Cancelling a gym membership in Georgia: your rights

Requirements for health spas (part of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act)

O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2; definition of 'health spa' in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-392, paragraph (16)

Change your mind after signing

The member may cancel within seven business days after signing by notifying the seller in writing and either mailing the notice before 12:00 midnight of the seventh business day after signing or hand delivering it to the health spa before that deadline. The notice must be accompanied by the contract forms, membership cards and other evidence of membership. On cancellation, payments are refunded and any evidence of debt is cancelled, but the member is liable for the fair market value of services actually received, which may not exceed $100. The required contract wording states: 'To be effective, your cancellation must be postmarked by midnight, or hand delivered by midnight on' the date filled in by the spa. If the member does not include the membership documents, the spa must either cancel the contract or notify the member by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery that the documents must be provided within 30 days for the cancellation to be effective.

If you become disabled or ill

Every contract must allow cancellation if the member becomes 'totally and permanently disabled' during the membership term, defined as a condition that has existed or will exist for more than 45 days and that will prevent the member from using the facility to the same extent as before the condition began. The spa may require and verify reasonable evidence of the disability (the statute does not specify a physician certificate). The spa is entitled to a reasonable predetermined fee plus the value of services made available (total membership cost divided by total months, times months expired).

If the member dies

Every contract must allow the member's estate to cancel if the member dies during the membership term or any renewal term. The spa is entitled to a reasonable predetermined fee plus a pro-rated amount for months expired, and the contract may require reasonable proof of death. The requirement to return membership documents with the notice does not apply in the case of a deceased member.

How notice can be given

Seven-day cancellation: written notice, mailed (postmarked) or hand delivered by midnight of the seventh business day, with membership documents. The statute's required contract wording says: 'It is recommended that you send your cancellation notice by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, in order to prove that you did cancel', and if hand delivering, to get a signed acknowledgment from a spa official. For a substantial change in services, the required clause says to send written notice to the cancellation address in the contract and that 'the best way to cancel' is to keep a photocopy and send it by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested. Certified mail is recommended by the statutory wording but not made mandatory.

Limits on contracts

No contract is valid with a term over 36 months; contracts may be renewed at the end of each 36-month period at the option of both parties. The written contract must state the date, seller's name and address, the spa's rules, and its cancellation and refund policies on its face. Spas may not sell memberships before they are fully operational unless approved by the Attorney General with funds held in an approved escrow account. Every contract must also either (1) require only equal monthly installments with no other payments, or (2) carry a separately signed bold notice that paying in advance risks loss of money because health spas do not post a bond.

Other rules

Scope: a 'health spa' is an establishment that, as one of its primary purposes, provides services or facilities to help patrons improve their physical condition or appearance through weight change, weight control, treatment, dieting or exercise, including gyms, health studios and health clubs. Excluded: any nonprofit organization; facilities wholly owned and operated by licensed physicians practising medicine there; and establishments operated by a health care facility, hospital, intermediate care facility or skilled nursing facility. Other cancellation rights: if the spa stops offering a substantial service offered when the contract began, or changes between single-sex and co-ed, the member has 30 days from when they knew or should have known of the change to cancel and get a pro-rated refund for months remaining. Every contract must state that no further payments are due if the spa where the contract was made 'ceases operation and fails to offer an alternate location, substantially similar, within ten miles'. Refunds for cancellations under the section are due within 30 days of receipt of the notice of cancellation. Contract forms must be filed with and approved by the Attorney General (Consumer Protection Division); a contract not approved before its date is not valid or enforceable, and the consumer may recover an additional penalty equal to amounts paid plus amounts claimed owing. Any contract that does not comply with the section is void and unenforceable, and a note purchaser may not collect or report the buyer as delinquent if the spa violated subsections (b)–(m) or (o). There is no statutory right to cancel because the member moves.

Automatic renewal and online cancellation

Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-439.5 to 10-1-439.13 (HB 528, 2023); also O.C.G.A. §§ 13-12-1 et seq. (automatic renewal provisions in service contracts)

Yes, for offers accepted online. Since January 1, 2024 (for plans entered into on or after that date), 'any business that allows a consumer to accept an automatic renewal or continuous service offer online shall allow a consumer to cancel the automatic renewal or continuous service online', for example through a clear and conspicuous cancellation link or a pre-formatted cancellation email. The business may require account login, but a consumer unwilling or unable to log in may cancel offline by an alternate method; the business must also provide a toll-free number, email address, postal address (if it bills directly) or another cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use cancellation mechanism. The law does not require online cancellation for memberships signed in person, and the separate Title 13 law does not prescribe a cancellation method.

The online law covers 'automatic renewal' and 'continuous service' plans with definite terms of more than 31 days renewing for subsequent terms of more than 31 days, accepted online by a Georgia consumer. It also requires clear and conspicuous offer terms before purchase, consent before charging, an acknowledgment, a notice before or within three days after each renewal charge (unless the consumer opts out), and notice of material changes. Exemptions: franchise services, businesses regulated by the Georgia Public Service Commission, Georgia Department of Agriculture, FCC or FERC, insurance entities, financial institutions and foreign banks; health spas are not listed. Enforced by the Attorney General only; there is no private right of action. Separately, O.C.G.A. § 13-12-3 requires a seller of a service contract of 12 months or more that automatically renews for more than one month to send written or electronic notice 30–60 days before the cancellation deadline, stating that the contract will renew unless cancelled and how to get details of the cancellation procedure. The § 13-12-4 exemptions found (financial institutions, foreign banks and affiliates, electric utilities, entities regulated under Title 43 Chapter 45, local governments) do not list health spas. A 2025–2026 bill (HB 529) that would have broadened Georgia's automatic renewal rules is reported dead as of April 2, 2026.

Good to know

Georgia regulates gyms as 'health spas' within the Fair Business Practices Act, and each spa's contract form must be approved by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division. Statutory cancellation rights are: the seven-business-day cooling-off period; total and permanent disability (over 45 days); death; a substantial change in services or single-sex/co-ed status (30 days to cancel); and closure without a substantially similar location within ten miles (no further payments due). There is no statutory relocation right. The Consumer Protection Division's consumer pages say a written notice of cancellation is necessary and verbal cancellations will not suffice.

Putting it in writing

Whatever the law says, a written notice you can prove is the safest way to cancel. A letter sent by USPS Certified Mail with a return receipt shows when your notice was mailed and delivered, and who signed for it.

Sources

1. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2 – Requirements for health spas (Georgia Dept. of Law, Consumer Protection Division compilation of the FBPA, current through the 2023 Regular Session) (official, 2026-10-11)
2. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2(e) – required contract wording on how to cancel (official, 2026-10-11)
3. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2(g) – total and permanent disability (official, 2026-10-11)
4. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2(k) – death (official, 2026-10-11)
5. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2(i) – closure without alternate location (official, 2026-10-11)
6. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2(m) – refund timing (official, 2026-10-11)
7. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.2(b) – contract term (official, 2026-10-11)
8. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-392(16) – definition of health spa and exclusions (official, 2026-10-11)
9. Georgia Consumer Protection Division – Health Spa Memberships (official, 2026-10-11)
10. Georgia Consumer Protection Division – Health Spa Contract Cancellations (Part 2) (official, 2026-10-11)
11. HB 528 (2023) as passed – Georgia Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act (Office of the Governor, signed legislation) (official, 2026-10-11)
12. HB 528 (2023) – effective date and 31-day term definitions (official, 2026-10-11)
13. Georgia Consumer Protection Division – Online Automatic Renewal Transparency Act (official, 2026-10-11)
14. FindLaw – Georgia Code § 13-12-3 (automatic renewal notice for service contracts) (secondary, 2026-10-11)
15. FindLaw – Georgia Code § 13-12-4 (exemptions) (secondary, 2026-10-11)
16. Cook & Associates – Georgia Update: Automatic Renewals in Consumer Service Contracts (Aug. 26, 2020) (secondary, 2026-10-11)
17. BillTrack50 – GA HB529 (2025–2026) status (secondary, 2026-10-11)

This page explains the law in plain words. It is not legal advice and may not cover every case; laws change, so check the official text or ask a lawyer about your situation. CancelSent is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. We prepare, print and mail the letter you sign, as your mailing service. Whether and when a gym cancels depends on your agreement and the law where you live.