How to Cancel a Gym Membership: State Laws and a Letter

To cancel a gym membership, start with the cancellation section of your contract, check whether your state has a health club law that covers your contract, and send a written notice in a way you can prove. Many states have such a law, and some say exactly how a club must accept a cancellation: New York requires a covered health club to accept one by website, email, phone, mail or in person (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d)), while in Texas every cancellation under the health spa chapter is a written notice sent by certified mail to the spa's home office (Tex. Occ. Code 702.307-702.309).

There is no federal "click to cancel" rule for gyms. A federal appeals court vacated the FTC's 2024 rule on July 8, 2025, so your rights come from your contract and your state's law. The steps below follow that order.

Information last verified on October 21, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers US state health club, health spa and fitness contract statutes, the federal rules on online negative-option sales and on card and bank disputes, and the published cancellation policies of a few national gym chains. It does not cover city or county ordinances, any single club's own agreement (which you need to read yourself), or the law of other countries.

Your state's gym cancellation rules

State where you signed upChoose a stateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

Checked against the statutes on October 21, 2026. Your contract and any exemptions in the statute decide whether a rule covers you.

Build a cancellation letterAll states

How to cancel a gym membership, step by step

The order matters, because each step tells you something the next one needs.

1. Read the cancellation section of your contract. Look for the notice period before your billing date, the address or channel for cancellation notices, any cancellation or buyout fee, and whether your membership is month to month or runs for a minimum term. The agreement you signed with your home club is the document that controls.
2. Find your state's rule. Check whether your state has a health club law, whether your contract falls inside it, and which exits it gives: a cooling-off period after signing, the ways a club must accept a cancellation, and exits for moving, disability, death, club closure and military orders. The state table further down shows each state.
3. Send a written notice you can prove. Use the channel your statute or contract names, and keep a dated copy of the letter, the mailing receipt, the sent email or a screenshot of the online confirmation. The free cancellation letter generator drafts the letter and adds your state's rule.
4. Watch the next bill. Your notice period and billing date decide whether one more charge can post. LA Fitness's membership questions page, for example, says a mailed cancellation postmarked at least 5 business days before your next billing date "should result in no further billings," and that if it is postmarked within 5 business days you may be billed once more, which it says it will refund.
5. Dispute charges that arrive after a valid cancellation. Card and bank error windows run 60 days from the statement, so do not let several months of charges pile up before you act.

Does a state gym law cover your contract?

State gym laws go by different names (health club, health spa, health studio, physical fitness services, prepaid entertainment contracts), and each one covers only the contracts it defines. Before you rely on any rule on this page, check the scope of your state's act.

• Prepaid contracts only. North Carolina's Prepaid Entertainment Contracts article covers health or athletic club contracts only where you pay, or are obligated to pay, before receiving some or all of the services (N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 66, Article 21). Ohio's act is built the same way (Ohio Rev. Code 1345.41 to 1345.50).
• Length and prepayment thresholds. Pennsylvania's Health Club Act covers contracts for services over a period of more than three months (73 P.S. 2161 et seq.). Maryland's law covers agreements for more than 3 months of services where the club collects more than 3 months' payment in advance, so a month-to-month or pay-as-you-go membership is outside it (Md. Code, Com. Law Title 14, Subtitle 12B).
• Nonprofit and other exemptions. New York's article does not cover memberships in not-for-profit organizations (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law Article 30). Illinois exempts government and nonprofit operators, except for its CPR and defibrillator rules (815 ILCS 645). Texas excludes 501 tax-exempt organizations and member-owned private clubs (Tex. Occ. Code Chapter 702).
• Payment structure. Florida's contract rules apply to written contracts for future health studio services paid in advance or by installments, and some businesses can be exempted by filing an affidavit with the state (Fla. Stat. 501.012-501.019). Connecticut's law does not cover month-to-month places that collect no more than one month in advance (Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 420).

Some states have no general gym act. Kansas, Montana, West Virginia and Vermont have no statute written for gym contracts. Vermont's automatic renewal law, which covers consumer contracts with an initial term of one year or longer that renew for a term longer than one month, can still apply to a gym contract that falls within it (9 V.S.A. 2454a).

Other states have a narrow rule only:

• Michigan has no gym contract act. Its only cooling-off rule reaches a gym membership only if it is worth $500 or more and you were offered something worth more than $25 to attend the sales promotion (MCL 445.931).
• Alaska, Nebraska and Wyoming have no gym act; their only rule reaching a gym membership is a servicemember exit for members with qualifying military orders (AS 26.05.135; Neb. Rev. Stat. 55-702; W.S. 19-11-125).
• Maine has no dedicated health club contract act, but its renewal law requires a club to let you cancel an automatically renewing membership by the same method and in the same manner you used to join, and any cancellation phone number must be toll-free (10 M.R.S. 1210-C(2)). It gives no cooling-off, move, death or disability exit.
• Idaho has no gym act; its internet auto-renewal rule reaches a gym membership bought online on automatic renewal, which must come with an easy online way to cancel, and the statute says that method should not carry a cancellation fee (Idaho Code 48-603G(3)). A membership signed in person is outside it.

The cooling-off period after you sign

Many state gym laws give you a short window after signing to cancel for any reason and get your money back. The window is often three business days, but the length, the starting point and the way days are counted differ:

• New York: within three business days after you receive your copy, by a signed written notice sent by mail or email to the address in the contract; the club must refund all money within ten business days (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(2)).
• California: before midnight of the studio's fifth business day after the agreement date, not counting Sundays and holidays. Contracts costing $1,500 or more get longer windows of 20, 30 or 45 days (Cal. Civ. Code 1812.85(b)(1), (d)). Money paid must be refunded within 10 days after the studio receives the notice, less payment for services already received (1812.85(b)(5)).
• Illinois: within 3 business days after the first business day after signing, where a business day is any day the facility is open; if the facility was not yet open or you did not buy at an existing facility, you have seven calendar days (815 ILCS 645/6(a)(1)).
• New Jersey: before midnight of the third operating day after you receive your copy. An operating day is a calendar day the club is open to patrons at least eight hours, except holidays and Sundays. The club must refund all money within 30 days (N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(e)).
• Ohio: until midnight of the third business day after the first service is available to you, or the seventh business day if the facility was not open when you signed; business days exclude only Sundays and legal holidays (R.C. 1345.43).
• Connecticut: within three business days after you receive your copy, counting Saturdays but not Sundays or legal holidays, by written notice delivered with delivery tracking to the address in the contract (Conn. Gen. Stat. 21a-217(a)).

When a mailed notice counts

This is where a careful member can still lose the window. Some states count a mailed notice when you send it; others count it only when the club gets it.

• Counts when it arrives: in New Jersey, a mailed three-day notice must reach the club within the three-day period (N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(e)).
• Counts when you send it: in Colorado, a mailed notice of rescission is effective when postmarked (C.R.S. 6-1-704(1)(b)). In North Carolina, a mailed notice counts when it is deposited in the mail, properly addressed and postage prepaid (N.C. Gen. Stat. 66-121). In Maryland, a certified-mail notice must carry a US Postal Service postmark no later than midnight of the third business day (Md. Code, Com. Law 14-12B-06(b)(1)). In Utah, an emailed or mailed rescission notice is on time if its timestamp or postmark falls before midnight of the third business day, though the rescission takes effect when the fitness center receives it (Utah Code 13-23-103(1)(b), (5)).

If your state counts receipt, mail early or use a faster channel the statute allows. Where your state allows email, Ohio treats an emailed cooling-off notice as effective when sent (R.C. 1345.43).

Can a gym make you cancel in person?

It depends on your state's law and your contract. Where a statute sets the ways a club must accept a cancellation, a club policy cannot take away a method the statute gives you. Some examples:

• New York: a covered 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 (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d)).
• California: when the health studio law itself gives a right to cancel (such as the cooling-off period, a move, death or disability, or reduced facilities), you may cancel in person, by email from an address on file with the studio, or by first-class mail (Cal. Civ. Code 1812.84(c)). Separately, if you accepted an auto-renewing membership online, the automatic renewal law requires the business to let you end it online (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17602(d)(1)).
• Illinois: for the cancellations the act requires contracts to allow (the cooling-off period, a move of more than 25 miles, death or disability), the contract must provide for written notice sent by certified or registered mail to the contract address, online at the center's website if you signed up online, or to the email address in the contract if one was given (815 ILCS 645/6(b)).
• New Jersey: clubs must accept a three-day cancellation by phone call to the club where you joined, by mail, by personal delivery, or online if you joined online, and online joiners must get a website link or button to stop automatic renewal (N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(e)-(g), (i); 56:8-42.1).
• Connecticut: the contract must list a mailing address and an email address for cancellation notices, and the club must confirm a three-day cancellation in writing within ten business days (Conn. Gen. Stat. 21a-217(a); 21a-218(a)).

Other statutes name the channel narrowly, and the safest course is to use it. In Texas, every cancellation under the health spa chapter is a written notice by certified mail to the spa's home office (Tex. Occ. Code 702.307-702.309). Virginia requires statutory cancellations in writing, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by personal delivery, to the club address in the contract (Va. Code 59.1-297(B)). Pennsylvania uses certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery to the contract address for its cooling-off, closure, death, disability and relocation cancellations (Health Club Act section 3(a)(8)).

In a state with no gym act, your contract sets the channel. If you joined online and the membership renews automatically, a state automatic renewal law may still require an online way to cancel; see click to cancel laws and state auto-renewal rules.

Exits after the cooling-off period

Once the cooling-off window closes, many state laws still let a member out of a covered contract in defined situations. Many of these exits are clauses the statute requires the contract to contain rather than rights you claim outside it. Ohio law, for example, requires prepaid gym contracts to provide its move, disability, death and closure terms (R.C. 1345.42(B)), and New Jersey requires a contract to let you cancel when you move or become permanently disabled (N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(f)-(g)). So the exit should appear in your contract's own text. Pennsylvania requires the contract to say you may cancel at any time until the club gives you a signed copy of a contract written in full compliance with the act (section 3(a)(11)), and a contract that does not comply is voidable at your option (section 7).

When you move away

A move exit is about your home, not the club. The distance and the cost differ:

• New York: 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)).
• California: gym contracts must provide that if you move more than 25 miles from the studio and cannot transfer to a comparable facility, you owe nothing for services after the move and get unused prepaid money back, though the contract may set a fee of up to $100 (or $50 after half the term) (Cal. Civ. Code 1812.89(b)).
• Illinois: fitness contracts must let you cancel if you move more than 25 miles and the center does not designate a comparable center within 25 miles of your new home that will honor the contract; you then owe only for the time before you show reasonable evidence of the move, plus any contract fee capped at the lesser of 10 percent of the unused balance or $50 (815 ILCS 645/6(a)(2)).
• North Carolina: if you move more than 8 miles from where you live now and more than 30 miles from the club and any similar club that will honor your contract, the seller must refund at least 90% of the pro rata cost of unused services within 30 days of your request (N.C. Gen. Stat. 66-120(2)(b)).
• Washington: you can cancel if you move your permanent home more than 25 miles from the studio and any affiliated studio offering similar services at no extra cost; for contracts over one year, only after the first year (RCW 19.142.040(7)(b)).

When the club closes, moves or changes owners

This is a different rule from you moving. Here the club is the one that changes:

• Florida: the contract must allow cancellation and a prorated refund if your contracting location goes out of business, or moves more than 5 driving miles and does not provide an equal facility within 5 driving miles within 30 days at no extra cost (Fla. Stat. 501.017(1)(b)).
• Texas: you can cancel for a refund of unearned payments if the spa closes without alternative facilities within 10 miles, moves more than 10 miles, or fails to provide advertised services (Tex. Occ. Code 702.308(a)).
• Colorado: you must be allowed to cancel if the club moves more than five miles, your membership is moved more than five miles because your location stopped services, or the club closes permanently or is sold and changes substantially, after a 30-day right to cure with fees suspended (C.R.S. 6-1-704(1)(c)(III)-(V)).
• Pennsylvania: if the club closes for more than 30 days and offers no comparable facility within ten miles, you can cancel for a pro rata refund; a closure of 30 days or less gets you an equal extension (Health Club Act section 3(a)(3)-(4)).
• New Jersey: if the club is closed more than 30 days through no fault of yours, you may extend the contract for the closure period or take a prorated refund. For contracts signed on or after June 30, 2026, a club changing owners must notify you 60 and 30 days ahead, and if services drop or rates rise, the contract moves to the new owner only if you consent (N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(h), (j), (k)).

Disability or death

Disability rules differ most in how serious and how long the condition must be:

• New York: 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 (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)).
• Virginia: you can cancel if you are physically unable to use a substantial portion of the services for 30 or more consecutive days, with a signed statement from your doctor, physician assistant or nurse practitioner, for a pro rata refund within 30 days (Va. Code 59.1-297(A)(3); 59.1-297.1).
• New Jersey: a contract must let you cancel on permanent disability that a physician fully describes and confirms to the club; temporary disability is not covered (N.J.S.A. 56:8-42(f)).
• Connecticut: if you become disabled (a condition lasting or expected to last more than 45 days that keeps you from using the club as before), you may choose to stop paying for the disabled period or extend the contract free for that period (Conn. Gen. Stat. 21a-217(b)(1)(B)).

Many of these acts also let a member's estate end the contract. In New York the estate may cancel and is relieved of any payment not yet due (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3)); California requires gym contracts to provide that the member and estate owe nothing for services after death, and the studio must refund the prepaid share to the personal representative on request (Cal. Civ. Code 1812.89(a)).

Military orders

Servicemember exits are often in a separate military or servicemember statute rather than the gym act:

• New York: 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 (N.Y. Military Law 311-c).
• Texas: a service member called to active duty may suspend or terminate health spa services by written notice with proof of the orders, with no penalty or fee (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 606.002).
• Virginia: a member of the US Armed Forces or Virginia National Guard with permanent change of station orders or temporary duty orders over three months, or the member's spouse or dependent, may end a gym membership without penalty (Va. Code 44-102.1(B)).
• Illinois: a person entering military service who receives orders to relocate for at least 90 days may terminate or suspend a gym membership by written or electronic notice with a copy of the orders, for contracts entered on or after January 1, 2018 (330 ILCS 63/13).

Long contracts and renewals

Some acts limit how long a gym contract can run or how it renews:

• Pennsylvania: a contract may run at most 36 months and may not contain an automatic renewal clause; any renewal must be an option you affirmatively accept at the end of each term (Health Club Act sections 4, 7).
• Washington: if your contract runs longer than one year, you can cancel for any reason on 30 days written notice (RCW 19.142.040(7)(c)).
• New York: after a renewal takes effect, a health club must accept cancellation of the renewal if you ask within fifteen business days for annual renewals or three business days for monthly renewals (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(b)).
• Utah: a fitness center contract may not run longer than 36 months, and its automatic renewal provision takes effect only if the center gave you notice of it no sooner than 60 days and no later than 30 days before the renewal date (Utah Code 13-23-102(3), (10)).

Gym cancellation laws by state

The table below lists each state's gym rule, split by region. Each row links to that state's page in the letter generator, which quotes the statute's own wording. For example, see the letter pages for New York, California and New Jersey.

Franchise gyms and corporate gyms

Some gym brands sell franchises, and that changes who you are cancelling with. A franchise location is its own business with its own agreement, so the address, the notice period and the fees in your home club's agreement control, even if the brand's national website describes a general policy.

The brands say this themselves. Anytime Fitness's FAQ says, "Each of our locations are independently owned and operated," and that "All cancellation policies are outlined in the membership agreement for each location." Crunch's franchise page addresses franchisees ("As a Crunch franchisee, you present your community an incredible value"), and its FAQ says, "Cancellation policies vary by location based on state and local guidelines." Planet Fitness's customer service page says, "Some policies and procedures may vary by location based on state and local guidelines."

In practice, send your notice to the address or channel in your own agreement, and keep proof that it went there.

Cancelling a YMCA membership

There is no single YMCA cancellation policy to follow, because each Y runs itself. The national office says so directly: "Please note that the YMCA of the USA is a national resource office, not a parent organization, and every YMCA location is independently operated. YMCA of the USA does not have authority over local Ys' business operations, membership and employment relationships, nor contractual obligations."

So a YMCA cancellation goes to your local Y, under that Y's membership terms. State gym laws may also treat a Y differently from a for-profit gym. Virginia's act does not cover bona fide nonprofits such as the YMCA (Va. Code 59.1-294 to 59.1-310), and Oklahoma's act excludes bona fide nonprofits such as the YMCA as well (59 O.S. 2000 to 2012). Where your state's act has a nonprofit exemption, your Y's own terms may be the only cancellation rules that apply.

Planet Fitness, LA Fitness, Crunch and Anytime Fitness

Each chain publishes its own instructions, and each has a separate guide on this site:

• Planet Fitness: its customer service page lists written notice mailed to your home club, a visit to your home club, or the online member portal, and says to cancel at least 7 days before your next billing date. See how to cancel a Planet Fitness membership.
• LA Fitness: its membership questions page says most memberships are month to month and may be cancelled by mailing written notice to P.O. Box 54170, Irvine, CA 92619, in person at a club, or through your online account, and it recommends registered or certified mail. The FTC sued the operators of LA Fitness on August 20, 2025, alleging they made cancelling exceedingly difficult; the case is pending and its claims are allegations. See how to cancel an LA Fitness membership.
• Crunch Fitness: its FAQ says some clubs offer online cancellation through the Member Portal under Manage Membership, and that the required notice before your next billing date may vary with your Membership Agreement. See how to cancel a Crunch Fitness membership.
• Anytime Fitness: its FAQ says each location's membership agreement sets the cost to cancel and how to cancel. See how to cancel an Anytime Fitness membership.

How to send a cancellation letter you can prove

A cancellation you cannot prove is hard to enforce. Whatever channel you use, build a record:

• Write it down. Include your name, member number, home club, the date, a plain statement that you are cancelling, the effective date, and the statute you are relying on if one applies. The cancellation letter generator adds your state's rule in its own words.
• Match the statute's channel. If your state names certified mail, return receipt requested, use it. If it names email or a website, keep the sent email or a dated screenshot of the confirmation screen.
• Mind the clock. If your state counts a mailed notice only when the club receives it, as New Jersey does for its three-day window, allow time for delivery.
• Keep copies. Keep the letter, the receipt, any confirmation number and your bank or card statements until the account is closed and no new charges appear.

If the gym keeps charging you after you cancel

Federal rules give you a way to challenge charges through your card issuer or bank, but the windows are short.

• 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)).
• 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)).
• Stopping future bank debits: you can tell your bank to stop a preauthorized electronic payment, 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)). A stop-payment order is an instruction to your bank, not a cancellation notice to the club, so send the cancellation as well.

You can also complain to your state attorney general's consumer office (the generator shows the right office for each state), the Federal Trade Commission or, for a bank or card problem, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If the club owes you a refund it will not pay, a demand letter and the small claims court finder are the next tools. If a gym balance has been sent to a collector, see debt collection rights.

Federal rules: no click-to-cancel rule for gyms

There is no federal click-to-cancel rule in force. The FTC's 2024 amendments to its Negative Option Rule were vacated by the Eighth Circuit on July 8, 2025, which found the Commission "failed to follow procedural requirements" (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137). 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 and does not create any new obligation for businesses.

What does apply online is ROSCA (15 U.S.C. 8403). For subscriptions sold online with automatic charges, it requires clear disclosure of the terms, the consumer's express informed consent, and "simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges." The full federal picture, and how state automatic renewal laws fill the gap, is on the click to cancel laws page.

Related

• Click to cancel laws: federal status and state auto-renewal rules
• Cancellation letter generator
• How to cancel a Planet Fitness membership
• How to cancel an LA Fitness membership
• How to cancel a Crunch Fitness membership
• How to cancel an Anytime Fitness membership
• Debt collection rights

This page provides general legal information about gym contract cancellation under US state and federal law as of October 21, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about your own contract, contact a lawyer licensed in your state or your state attorney general's consumer protection office.

Last updated: October 21, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cancel a gym membership?

Read the cancellation section of your contract, check whether your state's gym law covers it, and send a written notice by a channel you can prove, such as certified mail, or email where it is allowed. Keep a copy and watch your next bill.

Can a gym make me cancel in person?

It depends on your state and contract. New York requires a covered club to accept cancellation by website, email, phone, mail or in person (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(4)(c)-(d)), and for the cancellations its health studio law grants, California allows in person, email from an address on file, or first-class mail (Cal. Civ. Code 1812.84(c)).

How long do I have to cancel a gym contract after signing?

Where a state law gives a cooling-off period, it is often three business days, though California's is five business days, with longer windows for contracts of $1,500 or more (Cal. Civ. Code 1812.85(b)(1), (d)). How the days are counted differs by state, and some states count a mailed notice only when the club receives it.

Can I cancel my gym membership if I move?

Many state gym laws allow it for a covered contract when the move meets the law's distance. New York, California and Illinois use more than 25 miles, with conditions about comparable clubs and fees (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 624(3); Cal. Civ. Code 1812.89(b); 815 ILCS 645/6(a)(2)).

What happens if my gym closes or moves?

That is a separate rule from you moving. Florida's law requires the contract to allow cancellation and a prorated refund if your location closes or moves more than 5 driving miles without an equal facility nearby (Fla. Stat. 501.017(1)(b)), and Texas uses 10 miles (Tex. Occ. Code 702.308(a)).

Is there a federal law that makes gyms let you cancel online?

No federal click-to-cancel rule is in force. The FTC's 2024 rule was vacated on July 8, 2025, and the 1973 rule that came back covers only prenotification plans. ROSCA (15 U.S.C. 8403) requires simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges for subscriptions sold online.

How do I cancel a YMCA membership?

Contact your local Y. YMCA of the USA says every YMCA location is independently operated and that it has no authority over local Ys' membership relationships or contractual obligations.

What can I do if the gym keeps charging me after I cancel?

Dispute the charge with your card issuer or bank within 60 days of the statement that first shows it (12 CFR 1026.13(b); 12 CFR 1005.11(b)(1)(i)), and keep your cancellation proof. For bank debits, a stop-payment order must reach the bank at least three business days before the payment (12 CFR 1005.10(c)).