waive
- Deadlines and contract terms for switching
- Exemptions: custom-built services and test versions
- Scope and enforcement in Germany
- Digital Omnibus: proposed changes to the switching rules
- Checklist for a cloud exit in 2027
- Terms: official English and German versions
- Status and methodology
- Our approach at WZ-IT
- Further guides
What changes on 12 January 2027
Article 29 of the Data Act withdraws switching charges in two stages. The key dates:
| Date | What applies | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jan 2024 | entry into force; from here on, switching charges may only be imposed in reduced form | Article 50, Article 29(2) |
| 12 Sep 2025 | date of application; Chapter VI applies to new and existing contracts | Article 50; Bundesnetzagentur (in German) |
| until 12 Jan 2027 | reduced switching charges capped at the costs incurred by the provider that are directly linked to the switching process | Article 29(2) and (3) |
| from 12 Jan 2027 | no switching charges for the switching process | Article 29(1) |
| no end date | in-parallel use: data egress charges up to the costs incurred | Article 34(2) |
| 12 Sep 2027 | Chapter IV (unfair contractual terms between enterprises) for older contracts; does not concern switching | Article 50 |
| by 12 Sep 2028 | Commission evaluation of the switching rules (Articles 23 to 31, 34, 35) | Article 49(2) |
The ban rests on two definitions in Article 2:
- Switching charges (Article 2(36)) means "charges, other than standard service fees or early termination penalties, imposed by a provider of data processing services on a customer for the actions mandated by this Regulation for switching to the system of a different provider or to on-premises ICT infrastructure, including data egress charges".
- Data egress charges (Article 2(35)) means "data transfer fees charged to customers for extracting their data through the network from the ICT infrastructure of a provider of data processing services to the system of a different provider or to on-premises ICT infrastructure".
Egress is therefore only covered by the ban when it serves the switch: data leaves the current provider for another provider or for the customer's own infrastructure. The Commission sums this up as the Data Act removing switching charges "including charges for data egress" entirely from 12 January 2027 (European Commission, Data Act explained).
Free or still chargeable: the overview
| Item | From 12 Jan 2027 | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer of exportable data and digital assets to the new provider or on-premises when switching | free | Article 29(1), Article 2(35) and (36) |
| Switching actions mandated for the current provider, such as reasonable assistance during the transitional period | free | Article 29(1), Article 25(2)(a) |
| Export in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format where no interoperability standards have been published | free | Article 29(1), Article 30(5) |
| Open interfaces for switching for PaaS and SaaS | free of charge, already since 12 Sep 2025 | Article 30(2) |
| Costs the provider incurs by outsourcing its switching obligations to third parties | not to be passed on to the customer | Recital 89 |
| Standard service fees for the services in use, including during the notice and transitional periods | still chargeable until the contract ends | Article 2(36), Recital 89 |
| Egress in ongoing operations: websites, APIs, downloads, delivery to end users | still chargeable; the Data Act does not regulate these prices | Article 2(35) (only extraction to another provider or on-premises) |
| Traffic between regions or zones of the same provider | still chargeable | Article 2(35) |
| Egress for in-parallel use, for example in multi-cloud architectures | chargeable, capped at the costs incurred | Article 34(2), Recital 99 |
| Proportionate early termination penalties in fixed-term contracts | allowed | Article 2(36), Recital 89 |
| Additional services beyond the legal switching obligations, at the customer's request and at a price agreed in advance | allowed | Recital 89 |
| Migration service providers the customer engages itself | the customer's matter | Recital 89 |
| Custom-built services under Article 31(1) | ban does not apply | Article 31(1) |
| Test and evaluation versions for a limited period | Chapter VI does not apply | Article 31(2) |
In short: the way out becomes free, operations do not. Recital 99 explains the distinction: extraction for a switch is one-off, whereas for in-parallel use it can be an ongoing activity.
Worked example: one-off switch versus ongoing traffic
How large the difference between the two items is shows in a worked example using AWS list prices for data transfer out from Frankfurt (eu-central-1) to the internet (AWS Price List API, AWSDataTransfer, published 16 September 2026). Prices in US dollars, excluding VAT.
| Tier per month | Price per GB |
|---|---|
| first 10 TB | US$0.090 |
| next 40 TB | US$0.085 |
| next 100 TB | US$0.070 |
| over 150 TB | US$0.050 |
Assumption: 50 TB of data are transferred once for the switch, and 5 TB per month go to end users in ongoing operations. The AWS price list uses 1 TB = 1,024 GB. Each item is calculated separately, without the free allowance of 100 GB per month.
| Item | Calculation | Amount | From 12 Jan 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch: 50 TB once | 10,240 GB × US$0.090 + 40,960 GB × US$0.085 | US$4,403.20 | may no longer be charged (Article 29(1)) |
| Operations: 5 TB per month | 5,120 GB × US$0.090 | US$460.80 per month | remains |
| Operations: 12 months | US$460.80 × 12 | US$5,529.60 per year | remains |
In this example, ongoing traffic exceeds the one-off egress of the switch after just under ten months. AWS already waives switching egress on request (see below). For ongoing cloud costs, traffic in operations is what matters, not the switch. The article Public internet egress costs compares the prices of all major providers.
Common misconceptions about egress and switching charges
"Egress fees are banned from 2027." What is banned are switching charges. Egress is only covered where data is transferred for a switch to another provider or on-premises (Article 2(35) and (36), Article 29(1)). Traffic to end users, between regions and for in-parallel use remains chargeable.
"The fees disappear in September 2027." The cut-off date for switching charges is 12 January 2027 (Article 29(1)). 12 September 2027 concerns Chapter IV, the rules on unfair contractual terms between enterprises, for older contracts (Article 50).
"From 2027, providers may only charge their actual costs." This cost cap applies until 12 January 2027 (Article 29(2) and (3)). After that, switching charges are not allowed at all. Only egress for in-parallel use remains cost-based permanently (Article 34(2)).
"The Data Act makes multi-cloud free." For in-parallel use, data egress charges up to cost remain allowed, also after 12 January 2027 (Commission FAQ, No. 54). Free offers for multicloud traffic are voluntary decisions by individual providers.
"Switching becomes completely free." Standard service fees continue until the contract ends, and proportionate early termination penalties remain allowed (Recital 89). Parallel operation, rebuilding proprietary services and the new environment still cost money.
"This only applies to new contracts." Chapter VI has applied to existing contracts too since 12 September 2025 (Bundesnetzagentur, in German). Article 50 contains transitional rules only for other chapters.
"This only concerns infrastructure." Chapter VI covers IaaS, PaaS and SaaS (Recital 81, Commission FAQ No. 58a). Differences exist only in the technical obligations: functional equivalence concerns IaaS (Article 30(1), Recital 86), open interfaces and interoperability standards the other services (Article 30(2) and (3)).
"This only applies to European providers." The Data Act applies to providers irrespective of their place of establishment if they serve customers in the Union (Article 1(3)(f)).
"The hyperscaler exit programmes are the Data Act switch." The programmes have their own conditions, such as cancelling all Azure subscriptions or migrating all workloads of a Google Cloud service. AWS handles switches by EU customers under the Data Act through a separate addendum.
"The Digital Omnibus overturns the ban." The Commission proposal of 19 November 2025 expressly excludes Article 29 from the proposed relief. As of October 2026 it has not been adopted.
What AWS, Azure and Google Cloud already waive
All three hyperscalers already waive egress for customers leaving, before 12 January 2027, each with its own conditions. As of 13 October 2026:
| Provider | Procedure | Time window | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | request via AWS Support at least two months before the planned switch; credits after approval | outside the EU 180 days (update of 8 October 2026); EU customers switching under the Data Act: transitional period of 30 calendar days, extendable once | all data from all eligible accounts or all data of one service; standard service charges and CloudFront, Direct Connect, Snow Family and Global Accelerator not covered; account closure not required, for an EU switch the transferred data must be deleted by completion | AWS News Blog, EC2 FAQ, EU Data Act Addendum |
| Microsoft Azure | support request with subscription or enrollment ID, start date and estimated data volume; credit on request | 60 days from the stated start date; justify longer timelines in the request | transfer via the internet; afterwards cancel all subscriptions of the account | Microsoft Learn |
| Google Cloud | Exit Notice via form; billing support agent assigned within 14 days | 30 days to start the migration, then a migration period of at least 30 days | migrate all workloads and data of the relevant service; the agreement for that service ends; credit on the final invoice | Google Cloud, Exit |
Since when: AWS since 5 March 2024, Google Cloud since 12 January 2024 (Google Cloud Blog). For EU switches under the Data Act, the AWS addendum applies: if the transition is technically unfeasible within 30 calendar days, AWS notifies the customer within 14 business days and specifies a period of up to seven months. It applies to accounts with an EU member state as account country and distinguishes between a complete switch and switching individual services.
For in-parallel use, the providers go beyond Article 34(2) to different degrees:
| Provider | Offer for in-parallel use | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | reduced data transfer rates for eligible use cases on request | customers eligible under the EU Data Act Addendum | AWS Global Network FAQ |
| Microsoft Azure | at-cost data transfer, refunded from the next bill | billing address in the EEA, EFTA or UK; internet egress via routing preference "ISP"; destination in the same organisation; CDN delivery excluded; support request with the ASN of the destination endpoint | Microsoft Learn |
| Google Cloud | Data Transfer Essentials: qualifying multicloud traffic billed at zero (since 10 September 2025) | EU and UK; opt-in; workloads of the same organisation across two or more providers; other traffic at normal rates | Google Cloud Blog |
For planning, this means: with the three hyperscalers, switching egress can already be avoided today under each provider's conditions. 12 January 2027 matters mainly for other providers, such as SaaS services, PaaS platforms and smaller cloud providers, which may still charge cost-based fees for export and switching until then.
Deadlines and contract terms for switching
Article 25 sets out what a contract for data processing services must contain as a minimum. The deadlines:
| Deadline | Value | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Notice period for initiating the switch | at most two months | Article 25(2)(d) |
| Transitional period | at most 30 calendar days after the end of the notice period | Article 25(2)(a) |
| Notice of technical unfeasibility | within 14 working days of the switching request, with justification | Article 25(4) |
| Alternative transitional period | at most seven months | Article 25(4) |
| Extension by the customer | once, for a period the customer considers more appropriate | Article 25(5) |
| Data retrieval | at least 30 calendar days after the transitional period | Article 25(2)(g) |
| Erasure | full erasure after the retrieval period, if the switch was successful | Article 25(2)(h) |
Between the switching request and the end of the transitional period, there are therefore at most two months and 30 calendar days, unless the provider claims technical unfeasibility or the customer extends. Simplified: a switching request in early February 2027 leads to a transition ending by early May 2027 at the latest and to data retrieval until at least the end of May 2027. The contract may provide shorter deadlines and a longer retrieval period.
The contract must also contain (Article 25(1) to (3)):
- a written contract that the customer receives before signing and can store
- reasonable assistance, service continuity and a high level of security during the transition (paragraph 2(a))
- support for the customer's exit strategy, including all relevant information (paragraph 2(b))
- an exhaustive list of the data and digital assets that can be ported, including at least all exportable data (paragraph 2(e))
- an exhaustive list of excluded data categories, which must not impede the switch (paragraph 2(f))
- the switching charges under Article 29 (paragraph 2(i))
- the customer's choice: switch to another provider, move on-premises or erase the data (paragraph 3)
Information obligations come on top: procedures, methods, formats and known restrictions of switching (Article 26); before conclusion of the contract, standard service fees, early termination penalties and reduced switching charges (Article 29(4)); and information on services where switching is highly complex or costly (Article 29(5) and (6)). IaaS providers must enable the customer to achieve functional equivalence with the new provider (Article 30(1)). The Commission's non-binding standard contractual clauses for cloud contracts reflect these points (Bundesnetzagentur, in German).
Exemptions: custom-built services and test versions
| Service | What does not apply | What still applies | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom-built: the majority of main features custom-built for the needs of an individual customer, or all components developed for an individual customer, and not offered at broad commercial scale via the service catalogue | ban on switching charges (Article 29), functional equivalence (Article 23(d), Article 30(1)), interoperability standards (Article 30(3)) | the other obligations, such as contract terms under Article 25, open interfaces and data export | Article 31(1); Commission FAQ No. 52 |
| Non-production version for testing and evaluation, for a limited period | all of Chapter VI | - | Article 31(2) |
In both cases, the provider must state before concluding the contract which obligations do not apply (Article 31(3)).
Scope and enforcement in Germany
| Question | Answer | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Which services? | data processing services: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS | Article 2(8), Recital 81 |
| Which providers? | irrespective of their place of establishment, if they provide services to customers in the Union | Article 1(3)(f) |
| Which customers? | natural and legal persons with a contract for a data processing service | Article 2(30) |
| Which contracts? | new and existing ones since 12 Sep 2025 | Article 50; Bundesnetzagentur |
| Who is competent in Germany? | Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) | Section 2 DADG |
| What happens after a complaint? | review, request to remedy, order; penalty payments of up to €500,000 | Article 38 Data Act, Section 9 DADG |
| Fines for Chapter VI | up to €100,000, for example for imposing switching obstacles under Article 23; up to €50,000, for example where the contract under Article 25 or the information under Article 26 is not or not fully provided | Section 15(2) Nos. 19 to 21 and (4) DADG |
The DADG (Datenverordnung-Anwendungs-und-Durchsetzungs-Gesetz) is Article 1 of the German act implementing the Data Act (BGBl. 2026 I No. 157). It was promulgated on 29 May 2026 and entered into force the following day.
Digital Omnibus: proposed changes to the switching rules
With the Digital Omnibus, the Commission proposed amendments to the Data Act on 19 November 2025 (COM(2025) 837, procedure 2025/0360(COD)). For switching, the proposal adds a new Article 31(1a) and (1b):
| Proposal | Content |
|---|---|
| Custom-made non-IaaS services | for contracts concluded on or before 12 Sep 2025, Chapter VI does not apply, with the exception of Article 29 and Article 34 |
| Providers that are SMEs or small mid-caps | the same exemption for non-IaaS services under contracts concluded on or before 12 Sep 2025, again except Article 29 and Article 34 |
| Clauses contrary to Article 29(1) to (3) | considered null and void in these older contracts |
| Fixed-term contracts | express permission for proportionate early termination penalties (non-IaaS) |
The explanatory memorandum states the aim of maintaining "the ambition of removing vendor lock-in, particularly switching and egress charges". The ban from 12 January 2027 would therefore remain unchanged.
As of October 2026, the proposal has not been adopted. In Parliament, a draft report has been available since 22 June 2026, with more than 1,750 amendments tabled. The COREPER II vote on a Council negotiating mandate was cancelled (European Parliament, Legislative Train, updated 20 September 2026; Legislative Observatory).
Checklist for a cloud exit in 2027
- Check the contract against Article 25: notice period, transitional period, retrieval period, list of exportable data, excluded data categories, switching charges.
- Clarify the classification: is the service custom-built under Article 31(1)? The provider must have said so before the contract was concluded.
- Choose the timing: if a provider still charges cost-based switching charges until 12 January 2027 and offers no exit programme, the data transfer can be scheduled after the cut-off date. For a switch that spans the cut-off date, clarify billing in writing in advance.
- Use the exit programmes: at AWS, submit the request at least two months in advance; at Azure, plan for the 60-day window and the cancellation of all subscriptions; at Google Cloud, the Exit Notice and the migration of all workloads of the service.
- Record all data: data volumes per service, metadata, configurations, access rights and virtual machines as digital assets.
- Plan for ongoing costs: standard service fees during the notice and transitional periods, parallel operation, commitments and early termination penalties.
- Separate switching from in-parallel use: anything that remains as a connection between two providers after the move is in-parallel use and may incur costs.
- Secure retrieval and erasure: use the retrieval period of at least 30 calendar days for checks and have the erasure confirmed.
- Document the switching request: in writing and via the channel specified in the contract, so that the start of the deadlines can be proven.
- In case of infringements: file a complaint with the competent authority, in Germany the Bundesnetzagentur.
Terms: official English and German versions
| English (official) | German (official) | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| data processing service | Datenverarbeitungsdienst | Article 2(8) |
| digital assets | digitale Vermögenswerte | Article 2(32) |
| on-premises ICT infrastructure | IKT-Infrastruktur in eigenen Räumlichkeiten | Article 2(33) |
| switching | Wechsel | Article 2(34) |
| data egress charges | Datenextraktionsentgelte | Article 2(35) |
| switching charges | Wechselentgelte | Article 2(36) |
| standard service fees | Standarddienstentgelte | Article 2(36), Recital 89 |
| early termination penalties | Sanktionen bei vorzeitiger Kündigung | Article 2(36) |
| functional equivalence | Funktionsäquivalenz | Article 2(37) |
| exportable data | exportierbare Daten | Article 2(38) |
| notice period | Kündigungsfrist | Article 25(2)(d) |
| transitional period | Übergangszeitraum | Article 25(2)(a) |
| data retrieval, retrieval period | Datenabruf, Abrufzeitraum | Article 25(2)(g) |
| in-parallel use | parallele Nutzung | Article 34 |
The German version uses "Datenextraktionsentgelte", defined as "Datenübertragungsentgelte" (data transfer fees) for extraction to the systems of other providers or to on-premises ICT infrastructure.
Status and methodology
- Date of research: 13 October 2026.
- Legal text: Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 as published in the Official Journal (OJ L of 22 December 2023), English and German language versions, articles and recitals compared verbatim. Each statement is referenced by article, paragraph and point or recital.
- Interpretive guidance: Commission FAQ on the Data Act, version 1.4 of 22 January 2026; Commission page "Data Act explained" (last update 15 December 2025); Bundesnetzagentur information on switching.
- Germany: German act implementing the Data Act with the DADG, BGBl. 2026 I No. 157 of 29 May 2026.
- Digital Omnibus: proposal COM(2025) 837 of 19 November 2025; procedural status according to the Legislative Train (20 September 2026) and the Legislative Observatory (13 October 2026).
- Providers: programme pages, FAQs and contract documents from AWS, Microsoft and Google, retrieved on 13 October 2026; dates of changes as stated on the pages.
- Worked example: AWS Price List API for eu-central-1, published 16 September 2026; list prices in US dollars excluding VAT, without free allowance or individual discounts.
- Misconceptions: the misconceptions listed come from search results for "data act switching charges 2027", "data act egress fees ban", "eu data act egress fees january 2027" and the German equivalents on 13 October 2026.
Tables and figures may be reused with attribution and a link to this article.
Our approach at WZ-IT
WZ-IT supports the move out of the hyperscaler cloud from the cost assessment to operating the target environment.
- Initial consultation: in the free initial consultation we clarify provider, services in use, data volumes and schedule.
- Cloud exit check: the cloud exit check costs from €1,490 net. The result is a cost picture including data transfer, the dependencies per service, the target architecture, the migration path and a fixed-price quote for the migration. The amount is credited if you commission the migration within 6 months on the same topic.
- Migration: we align the schedule with the notice period, transitional period, retrieval period and the provider's exit programme, for example for AWS to Hetzner, Azure to Hetzner or Google Cloud to Hetzner.
- Operations: on request, we operate the target environment via Managed Operations.
For services operated by WZ-IT itself, the standardised data export is free of charge. Procedures, formats and deadlines are described on the page Data portability and provider switching.
Further guides
- Cloud exit for SMEs - cost blocks, dependencies, target architecture and process
- Public internet egress costs - AWS, Azure, GCP and Hetzner compared
- AWS egress fees vs. Hetzner traffic costs - tiered prices and worked examples
- Azure egress fees vs. Hetzner traffic costs - Azure bandwidth pricing
- GCP egress fees vs. Hetzner traffic costs - Google Cloud network pricing
- Migration - all WZ-IT migration routes
Align your cloud switch with deadlines and costs. We analyse your bill and services, show dependencies and target architecture, and provide a fixed-price quote for the migration. Book a free initial consultation
Sources
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), English version
- EUR-Lex: Verordnung (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), German version
- European Commission: Data Act explained
- European Commission: Frequently Asked Questions Data Act, version 1.4
- Bundesnetzagentur: data processing services and provider switching (in German)
- Bundesnetzagentur: German act implementing the Data Act, BGBl. 2026 I No. 157 (in German)
- European Parliament: Legislative Train, Digital Omnibus Regulation Proposal
- European Parliament: Legislative Observatory, 2025/0360(COD)
- AWS News Blog: Free data transfer out to internet when moving out of AWS
- AWS: Amazon EC2 FAQ
- AWS: EU Data Act Addendum
- AWS: Global Network FAQ
- AWS Price List API: AWSDataTransfer eu-central-1
- Microsoft Learn: Cancel your Azure subscription, free egress when leaving Azure
- Microsoft Learn: Azure data transfer fees for in-parallel use
- Google Cloud: Exit Google Cloud with free data transfer
- Google Cloud Blog: Removing data transfer fees when moving off Google Cloud
- Google Cloud Blog: Data Transfer Essentials for EU and UK customers
