New York Gym and Subscription Cancellation Letter

Cancel a gym membership or an auto-renewing subscription in New York with a letter that builds in New York law, including Health Club Services (N.Y. General Business Law Article 30, sections 620 to 631). It runs in your browser; nothing you type is stored or sent.

New York 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 New York law addresses for this kind of contract are listed.

New York gym membership rules

The law: Health Club Services (N.Y. General Business Law Article 30, sections 620 to 631). Read the law

Who it covers: The article covers contracts with health clubs, gyms, health spas, figure salons, martial arts schools and similar physical training businesses, but not memberships in not-for-profit organizations, school or college programs, short tennis programs or seasonal tennis use.

  • Other rights to end the contract: After a renewal takes effect, a New York health club must accept cancellation of the renewal if you ask within fifteen business days (annual renewals) or three business days (monthly renewals). Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(b)
  • Cooling-off period: You can cancel a health club contract within three business days after receiving your copy by a signed written notice sent by mail or email to the address in the contract, and the club must refund all money within ten business days. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2)
  • How the club must let you cancel: A New York health club must accept cancellation by website, email, phone, mail or in person, and if you could join on its website it must accept cancellation through the website; the 3-day cancellation itself goes by signed writing through mail or email. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d)
  • Moving away: After the 3-day window you can cancel if you move your residence more than 25 miles from any club the seller operates; the club may ask for reasonable evidence and may keep expenses and the value of services used. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)
  • Disability or illness: You can cancel if you become significantly physically disabled for more than three months; the required contract notice ties this to a doctor's order and the club may ask for reasonable evidence. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)
  • Death of the member: If the buyer dies, the estate may cancel and is relieved of any payment not yet due. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)
  • Club closes or moves: You can cancel if the services are no longer available or substantially available because the club permanently stopped operating or substantially changed its operation; a contract with a planned club is voidable if it does not open within one year. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(1), (3)
  • Military service: If, after signing, you enter active military service for 90 days or longer at a location where the club cannot provide its services, you may end the contract without penalty by written notice, with a copy of your orders, delivered to the club within 14 days of receiving your orders to report; the notice must give the future date service is to end. Source: N.Y. Military Law 311-c
  • Refund timing: Refunds after a 3-day cancellation or a death, disability, move or closure cancellation are due within ten business days of the club receiving the notice. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2), (3)(c)

If a business will not process a cancellation, you can complain to: New York Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection

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)

  • New York: A New York health club must accept cancellation by website, email, phone, mail or in person, and if you could join on its website it must accept cancellation through the website; the 3-day cancellation itself goes by signed writing through mail or email. (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d))
  • Refund timing in New York: Refunds after a 3-day cancellation or a death, disability, move or closure cancellation are due within ten business days of the club receiving the notice. (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2), (3)(c))
  • 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: New York Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection, https://ag.ny.gov/file-complaint/consumer
  • This letter is a starting point you edit and send yourself. It does not cancel anything by itself, and it is not legal advice.

New York gym membership cancellation law

New York regulates these contracts through Health Club Services (N.Y. General Business Law Article 30, sections 620 to 631) (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 621, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 623, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624, N.Y. Military Law 311-c). The rules below come from the statute text; each links to its source, and the first line says which contracts the law covers.

New York gym membership rules

The law: Health Club Services (N.Y. General Business Law Article 30, sections 620 to 631). Read the law

Who it covers: The article covers contracts with health clubs, gyms, health spas, figure salons, martial arts schools and similar physical training businesses, but not memberships in not-for-profit organizations, school or college programs, short tennis programs or seasonal tennis use.

  • Other rights to end the contract: After a renewal takes effect, a New York health club must accept cancellation of the renewal if you ask within fifteen business days (annual renewals) or three business days (monthly renewals). Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(b)
  • Cooling-off period: You can cancel a health club contract within three business days after receiving your copy by a signed written notice sent by mail or email to the address in the contract, and the club must refund all money within ten business days. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2)
  • How the club must let you cancel: A New York health club must accept cancellation by website, email, phone, mail or in person, and if you could join on its website it must accept cancellation through the website; the 3-day cancellation itself goes by signed writing through mail or email. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d)
  • Moving away: After the 3-day window you can cancel if you move your residence more than 25 miles from any club the seller operates; the club may ask for reasonable evidence and may keep expenses and the value of services used. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)
  • Disability or illness: You can cancel if you become significantly physically disabled for more than three months; the required contract notice ties this to a doctor's order and the club may ask for reasonable evidence. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)
  • Death of the member: If the buyer dies, the estate may cancel and is relieved of any payment not yet due. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)
  • Club closes or moves: You can cancel if the services are no longer available or substantially available because the club permanently stopped operating or substantially changed its operation; a contract with a planned club is voidable if it does not open within one year. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(1), (3)
  • Military service: If, after signing, you enter active military service for 90 days or longer at a location where the club cannot provide its services, you may end the contract without penalty by written notice, with a copy of your orders, delivered to the club within 14 days of receiving your orders to report; the notice must give the future date service is to end. Source: N.Y. Military Law 311-c
  • Refund timing: Refunds after a 3-day cancellation or a death, disability, move or closure cancellation are due within ten business days of the club receiving the notice. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2), (3)(c)

If a business will not process a cancellation, you can complain to: New York Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection

New York subscription and automatic renewal law

New York has a general automatic renewal law that applies to consumer subscriptions.

New York subscription and auto-renewal rules

The law: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a. Read the law

Who it covers: The law covers any business making an automatic renewal or continuous service offer to a New York consumer, except local franchise services such as cable, businesses regulated by the Department of Financial Services, alarm companies, banks and credit unions, and service contract sellers.

  • Cancelling online: A business must let a consumer cancel at any time through the same medium used to sign up, with a mechanism as easy to use as the sign-up, and through every medium it accepts sign-ups in, so a consumer who joined online can cancel online. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a(1)(d), (d-1)
  • Required ways to cancel: A business may not obstruct or unreasonably delay a cancellation, for example by hanging up or giving false information about how to cancel, and may present a retention offer only without conditioning or delaying the cancellation. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a(1)(e)
  • Renewal reminders: For an initial paid term of one year or longer that renews for six months or longer, the business must send a reminder 15 to 45 days before the cancellation deadline; material changes and price increases need notice at least five business days and no more than 30 days ahead; and after a price increase the consumer did not consent to, the business must let the consumer cancel within at least 14 days of the charge with a pro rata refund. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a(1)(f), (g), (b-1)
  • Free trials: An offer with a free gift, trial or temporary price must clearly explain how and when the price changes, and for a free trial longer than a month the business must send a reminder 3 to 21 days before the cancellation deadline for the first charge. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a(1)(a), (h)
  • If the business breaks the law: Goods sent without affirmative consent are an unconditional gift, and the Attorney General can seek an injunction, restitution and civil penalties of up to 1,000 dollars for knowing multiple violations from one act; the section itself gives consumers no private lawsuit. Source: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a(2), (3)

If a business will not process a cancellation, you can complain to: New York Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection

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 New York?

You can cancel a health club contract within three business days after receiving your copy by a signed written notice sent by mail or email to the address in the contract, and the club must refund all money within ten business days. (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2))

Can I cancel my gym membership in New York if I move?

After the 3-day window you can cancel if you move your residence more than 25 miles from any club the seller operates; the club may ask for reasonable evidence and may keep expenses and the value of services used. (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3))

How do I cancel a gym membership in New York?

A New York health club must accept cancellation by website, email, phone, mail or in person, and if you could join on its website it must accept cancellation through the website; the 3-day cancellation itself goes by signed writing through mail or email. (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d))

Does New York have a click-to-cancel law?

A business must let a consumer cancel at any time through the same medium used to sign up, with a mechanism as easy to use as the sign-up, and through every medium it accepts sign-ups in, so a consumer who joined online can cancel online. (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 527-a(1)(d), (d-1))

Sources

New York rules checked against official sources on October 21, 2026.

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