How to Cancel NYSC Membership: Methods, Fees, and Legal Exemptions

To cancel your NYSC membership, submit a cancellation request through the NYSC online portal at cancelfreeze.newyorksportsclubs.com, by certified mail to your home club, or in person with a manager’s signed acknowledgment. Timing is the part that costs money: a request received within five days of your next billing date triggers one more month of dues, and annual-commitment members owe a $150 early termination fee unless they qualify for one of New York’s statutory exemptions.

The Three Ways to Submit a Cancellation

The online portal is the fastest route for most members. Go to cancelfreeze.newyorksportsclubs.com and enter your barcode number, email address, and home club location. All three are visible in the NYSC app.¹

Two things the portal won’t handle. Add-on services like personal training packages and locker rentals have to be canceled with the club’s staff directly. And new members using the three-day cooling-off period have to contact the club team or NYSC’s billing partner rather than filing online.¹

If you want a paper trail, send a cancellation letter by certified mail with return receipt requested to your home club’s address. New York General Business Law § 624 allows cancellation notices to be delivered by U.S. mail or email to the address in your contract.² The certified mail receipt documents both the delivery date and who signed for it, which matters if the club later claims nothing arrived.

You can also hand-deliver the notice. Ask a manager to sign and date a copy acknowledging receipt, and keep that copy. A verbal conversation with front-desk staff is not a cancellation, no matter how clear you were.

The Five-Day Billing Cutoff

However you submit the request, the timing rule is the same. Cancellations received within five days of your next billing date result in one additional billing cycle. You’ll be charged for that extra month when you cancel, and you keep club access through the end of that period.¹ Check your billing date in the app and send your cancellation at least a week ahead of it if you want to avoid that charge.

The $150 Annual Commitment Fee

If you signed an annual commitment and want out before the 12 months are up, NYSC charges a $150 early termination fee. It’s due at the time of cancellation, and you keep club access through the end of the current billing cycle.³ Month-to-month members owe nothing extra. If you’re not sure which type of agreement you signed, check your original contract or ask the billing department before you cancel.

The $150 fee applies to standard cancellations. Members who qualify under New York’s Health Club Law exemptions, described next, do not owe it.

Fee-Free Cancellation Under New York Law

New York’s Health Club Law requires gyms to let members cancel penalty-free in specific circumstances, regardless of how much time is left on the contract. NYSC cannot override these rights with contract language.

Moving More Than 25 Miles Away

If you move more than 25 miles from any NYSC location, you can cancel without penalty. Attach proof of your new address to your cancellation notice: a signed lease, a utility bill, or a closing statement on a home purchase all work. The statute allows the gym to request reasonable evidence but does not specify a particular document.²

Significant Physical Disability

If a doctor determines that a physical disability prevents you from using the gym’s services for more than three months, you qualify for penalty-free cancellation. Include a signed letter from your physician describing the limitation and its expected duration. The statute uses the phrase “upon a doctor’s order,” so a self-reported injury isn’t enough.²

Club Closure or Major Service Changes

You can cancel if the services in your contract are no longer available because NYSC permanently closes your location or substantially changes operations. The New York Attorney General sued NYSC during the pandemic for charging dues while clubs were shuttered and for refusing to honor members’ statutory cancellation rights.⁴

For cancellations that fall under any of these statutory protections, the gym must refund you on a prorated basis within ten business days. NYSC can keep a proportional share for services you already used but cannot charge an early termination fee or impose processing fees.⁵

Just Joined? Use the Three-Day Cooling-Off Period

New York law requires every health club contract to include a three-business-day cancellation window starting from the date you receive your written contract. During those three days, you can walk away with no penalty or further obligation.² NYSC requires you to exercise this right by contacting the club team or the billing partner’s customer care line directly, because the online portal doesn’t process cooling-off cancellations.¹

If you cancel in this window, the gym must refund everything you paid within ten business days, and any credit or loan agreement you signed for the membership must be returned to you within the same timeframe.²

Military Orders

Active-duty servicemembers have a separate federal protection under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Under 50 U.S.C. § 3956, you can terminate a gym membership without penalty after receiving military orders to relocate for 90 days or more to a location that doesn’t support the contract. The statute names gym memberships alongside cell phone plans, internet service, and home security contracts.⁶

Deliver a written or electronic cancellation notice to the gym along with a copy of your orders. NYSC cannot charge an early termination fee, though dues already owed at the time of termination remain your responsibility. The protection also extends to dependents, so a spouse can cancel a family membership by providing the servicemember’s orders.⁶

Consider Freezing Instead

If your reason for leaving is temporary, a freeze may make more sense than cancellation, particularly if you’re on an annual commitment and would owe the $150 fee. NYSC allows freezes from one month to 12 months. There is a monthly freeze fee, though NYSC doesn’t publish the amount on its website, and any applicable annual fee is still collected while your membership is frozen.³ Contact your home club or use the online portal to start a freeze and confirm the current charge before committing.

After You Cancel: Watch Your Statements

Check your bank or credit card statements for at least two full billing cycles after your cancellation takes effect. NYSC has a documented history of continuing to charge members after cancellation. Keep your certified mail receipt, the manager’s signed acknowledgment, or the portal confirmation email somewhere you can find it.

If an unauthorized charge appears, call NYSC’s corporate billing department first. A phone call clears up most post-cancellation errors. If the charges keep coming, file a chargeback through your bank or credit card company with your cancellation confirmation, proof of delivery, and a record of the charges. Most card issuers impose a 60-day window for chargeback claims, so move quickly. Unresolved gym charges can end up with a collections agency, and the paper trail you built when canceling is your best defense against that.

1
New York Sports Clubs. How To Cancel New York Sports Club Membership
2
New York State Senate. New York Code GBS – General Business Article 30 – 624
3
New York Sports Clubs. Club and Membership Policies
4
New York State Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General James Sues New York Sports Club and Lucille Roberts For Charging Illegal Dues and Prohibiting Consumers From Cancelling Memberships
5
New York State Office of the Attorney General. Health Clubs and Gyms
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 50 – 3956 Termination of Certain Consumer Contracts