District of Columbia Gym and Subscription Cancellation Letter

Cancel a gym membership or an auto-renewing subscription in District of Columbia with a letter that builds in District of Columbia law, including Health spa sales (D.C. Code 28-3817). It runs in your browser; nothing you type is stored or sent.

District of Columbia rules checked against primary sources on October 21, 2026.

Everything you type stays in your browser. Nothing is sent, saved, or added to the page address.

Only the reasons District of Columbia law addresses for this kind of contract are listed.

District of Columbia gym membership rules

The law: Health spa sales (D.C. Code 28-3817). Read the law

Who it covers: The law covers sales of more than 30 days of fitness, sport, training or rehabilitation goods or services by a health spa, but not places whose main activity is teaching a specific skill such as dance or swimming, or places run mainly by nonprofits.

  • Cooling-off period: You may cancel a health spa sale for any reason during the first fifteen days after the sale, owing only for the months used plus a registration fee of 5 percent of the price, capped at $25. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)
  • How the club must let you cancel: For the cancellations the statute grants (in the first 15 days, or later for death, illness, injury or a change in residence), any written statement that you no longer want to be bound works, but cancellation happens only when you mail it to the seller's contract address by registered or certified mail. If more than one person signed the contract, all of them must join the notice. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(2)-(3), (c)(6)
  • Moving away: After fifteen days, you may still cancel if a change in residence leaves you unable to use all the goods and services; there is no mileage test, and you pay for months elapsed plus a registration fee of up to $25. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)-(2), (c)(4)
  • Disability or illness: You may cancel if illness or injury leaves you unable to use all the goods and services, sending a certificate from a doctor of your choice with the notice. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)-(2)
  • Death of the member: A health spa sale may be cancelled after the first fifteen days if death leaves the buyer unable to use all the goods and services. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)
  • Refund timing: Any refund due after cancellation must be paid within 15 days after the cancellation. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(4)(E)

If a business will not process a cancellation, you can complain to: Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Office of Consumer Protection (Submit a Consumer Complaint)

Your details
The business

Use the cancellation address in your contract if it gives one; for a franchise gym, that is often your home club.

Leave blank to cancel immediately.

Check before you send:

  • Add the member name exactly as it appears on the account.
  • Add the business name.
  • Add the business mailing address (from your contract or the business website).

Your letter

[Member name]

[Your address]

October 26, 2026

[Business name]

[Business address]

Re: Cancellation of membership

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to cancel my membership, effective immediately.

Please stop all further charges to my payment method, refund any amount paid for a period after the cancellation takes effect, and confirm the cancellation in writing, including the date it took effect.

Please keep this letter with the account records. I am keeping a copy, with proof of the date it was sent.

Sincerely,

[Member name]

Before you send (not part of the letter)

  • District of Columbia: For the cancellations the statute grants (in the first 15 days, or later for death, illness, injury or a change in residence), any written statement that you no longer want to be bound works, but cancellation happens only when you mail it to the seller's contract address by registered or certified mail. If more than one person signed the contract, all of them must join the notice. (D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(2)-(3), (c)(6))
  • Refund timing in District of Columbia: Any refund due after cancellation must be paid within 15 days after the cancellation. (D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(4)(E))
  • Send it in a way you can prove: a method your contract or state law names, and keep a copy. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you a dated record.
  • If charges continue after the cancellation takes effect, you can dispute them with your card issuer or bank (see the timing rules on this page).
  • Complaints: Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Office of Consumer Protection (Submit a Consumer Complaint), https://oag.dc.gov/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint
  • This letter is a starting point you edit and send yourself. It does not cancel anything by itself, and it is not legal advice.

District of Columbia gym membership cancellation law

District of Columbia regulates these contracts through Health spa sales (D.C. Code 28-3817) (D.C. Code 28-3817). The rules below come from the statute text; each links to its source, and the first line says which contracts the law covers.

District of Columbia gym membership rules

The law: Health spa sales (D.C. Code 28-3817). Read the law

Who it covers: The law covers sales of more than 30 days of fitness, sport, training or rehabilitation goods or services by a health spa, but not places whose main activity is teaching a specific skill such as dance or swimming, or places run mainly by nonprofits.

  • Cooling-off period: You may cancel a health spa sale for any reason during the first fifteen days after the sale, owing only for the months used plus a registration fee of 5 percent of the price, capped at $25. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)
  • How the club must let you cancel: For the cancellations the statute grants (in the first 15 days, or later for death, illness, injury or a change in residence), any written statement that you no longer want to be bound works, but cancellation happens only when you mail it to the seller's contract address by registered or certified mail. If more than one person signed the contract, all of them must join the notice. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(2)-(3), (c)(6)
  • Moving away: After fifteen days, you may still cancel if a change in residence leaves you unable to use all the goods and services; there is no mileage test, and you pay for months elapsed plus a registration fee of up to $25. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)-(2), (c)(4)
  • Disability or illness: You may cancel if illness or injury leaves you unable to use all the goods and services, sending a certificate from a doctor of your choice with the notice. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)-(2)
  • Death of the member: A health spa sale may be cancelled after the first fifteen days if death leaves the buyer unable to use all the goods and services. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)
  • Refund timing: Any refund due after cancellation must be paid within 15 days after the cancellation. Source: D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(4)(E)

If a business will not process a cancellation, you can complain to: Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Office of Consumer Protection (Submit a Consumer Complaint)

District of Columbia subscription and automatic renewal law

District of Columbia has a general automatic renewal law that applies to consumer subscriptions.

District of Columbia subscription and auto-renewal rules

The law: D.C. Code 28A-201 to 28A-204 (Automatic Renewal Protections Act of 2018). Read the law

Who it covers: The District's law covers anyone selling goods or services to a consumer under a contract that automatically renews at the end of a definite term, where a consumer is any person buying or leasing, but not insurers, banks and credit unions, PSC, FCC or FERC regulated services, or service contracts.

  • Required ways to cancel: The renewal notice must tell the consumer how to get cancellation details by phone, email or another accessible channel, and if sent by email it must include active weblinks to cancel. Source: D.C. Code 28A-203(b)(2)(B)(iv), (b)(2)(C)
  • Renewal reminders: For contracts with an initial term of 12 months or more that renew for a month or more, the seller must notify the consumer by mail, email or another authorized channel 30 to 60 days before the cancellation deadline for the first renewal and each year after, stating the renewal cost and the cancel-by date. Source: D.C. Code 28A-203(b)
  • Free trials: For a free trial of a month or more that rolls into a paid plan, the seller must notify the consumer 15 to 30 days before the trial ends and must get the consumer's affirmative consent before charging for the renewal. Source: D.C. Code 28A-203(a), (c)
  • If the business breaks the law: A violation makes the automatic renewal provision void and ends the contract at the end of the term in which it occurred, and is also a violation of the District's consumer protection procedures law, unless the seller shows written compliance procedures, a good-faith mistake, and a full credit or refund. Source: D.C. Code 28A-203(d)

If a business will not process a cancellation, you can complain to: Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Office of Consumer Protection (Submit a Consumer Complaint)

Federal rules that still apply

No. The Federal Trade Commission finalized a "click to cancel" rule in 2024, but on July 8, 2025 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated it because the agency skipped a preliminary regulatory analysis the FTC Act requires (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137 (8th Cir. 2025)). The vacatur brought back the original 1973 rule, which covers only "prenotification" plans such as product-of-the-month clubs, not gym memberships or most subscriptions.

In March 2026 the FTC asked for public comment on a new negative option rule. An advance notice is an early step: it does not create any new obligation for businesses. (FTC press release, March 11, 2026)

Federal law still reaches subscriptions sold online. For subscriptions sold online with automatic charges, federal law (ROSCA) requires clear disclosure of the terms, the consumer's express informed consent, and simple mechanisms to stop the recurring charges. (15 U.S.C. 8403). For gym memberships signed in person, the cancellation rules come from state law and your contract.

If they keep charging you

If a business keeps charging you after a cancellation took effect, you can dispute the charge with the company that issued your card or holds your account. For a credit card, a written billing-error notice must reach the card issuer, at the address it gives for billing errors, within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the charge. (12 CFR 1026.13(b)) For a debit card or bank transfer, an oral or written error notice must reach the bank within 60 days after it sent the statement that first shows the charge. (12 CFR 1005.11(b)(1)(i))

For automatic debits from a bank account, you can also stop future payments. You can tell your bank to stop a preauthorized electronic payment from your account, orally or in writing, at least three business days before the payment is scheduled. If you call, the bank may require written confirmation within 14 days, and an unconfirmed oral stop order then lapses. (12 CFR 1005.10(c)(1)-(2))

Your copy of the cancellation letter and your proof of the date you sent it are the evidence for a dispute. The regulations define which errors these procedures cover and the card issuer or bank investigates, so send the dispute promptly and in writing.

You can also report a business that will not let you cancel to your state attorney general (each state page lists its complaint office), to the Federal Trade Commission, or, for a problem with a card or bank dispute, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

What this tool does not do

  • It does not cancel anything for you or contact the business. You send the letter yourself.
  • It cannot read your contract. A statute may exempt your club or plan (for example by price, length, or type of business), and your contract may give you more rights than the statute.
  • It does not tell you whether you owe a fee, a buyout, or the rest of a contract term. Those depend on your contract and the facts.
  • It covers state statutes and the main federal rules only. City rules and court decisions can add to them.
  • It is legal information, not legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a cooling-off period for gym memberships in District of Columbia?

You may cancel a health spa sale for any reason during the first fifteen days after the sale, owing only for the months used plus a registration fee of 5 percent of the price, capped at $25. (D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1))

Can I cancel my gym membership in District of Columbia if I move?

After fifteen days, you may still cancel if a change in residence leaves you unable to use all the goods and services; there is no mileage test, and you pay for months elapsed plus a registration fee of up to $25. (D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(1)-(2), (c)(4))

How do I cancel a gym membership in District of Columbia?

For the cancellations the statute grants (in the first 15 days, or later for death, illness, injury or a change in residence), any written statement that you no longer want to be bound works, but cancellation happens only when you mail it to the seller's contract address by registered or certified mail. If more than one person signed the contract, all of them must join the notice. (D.C. Code 28-3817(c)(2)-(3), (c)(6))

Does District of Columbia have a click-to-cancel law?

District of Columbia's automatic renewal law does not include an online cancellation requirement, by the text we checked. Federal law (ROSCA) still requires a simple way to stop recurring charges for subscriptions sold online.

Sources

District of Columbia rules checked against official sources on October 21, 2026.

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