How to Cancel In-Shape Membership: 30-Day Notice and Exceptions

To cancel an In-Shape membership, send an email to cancelme@inshape.com, mail a signed written request to ISHC Member Services at 6507 Pacific Ave. #344, Stockton, CA 95207, or go to any club location in person. All three methods require 30 days’ notice, and you’ll owe prorated dues for that notice window. Keep proof of submission, because the clock starts the day In-Shape receives your request, not the day you send it.¹

The Three Ways to Submit a Cancellation

In-Shape accepts cancellation requests through exactly three channels. Phone calls don’t count, and the terms don’t authorize third-party cancellation services.¹

Email cancelme@inshape.com with your full name and enough account information for Member Services to find you. Your sent folder is your paper trail.
Mail a signed written request by first-class mail to ISHC Member Services, 6507 Pacific Ave. #344, Stockton, CA 95207. Pay for a return receipt or delivery confirmation so you can prove the date it arrived.
Walk into any In-Shape club and request cancellation. The request isn’t official until the club issues a confirmation email, so don’t leave until you see it.

Email and mailed requests are “deemed submitted” on the date Member Services receives them. In-person requests are deemed submitted on the date the club issues the confirmation email.¹ Save the confirmation. If a billing dispute surfaces later, that proof is what resolves it.

The 30-Day Notice and Your Final Bill

Every cancellation triggers a 30-day notice period, and your dues are prorated across it. If you’re on AutoPay, the final charge hits on your regular billing date. If you’re not, the balance is due by the end of the 30 days.¹

A worked example: on $99 monthly dues, canceling on the 20th produces a final prorated bill of about $66, covering the first through the 20th of the following month.² You’re paying for the 30 days of notice that follow your request, not through your request date. Watch your statements for two billing cycles after cancellation to confirm nothing else posts.

When You Can Cancel Without the 30-Day Notice

Within Five Business Days of Signing

California health studio law gives new members five business days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to cancel after signing. Any money already paid must be refunded within 10 days, minus the value of services actually used.³ Larger prepaid contracts get longer windows: 20 days at $1,500 to $2,000, 30 days at $2,001 to $2,500, and 45 days at $2,501 and above.⁴ Standard month-to-month memberships rarely clear those thresholds.

Relocation Beyond 25 Miles

If you move more than 25 miles from every In-Shape location and can’t transfer to a comparable club, you’re released from future payments and only owe for services used before the move. You must submit documentation verifying the move within 10 days of the cancellation request. In-Shape doesn’t list accepted documents, so a new lease, a utility bill at the new address, or a change-of-address confirmation all work. Miss the 10-day window and your cancellation date gets pushed to whenever the paperwork finally arrives, adding charges in the gap.¹

Death or Verified Disability

In-Shape honors cancellations for a member’s death or a disability that prevents use of the facilities, and California law requires prepaid amounts for unused services to be refunded. Submit the request through any of the three standard channels with a death certificate or a physician’s statement.¹

Active-Duty Military Orders

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act now explicitly covers gym memberships, and the protection extends to dependents who relocate with the servicemember. The contract has to predate the qualifying orders. Submit your cancellation with a copy of the orders attached; this overrides early termination fees and remaining contract obligations.⁵

If You Signed a Term Contract

Commitment-length agreements can carry an early termination fee if you leave before the term ends. In-Shape doesn’t publish a standard amount; the terms tell you to check your specific agreement.⁶ Pull up your original contract and look for the early cancellation clause before you submit anything. The fee is separate from the prorated dues you’ll still owe during the 30-day notice period.

Month-to-month memberships carry no early termination fee. The standard 30-day notice process is all that applies.²

Freezing the Membership Instead

If the situation is temporary, a hold may fit better than a cancellation. In-Shape charges $5 a month to freeze a membership, waives the fee for medical holds, allows a hold of up to six months, and requires you to have been a member for at least 30 days.² Using the club at all during the hold reactivates the membership and resumes regular charges. An active AutoPay method has to be on file so the $5 monthly fee can process.

Don’t Just Stop Paying

Canceling the card on file or stopping bank payments does not cancel the membership. Charges keep accruing under the contract, and the balance grows until you formally cancel through one of the three approved methods. Delinquent accounts typically go to collections after around 90 days, which can land on your credit report and stay there for years.

If you’re already in that position, cancel properly first, then deal with the balance. If charges were applied after a legitimate cancellation, your confirmation email or return receipt is the evidence you need to dispute the debt with both In-Shape and your bank.

1
In-Shape Fitness. In-Shape Fitness Membership Terms and Conditions
2
In-Shape Fitness. Billing FAQs
3
Justia Law. California Civil Code 1812.80-1812.98 – Contracts For Health Studio Services
4
Department of Consumer Affairs. Overview of Californias Health Studio Services Contract Law
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3956 – Termination of Certain Consumer Contracts
6
In-Shape Fitness. In-Shape Fitness Rules, Regulations and Club Etiquette