Here is how to cancel Planet Fitness membership as of September 2026: Planet Fitness’s own FAQ lists three ways, which are a written letter mailed to your home club, a visit to your home club in person, or logging into your account through the member portal on planetfitness.com. Whichever you use, the timing matters more than the method. Your request has to reach the club by the 10th to stop that month’s dues on the 17th, and by the 25th of the month before your annual fee bills.
Most cancellation trouble comes from those two dates, from 12 month commitment plans, and from the fact that roughly nine in ten clubs are run by franchisees. Below: each method, the fees, the state laws that force easier cancellation, the federal “click to cancel” rule, and what to do if a charge shows up after you leave.
Key takeaways
- There are three official methods. Mail to your home club, in person at your home club, or online through the member portal.
- The 10th is the monthly deadline. Notice after that can still leave you paying on the 17th.
- The annual fee has its own deadline. Notice must reach the club by the 25th of the month before the fee date. Every club page I checked bills it on or shortly after November 1, so October 25 is the date to beat.
- Commitment plans cost $58 to leave early. That is the buyout fee Planet Fitness lists for ending a minimum term before it is up.
- California and New York give you extra rights. New York clubs must accept cancellation by website, email, phone, mail or in person.
- The federal click-to-cancel rule is dead for now. A court vacated it in July 2025. The FTC restarted rulemaking in March 2026.
- Stopping the payment is not cancelling. Blocking the debit at your bank does not end the contract, so cancel first and use the bank as a backstop.
The official ways to cancel Planet Fitness
The national customer service FAQ lists three routes to end a membership: written notice mailed to your home club, a visit to your home club in person, or logging into your account through the member portal on the website. Your home club is where you signed up or last transferred to.
The reason everything routes through the home club is ownership. Planet Fitness reported 2,896 clubs at the end of 2025, and its year-end release says approximately 90% of them are owned and operated by independent business owners. Its membership page notes that locations are independently owned and operated and points you to your home club for details. So prices, fee dates and some policies differ by club, and the FAQ names your home club as the best place for billing and membership questions.
| Method | Best for | Proof you get | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online, member portal | Anyone whose account shows the option | Screenshot and any confirmation email | If the option is missing for your account, use another method the same day |
| In person at home club | People who live near the club | Signed or printed confirmation, staff name | Leaving without anything in writing |
| Certified letter to home club | Moved away, disputes, older agreements | USPS delivery record and return receipt | Mail time eating into the 10th or 25th deadline |
If you just want the general playbook for ending any recurring charge, our guide on how to cancel subscriptions covers the habits that apply everywhere.
How to cancel Planet Fitness membership online
For years, online cancellation was the thing Planet Fitness was known for not offering. That has changed. The national FAQ now lists the member portal as a cancellation route, and the club offer pages I checked in California, Oklahoma, Michigan, New Jersey and New York all advertise “Cancel Online, Anytime!” next to their no commitment plans.
- Go to planetfitness.com and log into My Account with the email tied to your membership.
- Look in the account menu for your membership details and the option to end or cancel it.
- Follow the prompts. You may be shown an offer to downgrade or stay. You can decline.
- Screenshot the final confirmation screen, including the date and time.
- Save any confirmation email.
One caveat. Planet Fitness does not publish which accounts can cancel online. If the option does not appear for you, walk into the club or mail a letter that same day. The billing deadlines do not pause while you fight the website.
Cancel Planet Fitness in person at your home club
In person is still the fastest route if you live near your home club. Bring a photo ID and ask the front desk to cancel the membership, not freeze or downgrade it. PF Black Card members can use any club, but cancellation still goes through the home club.
Before you walk out, get something on paper or on your phone. A printed form, a confirmation email, or a photo of the account screen, plus the staff member’s name and the date. Ask whether you will be charged on the 17th or for the annual fee, and write down the answer. A verbal “you’re all set” proves nothing if a charge lands next month.
How to cancel Planet Fitness membership by mail
A letter is the slowest method but leaves the strongest paper trail. Send it to your home club’s street address, which is listed on its page in the Planet Fitness club finder. Use USPS Certified Mail with a return receipt. On the USPS site in September 2026, Certified Mail is listed at $5.55, and a return receipt at $4.65 for the paper green card or $2.91 for the electronic version. Together they prove when it was delivered and who signed for it.
If the 10th or the 25th is less than a week away, go in person or use the portal as well.
Cancellation letter template
[Your full name]
[Your street address, city, state, ZIP]
[Your phone number and email]
[Date]
Planet Fitness [club name]
[Club street address, city, state, ZIP]
Re: Cancellation of membership for [your full name], PF key tag or agreement number [number], date of birth [date]
To the manager: I am writing to cancel my Planet Fitness membership at this home club, effective immediately. Please stop all future billing to my account, including monthly dues and the annual fee.
My membership type is [Classic or PF Black Card], and dues are billed to [bank or card name, last four digits only]. I do not authorize any further charges after the date you receive this letter, other than any amount I owe under my agreement up to that date.
Please send written confirmation of the cancellation and its effective date to the email or mailing address above. If you believe I owe a remaining balance or a buyout fee, please state the amount and the reason in writing.
I am sending this letter by USPS Certified Mail with return receipt and am keeping a copy for my records.
Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Printed name]
Keep a photo of the signed letter, the Certified Mail receipt and the return receipt. That is what a bank will want to see in a dispute.
The dates that decide whether you pay again
Planet Fitness is clear about its cutoffs. The FAQ says monthly dues bill on the 17th, and to stop that charge the club must receive your cancellation by the 10th, because billing changes can take up to 7 business days to take effect.
| Charge | When it bills | Your notice must be received by | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly dues | The 17th | The 10th of that month | You likely pay one more month |
| Annual fee | Varies by club; many list on or shortly after November 1 | The 25th of the month before the fee date | You likely pay the full annual fee |
| Buyout on a commitment plan | When you end a minimum term early | Not a timing issue | $58, per the national FAQ |
Note the word “receive”. A letter mailed on the 9th that arrives on the 12th is late.
Cancel Planet Fitness before the annual fee hits
The annual fee is the charge that surprises people. The national membership page says plans carry an annual fee of $49. Club pages I read in California, Oklahoma, Michigan and New Jersey list $49, billed on or shortly after November 1. A Brooklyn club lists $59 for its Classic plans on the same November 1 schedule. So check your own club.
If your club bills on November 1, the FAQ’s rule works out to a deadline of October 25, 2026. That is my reading of the published rule applied to the published date.
Commitment plans, the $58 buyout, and freezing
The FAQ says that ending a membership with a minimum term before the term is over requires a $58 buyout fee. In La Quinta, California, the $15 a month Classic carries a 12 month commitment, while a $20 a month Classic and the $24.99 PF Black Card are listed as no commitment, which the page says you can cancel at any time without a fee.
| Plan type | Typical listed price | Cancel early? |
|---|---|---|
| Classic, 12 month commitment | From $15 a month | Yes, with a $58 buyout before the term ends |
| Classic, no commitment | Higher than the commitment price at clubs that offer both | Yes, no fee |
| PF Black Card, no commitment | From $24.99 a month | Yes, no fee |
| Classic paid in full, where offered | $229 a year, no annual fee, at one club checked | Buyout may apply before 12 months |
Prices vary: the Brooklyn club lists Classic at $19 with a commitment and Black Card at $37.99. If you are unsure whether you signed a commitment, check your agreement or ask the club in writing. My arithmetic: if you have more than about four months left on a $15 commitment, the $58 buyout costs less than riding it out, before counting the annual fee.
Freezing instead of cancelling
If you are leaving for a few months, not for good, a freeze may be an option. Planet Fitness’s national FAQ does not publish a freeze policy, and none of the club pages I checked listed one, so assume it is set by your club. Ask the monthly cost, the maximum length, whether the annual fee still bills, and whether billing restarts automatically, and get it in writing. If what is keeping you away is the state of the equipment, our piece on gym equipment hygiene covers what actually matters.
State laws that make it easier to cancel Planet Fitness
State law may give you more than the club’s own policy. Two states stand out.
California. The state’s automatic renewal law already said that if you accept an automatic renewal offer online, you must be allowed to cancel it exclusively online. AB 2863 added more for contracts entered into, amended or extended on or after July 1, 2025. Businesses need express affirmative consent to the renewal, must send an annual reminder that states the charge and how to cancel, and may only pitch a retention offer during cancellation if a “click to cancel” link or button stays visible alongside it.
New York. New York has a health club statute, General Business Law section 624, that is blunt. A health club must accept notice of cancellation through methods including website, email, telephone, mail or in person. Separately, amendments to the state’s automatic renewal law took effect November 5, 2025. They require cancellation through the same medium you used to sign up, and if you enrolled in person, the business must also offer at least an online or phone option.
| Rule | Where | In effect | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online sign-up means online cancel | California | Before 2025, still in force | If you joined online, you can cancel online |
| AB 2863 amendments | California | July 1, 2025 | Consent, annual reminders, “click to cancel” beside save offers |
| Health club cancellation methods, GBL 624 | New York | Current law | Club must accept website, email, phone, mail or in person |
| Auto-renewal amendments, GBL 527-a | New York | November 5, 2025 | In-person sign-ups must also get an online or phone option |
| ROSCA | Federal | Current law | Online sign-ups need a simple way to stop recurring charges |
Other states have their own auto-renewal and health club laws, and the details differ. If a club refuses a method your state requires, complain to your state attorney general’s consumer protection office. I am describing the laws, not giving legal advice about your contract.
What happened to the federal click-to-cancel rule
In October 2024 the FTC finalized a revised Negative Option Rule, widely called click to cancel, that would have required cancellation to be as easy as sign-up for most subscriptions nationwide. It never took effect. On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated it in Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, finding the FTC had skipped a required preliminary regulatory analysis.
The FTC formally revised the rule text in February 2026 to conform to the court decision, and on March 11, 2026 it announced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on March 13, asking for public comment on how to update the older negative option rule. The comment period was 30 days. That is the first step, so any new federal rule is still some way off.
What still applies federally is the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. For subscriptions sold online, ROSCA requires the seller to provide simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges to a card or bank account.
If Planet Fitness keeps charging after you cancel
Check the first statement after your cancellation date, and the one after that. If a charge appears, contact the home club first with your proof: the screenshot, the staff name and date, or the certified receipt. Ask in writing for a refund of that charge.
If the club will not fix it, go to your bank. The club pages I checked say dues are billed monthly to a checking account. That puts you under the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E, not the credit card rules. Under Regulation E, you report an error so that the bank receives it no later than 60 days after it sends the statement where the charge first appeared. The bank generally has 10 business days to investigate, or up to 45 days if it provisionally credits your account.
If your dues are on a credit card instead, the Fair Credit Billing Act applies, and the CFPB says to send a written billing error notice within 60 days after the charge appeared on your statement. Our step-by-step guide on how to dispute a credit card charge covers the letter and what to attach.
Blocking the payment is a last resort
You can tell your bank to stop future debits. Regulation E lets you stop a preauthorized transfer by notifying the bank at least three business days before it is scheduled, and the bank may require written confirmation within 14 days. Banks generally charge a fee for stop payment orders.
What none of this does is end your agreement. The CFPB puts it plainly: “Cancelling an automatic payment does not cancel what you owe.” If you block payments without cancelling, the club can treat the dues as unpaid, and the FAQ itself mentions overdue balances and partial payments. Cancel through an official method first, and use a stop payment only to catch a charge the club should not be taking.
What to do this week
- Log into My Account and check three things: your home club, whether you have a commitment term, and your annual fee date.
- Try the member portal first. If the cancel option is there, use it and screenshot the confirmation.
- If it is not there, go to the home club or mail a certified letter using the template above, today.
- Circle October 10 and October 25 on your calendar if your club bills the annual fee on November 1.
- If you are on a commitment plan, ask for the buyout amount in writing and compare it with the months left.
- Check your October and November statements. If a charge appears, contact the club in writing, then dispute it with your bank inside 60 days.
Sources
- Planet Fitness, customer service and FAQ, how to manage and end your membership
- Planet Fitness, gym memberships, prices and annual fee
- Planet Fitness La Quinta, CA, membership offers and terms
- Planet Fitness Ponca City, OK, membership offers and terms
- Planet Fitness Grand Rapids, MI, membership offers and terms
- Planet Fitness Freehold, NJ, membership offers and terms
- Planet Fitness Brooklyn (East New York), NY, membership offers and terms
- Planet Fitness, fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, SEC filing
- USPS, insurance and extra services, Certified Mail and Return Receipt
- California Business and Professions Code section 17602
- Kilpatrick, California’s automatic renewal law amendments take effect July 2025
- New York State Senate, General Business Law section 624, health club cancellation
- Hudson Cook, New York updates to auto-renewal law
- FTC, Negative Option Rule page and rulemaking history
- FTC, public comment on advance notice of proposed rulemaking on negative option marketing, March 2026
- Federal Register, Rule Concerning the Use of Prenotification Negative Option Plans, March 13, 2026
- Mayer Brown, Eighth Circuit vacates the FTC’s revised Negative Option Rule
- 15 U.S.C. 8403, Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act
- CFPB, how do I stop automatic payments from my bank account
- CFPB, Regulation E section 1005.10, stopping preauthorized transfers
- CFPB, Regulation E section 1005.11, error resolution
- CFPB, how do I dispute a charge on my credit card bill