Gym Membership Cancellation Rules in 2026: US Federal and State Law

The court vacated it

On July 8, 2025, the Eighth Circuit decided Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC (No. 24-3137 and consolidated cases) and vacated the rule in its entirety. The court did not rule on whether click-to-cancel was good policy. It held that the FTC skipped a required step: a preliminary regulatory analysis, which the FTC Act demands when a proposed rule’s annual effect passes $100 million. Because of the breadth of the rule, the court declined to vacate it only for the parties before it.

The fitness industry was directly involved. The Health & Fitness Association, the main US gym trade group, filed a brief supporting the challengers.

The FTC started over in 2026

On March 11, 2026, the FTC announced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the Negative Option Rule, published in the Federal Register on March 13 with a 30-day comment period. It asks whether to keep the existing rule, adopt provisions of the vacated 2024 rule, or use non-regulatory approaches such as business education.

An advance notice is the earliest stage. As of the FTC’s rule page in November 2026, no proposed rule has followed. If one does, there will be another comment period before any final rule, so a new federal click-to-cancel requirement is not imminent. The original 1973 rule, which covers only a narrow kind of prenotification plan, remains in place.

ROSCA for anything sold online

The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act of 2010 covers charges made through a negative option feature in an internet sale. Before charging, the seller must clearly and conspicuously disclose all material terms before collecting billing information, get the consumer’s express informed consent, and provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges.

For a gym, the trigger is the online sale. If members can buy a monthly membership on your website or app, ROSCA applies to that sale. Memberships sold only on paper at the front desk fall mainly under state law instead.

Enforcement continues without the rule

The FTC can still bring cases under ROSCA and Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive practices. State attorneys general enforce their own laws too; the New York settlement with a national gym brand described below is one example. In practice, the standard regulators apply has not moved much: cancelling should not be difficult, costly or slow.

The automatic renewal law (Bus. & Prof. Code 17602)

Amendments that apply to contracts entered into, amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025 tightened the state’s automatic renewal law. The points that matter most for gyms:

• Affirmative consent to the renewal terms before charging, with proof of consent kept for at least three years or one year after the contract ends, whichever is longer.
• If a member could accept online, they must be able to cancel online, at will, without obstructive steps: either a prominently located direct link or button, for example in account settings, or a pre-written termination email they can send without adding anything.
• Save offers are allowed. Online, they must sit alongside a continuously displayed “click to cancel” button or similar. On the phone, the business must first tell the caller they can finish cancelling by saying “cancel.”
• Notice of a price increase between 7 and 30 days before it takes effect, with cancellation information.
• An annual reminder for plans billed yearly or longer, stating the service, the charges and how to cancel.

Health studio contracts (Civil Code 1812.85)

California’s health studio law predates online sign-ups and still applies. Every contract must include a conspicuous statement that the buyer may cancel until midnight of the fifth business day after signing, excluding Sundays and holidays. Cancellation can be sent by first-class mail, by email from the address on file, or delivered in person, and the refund is due within 10 days of receiving the notice, less any services used.

Larger contracts get longer windows: 20 days for contracts from $1,500 to $2,000, 30 days up to $2,500, and 45 days above that. If the studio eliminates or substantially reduces the facilities it promised, members can cancel for a pro rata refund. Temporary closures for reasonable repairs, with notice, don’t count.

New York State: GBL 527-a

The state budget amended the automatic renewal law, General Business Law 527-a, effective November 5, 2025. Members must be able to cancel at any time through a mechanism as easy to use as the one they used to consent, in the same medium. Businesses may make save offers but may not obstruct or delay cancellation, hang up on callers or misstate what cancelling involves. Material changes need notice 5 to 30 days before they take effect, and a price increase needs either the member’s affirmative consent or a chance to cancel with a pro rata refund.

The state attorney general already enforced the earlier version against a gym brand. In May 2025 the office announced a $600,000 settlement with Equinox Group, finding its cancellation process “complex, difficult, and time-consuming” and that it had not obtained informed consent or sent post-purchase acknowledgments.

New York City: the DCWP click-to-cancel rule

The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection adopted its own rule in July 2026, in force since October 1, 2026. It requires cancellation as easy as sign-up across every channel used to sign up, and bars unreasonable conditions on cancelling. The difference that matters most for gyms: when a member joined in person, the business must also offer online cancellation where practical, whereas state law allows a phone option instead.

Civil penalties are $525 for a first violation, $1,050 for a second and $3,500 for a third or later, and the city can seek restitution of charges made after a member first tried to cancel.

A quick way to research your state

Search your state’s statutes for “automatic renewal” and for “health club” or “health spa.” Then check the attorney general’s consumer protection pages for guidance and recent settlements. If you sell across state lines online, assume the strictest state you sell into sets your baseline. Then ask a lawyer to confirm.

At sign-up

• Show the price, billing frequency, any minimum term, renewal terms and how to cancel next to the button that takes payment, not behind a terms link.
• Get a separate, unticked consent to automatic renewal, and store when and how it was given, with the exact terms shown. California asks you to keep this for at least three years.
• Send an acknowledgment by email after purchase that repeats the terms and explains how to cancel.
• In California, put the five-business-day cancellation notice near the signature line of paper contracts.

Cancellation

• If members can join online, give them an online cancel button in their account. In New York City, offer online cancellation for in-person members too.
• Make the button work end to end. A form that only “requests” cancellation and waits for a call-back is the kind of obstruction regulators cite.
• If you show a save offer, keep the cancel button visible on the same screen, and process the cancellation immediately if the member declines.
• Send a confirmation with the effective date and the final charge, if any.

During the membership

• Give notice of price increases ahead of time: 7 to 30 days in California, 5 to 30 days for material changes in New York. Thirty days covers both windows.
• Send an annual reminder for yearly plans.
• Write freeze rules into the contract: how long, what it costs, and whether billing resumes automatically. Treat a freeze as an option the member can choose, not as a required step before cancelling.
• Give staff a short script: confirm identity, mention one offer if your policy allows it, then cancel when asked. Log every request with a date.

Is the FTC click-to-cancel rule in effect in 2026?

No. The Eighth Circuit vacated the 2024 rule on July 8, 2025. The FTC published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in March 2026, which is an early step; no proposed rule has been issued as of November 2026.

Can a gym still require members to cancel in person?

It depends on the state and how the member joined. For memberships bought online, ROSCA requires a simple way to stop charges, and California requires online cancellation for offers accepted online. New York City now requires online cancellation for in-person sign-ups where practical. Requiring an in-person visit is increasingly risky everywhere.

Can I offer a discount when a member tries to cancel?

Yes, in California and New York, as long as it doesn’t block or delay cancellation. In California, an online offer must appear alongside a visible click-to-cancel button, and phone staff must first say the member can cancel by saying “cancel.”

How much notice do I need to give before raising membership prices?

California requires notice 7 to 30 days before a price change on an automatically renewing plan. New York requires notice of material changes 5 to 30 days before, plus consent or a chance to cancel with a pro rata refund for price increases. Other states vary, so check yours.

What is the cooling-off period for a gym contract in California?

Under Civil Code 1812.85, a member can cancel until midnight of the fifth business day after signing, excluding Sundays and holidays, with a refund within 10 days. Contracts of $1,500 or more have longer windows of 20, 30 or 45 days depending on price.

Is this legal advice?

No. This is general information current as of November 2026. Laws vary by state and change often. Check the current statute and your state attorney general’s guidance, and have a lawyer review your contracts and cancellation process.