Automatic renewal rules in Alabama

We read Ala. Code § 8-23-4 on the state's official site and list what it requires below. A summary leaves out detail; the linked text is the authority.

In the law's own words:

• “Provisions for the penalty-free cancellation of the contract within three days, exclusive of holidays and weekends, of its making, upon the mailing or delivery of written notice to the health studio” (Ala. Code § 8-23-4(1))
• “there exists no affiliated facility within a 15-mile radius of buyer’s new location the contract or membership agreement may be cancelled at buyer’s option” (Ala. Code § 8-23-4(6))

Our company guides show how each business takes cancellations and where to write, for example Gym memberships, Planet Fitness, LA Fitness and Crunch Fitness.

1. 1

   Start with how you joined

   Find the email or contract that confirmed the subscription and note the next renewal date, so you know how much time you have.

2. 2

   Cancel the way the law allows

   Within three days of signing (excluding holidays and weekends), a gym member may cancel by mailing or delivering written notice to the health studio; later cancellations on closure, relocation, death or disability are also by written notice. Take a screenshot or keep the email that confirms it.

3. 3

   Send a written notice you can prove

   Ala. Code § 8-23-4 covers only health studio (gym) contracts, so cite it only if your contract is one of them. Send a written notice that cites Ala. Code § 8-23-4, your account details and the end date you want. Our cancellation letter template has the layout.

4. 4

   If the charges continue

   Show the business your proof and the statute, then dispute the charge with your card issuer. What to do if a company keeps charging you walks through it.

Where no statute sets the route, many contracts ask for written notice. A mailed letter with a delivery record proves the date your notice arrived, and it is the route of last resort when an online or phone cancellation fails.

Certified mail for cancellations explains what each delivery record proves.

The federal Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act requires online sellers using automatic renewals to provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC's 2024 click-to-cancel amendments are not in force: on July 8, 2025 the Eighth Circuit vacated them (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, No. 24-3137), on February 12, 2026, in a rule effective that day, the FTC recodified its Negative Option Rule "as it existed before the effective date" of the 2024 amendments (91 FR 6507), and on March 13, 2026 it asked for public comment on "the need for amendments" (91 FR 12318). Our state-by-state overview and the FTC click-to-cancel guide have the details.