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Cancelling a gym membership in Oregon: your rights

Checked October 11, 2026against 12 sources listed below

In short

  • The law says you can cancel a new gym or health spa contract without penalty by delivering or mailing a written notice before midnight of the third business day after you sign (Sundays and holidays don't count). The club must return what you paid within 15 days.
  • Oregon requires gym contracts to let you cancel if you die or become physically unable to use a substantial part of the services. The club may require a doctor's exam by a physician you both agree on, and the refund is pro rata for the weeks left.
  • You may also be able to cancel if the club goes out of business, moves your nearest location more than five additional miles from your home, fails to finish promised facilities on time, or materially changes the services it promised.
  • Oregon's health spa law does not give a right to cancel just because you move. Contracts can't run longer than three years.
  • If your membership auto-renews, Oregon law requires the business to give you a cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use way to cancel, described in your confirmation.
  • Outside these situations, your contract's own cancellation terms generally apply.

Health Spas (health spa services contracts)

ORS 646A.030 to 646A.042

Change your mind after signing
Every health spa contract must contain a 'Buyer's Right to Cancel' notice. It says the buyer may cancel 'without penalty' by delivering or mailing a written notice to the health spa stating that they do not wish to be bound by the contract. The notice must be delivered or mailed before midnight of the third business day after signing, to the name and mailing address printed in the contract. If the buyer cancels within the three days, the spa will return all amounts paid within 15 days (ORS 646A.034(7)). 'Business day' means any day except Sunday or a legal holiday (ORS 646A.030(1)).
If you become disabled or ill
The contract must provide for cancellation if the buyer 'becomes physically unable to use a substantial portion of those health spa services used by the buyer from the date of the contract until the time of disability.' The contract may require the disability to be confirmed by an examination by a physician agreeable to both the buyer and the spa (ORS 646A.034(5)(a)). The refund on cancellation is pro rata by weeks remaining (ORS 646A.034(6)).
If the member dies
The contract must provide for cancellation if the buyer dies (ORS 646A.034(5)(a)). The refund on cancellation is pro rata by weeks remaining (ORS 646A.034(6)).
How notice can be given
3-day cancellation: a written notice, delivered or mailed, to the spa's name and mailing address shown in the contract. It must be delivered or mailed before midnight of the third business day (ORS 646A.034(7)). Because the deadline wording is 'delivered or mailed', a notice mailed by the deadline appears to be on time. The statute does not specify a notice method for cancellations based on death, disability, closure, relocation of the spa or changed services. Those follow the cancellation provision the contract is required to contain (ORS 646A.034(5)).
Limits on contracts
The contract must state how long the spa must provide services, and 'The duration shall not exceed three years from the date of the contract' (ORS 646A.034(4)). The spa must give prospective buyers a written price list and may not sell any plan not on it (ORS 646A.032). The contract must be in writing and a copy given at signing. It must identify the provider, describe the services or acknowledge a written description, and include or acknowledge the spa's rules (ORS 646A.034(1)–(3)). The health spa statute sets no specific automatic-renewal rule.
Other rules
Scope: 'health spa' means a business whose primary purpose is selling instruction, training, assistance or use of facilities for physical exercise, weight control or figure development. It also covers businesses selling the right to use tanning booths, exercise equipment or facilities such as saunas, whirlpools, weight rooms, massage or steam rooms. Facilities owned and operated by the State of Oregon or its political subdivisions are excluded (ORS 646A.030(4)). There is no express exclusion for nonprofits in the definition. Other required cancellation grounds: the spa goes out of business; the spa moves the facility closest to the buyer's residence (as of the contract date) more than five additional miles from that residence; a promised facility, construction or improvement is not completed by the date in the contract; or the spa materially changes the promised services (ORS 646A.034(5)(b)–(e)). The refund on cancellation is the contract price divided by the number of weeks in the term, times the weeks remaining (ORS 646A.034(6)). Money paid before a facility opens must be held in an Oregon trust account. After a cancellation notice, or if the facility fails to open on the stated date, the spa must give a full refund (with interest) within 10 days (ORS 646A.038). Waivers of these provisions are void (ORS 646A.040). The remedies add to other remedies (ORS 646A.042). Violating ORS 646A.030 to 646A.040 is an unlawful trade practice under the Unlawful Trade Practices Act (ORS 646.608(1)). There is no statutory right to cancel because the member moves away. Outside the situations listed in the statute, ordinary cancellation is governed by the contract.

Automatic renewal and online cancellation

ORS 646A.292 to 646A.295

No specific online-cancellation or 'same method' requirement was found. The business must provide 'a toll-free telephone number, electronic mail address, a post-office address only when the person directly bills the consumer, or another cost-effective, timely and easy-to-use mechanism for cancellation'. That mechanism must be described in the acknowledgment sent to the consumer (ORS 646A.295(2)). The 2025 edition of the ORS shows this section unchanged since 2011 (2011 c.509 § 3). The 2026 Oregon table of amended and repealed sections lists no change to ORS 646A.293 or 646A.295. The lead suggesting a 2024 Oregon online-cancellation amendment could not be confirmed. No such amendment appears in the official 2025-edition text or the 2026 tables.

Applies to any person making an automatic renewal or continuous-service offer to a consumer in Oregon (ORS 646A.295(1)). Gyms are not among the exemptions, which cover PUC- and franchise-regulated services, FCC/FERC-regulated services, insurers, banks and credit unions, service contract sellers, consumer finance companies, and direct-to-home satellite services (ORS 646A.295(6)). The business must show the offer terms clearly and conspicuously before the purchase, get affirmative consent before charging, and send a retainable acknowledgment that explains how to cancel. For a free trial, it must let the consumer cancel before paying (ORS 646A.295(1)). It must give clear notice of material changes, with cancellation information (ORS 646A.295(3)). Violations are unlawful trade practices (ORS 646.608(1)).

Good to know

Oregon's health spa statute (ORS 646A.030–646A.042) covers gyms, fitness facilities and tanning salons. It gives a 3-business-day cancellation right with a full refund within 15 days. It requires contracts to allow cancellation for death, disability, the club closing, the club moving its nearest facility more than five additional miles from your home, unfinished promised facilities, or materially changed services, with a pro-rata refund. It caps contract length at three years. It does not give a right to cancel because you move away. Oregon's general automatic-renewal law requires an easy cancellation mechanism, but no online-cancellation mandate was found as of the 2025 ORS edition and 2026 session tables.

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. ORS Chapter 646A (2025 Edition), ORS 646A.030–646A.042 (official page; read via Internet Archive snapshot of Sept. 29, 2026 because the live site was unreachable from our network) (official, 2026-10-11)
  2. ORS 646A.034(7) - required Buyer's Right to Cancel wording (2025 Edition) (official, 2026-10-11)
  3. ORS 646A.034(5)(a) - death and disability (2025 Edition) (official, 2026-10-11)
  4. ORS 646A.034(5)(c) - spa relocation (2025 Edition) (official, 2026-10-11)
  5. ORS 646A.034(4) and (6) - maximum term and refund formula (2025 Edition) (official, 2026-10-11)
  6. ORS 646A.040 - waiver void (2025 Edition) (official, 2026-10-11)
  7. ORS 646A.295(2) - cancellation mechanism for automatic renewal (2025 Edition) (official, 2026-10-11)
  8. ORS 646.608(1) - Unlawful Trade Practices Act (2025 Edition; read via Internet Archive snapshot of July 10, 2026) (official, 2026-10-11)
  9. ORS Chapter 646A page header (2025 Edition) noting 2026-session changes (official, 2026-10-11)
  10. Oregon Laws 2026 - Table of ORS sections amended or repealed (2026 A&R Tables; read via Internet Archive snapshot of Sept. 26, 2026). Only 646A.115 and 646A.694 are listed for chapter 646A (official, 2026-10-11)
  11. Oregon Department of Justice, Fitness Clubs & Health Spas (official, 2026-10-11)
  12. OregonLaws (oregon.public.law), ORS 646A.034 and 646A.295 (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.