Gym cancellation laws by state

Planet Fitness says “Some policies and procedures may vary by location based on state and local guidelines.” Here is what six state laws say, read on each state's official legislature site on November 8, 2026.

California

Online sign-ups. Business and Professions Code § 17602(d): a business that lets you accept an automatic renewal or continuous service offer online must let you cancel “exclusively online, at will”, through a prominently located direct link or button or a termination email it formats and provides. This applies to contracts entered into, amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025.

New contracts. Civil Code § 1812.85: you may cancel “at any time prior to midnight of the fifth business day of the health studio after the date of this agreement, excluding Sundays and holidays”, by first-class mail, by email from an address on file with the club, or in person. Read § 1812.85

New York

Cancelling as easy as joining. General Business Law § 527-a(1)(d) requires a cancellation mechanism “as easy to use as the mechanism that the consumer used to provide consent and that is through the same medium”. Under § 527-a(1)(d-1), where you signed up in person, the business “shall at least offer cancellation through an online mechanism or over a telephone number”.

New contracts. General Business Law § 624: a health club contract “may be cancelled within three business days after the date of receipt by the buyer of a copy of the written contract”, with notice by US mail or email to the address in the contract. Read § 624

New Jersey

Online sign-ups. N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(i), added by P.L.2023, c.241 (approved January 8, 2024; it took effect on the first day of the third month after enactment, April 1, 2024): “A buyer who entered into a health club services contract online shall be provided with the option to terminate the automatic renewal of the health club services contract online through a direct link or button on the health club facility's Internet website.”

New contracts. N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(e): you may cancel for any reason before midnight of the third operating day after you receive a copy of the contract, by phone to the club where you signed, online if you signed online, by mail received within the three days, or by personal delivery. Read P.L.2023, c.241

Illinois

815 ILCS 645/6 (Physical Fitness Services Act): a new contract can be cancelled within 3 business days after the first business day after you sign it; subsection (a) also covers death or disability, and a move of more than 25 miles when no club within 25 miles of your new home takes over the contract. Notice of those cancellations “shall be made in writing and delivered by certified or registered mail to the center at the address specified in the contract, online at the center's website that the contract was entered into, if the contract was entered into online, or by the email address provided in the contract, if an email address was provided.” Read 645/6

Texas

Occupations Code § 702.307: you may cancel a new contract by sending written notice of cancellation, with proof of payment, by certified mail to “the certificate holder's home office” (the gym operator's office) no later than midnight of the third business day after the contract date. § 702.308 uses the same certified-mail notice to the home office for cancelling after death or total and permanent disability, or when the gym closes with no alternative within 10 miles, moves more than 10 miles, or fails to provide advertised services. The chapter sets no rule for an ordinary end of membership, so Planet Fitness's own routes apply. Read chapter 702

Florida

Florida Statutes § 501.017(1)(a): a health studio contract must allow “penalty-free cancellation of the contract within 3 days, exclusive of holidays and weekends, of its making, upon the mailing or delivery of written notice to the health studio”. The statute sets no rule for an ordinary end of membership. Read § 501.017

Whatever your state

A letter mailed to your home club is one of the three ways Planet Fitness lists, and certified mail gives you proof of the date it arrived. Use our free template or let us mail it for you.