The SUBSCRIBE METHOD is used by a user agent to establish a subscription for the purpose of receiving notifications (via the NOTIFY method) about a particular event. A successful subscription ESTABLISHES a dialog between the UAC and the UAS. The subscription request contains an Expires header field, which indicates the desired duration of the EXISTENCE of the subscription. After this time period passes, the subscription is automatically terminated. The subscription can be refreshed by sending another SUBSCRIBE within the dialog before the expiration time. A server accepting a subscription returns a 200 OK response also containing an Expires header field. The expiration timer can be the same as the request, or the server may shorten the interval, but it may not lengthen the interval. There is no "UNSUBSCRIBE" method used in SIP—instead a SUBSCRIBE with Expires:0 requests the termination of a subscription and HENCE the dialog. A terminated subscription (either due to timeout out or a termination request) will result in a final NOTIFY indicating that the subscription has been terminated.

The SUBSCRIBE method is used by a user agent to establish a subscription for the purpose of receiving notifications (via the NOTIFY method) about a particular event. A successful subscription establishes a dialog between the UAC and the UAS. The subscription request contains an Expires header field, which indicates the desired duration of the existence of the subscription. After this time period passes, the subscription is automatically terminated. The subscription can be refreshed by sending another SUBSCRIBE within the dialog before the expiration time. A server accepting a subscription returns a 200 OK response also containing an Expires header field. The expiration timer can be the same as the request, or the server may shorten the interval, but it may not lengthen the interval. There is no "UNSUBSCRIBE" method used in SIP—instead a SUBSCRIBE with Expires:0 requests the termination of a subscription and hence the dialog. A terminated subscription (either due to timeout out or a termination request) will result in a final NOTIFY indicating that the subscription has been terminated.