Terms and conditions for your gym
What belongs in the terms and conditions of your gym or studio? A practical checklist of the clauses that really matter, with an explanation per topic.
Last updated: 11 August 2026
This is general information to get you started, not legal advice. Rules change and every situation is different. Always have your final terms checked by a lawyer before you use them.
Good terms and conditions are not a formality. They decide what happens when a member does not pay, wants to cancel, gets injured or misbehaves. Without clear terms you are in a weak position at exactly the moments that matter.
Below we walk through the topics that belong in the terms of virtually every gym, fitness studio or martial arts school in the Netherlands, with what to look out for per topic. Use it as a checklist, not as a ready-made contract.
1. Membership and contract length
State which membership types you offer (monthly, annual, class pass, day pass) and when a membership starts. For an annual contract, name the minimum term explicitly.
- The start date and the minimum term.
- Whether and how the membership renews after the first period.
- What happens to remaining classes or credits at the end.
2. Renewal and the Wet van Dam
In the Netherlands, a membership that silently continues after the first period must then be cancellable monthly with a notice period of at most one month (the Wet van Dam). So you may not automatically lock a consumer into a second full year. Account for this in your terms and in your system.
3. Prices, payment and direct debit
Describe how and when you collect payment, what happens when a direct debit fails, and whether and how you may raise prices. With automatic direct debit a consumer has a legal right to a refund for eight weeks; allow for that in your process.
- The debit date and the payment method.
- Costs and steps when a direct debit fails or is reversed.
- How and with what notice you may adjust prices.
4. Cancelling, pausing and freezing
Be specific about how a member cancels (in writing, through the app or by email) and which notice period applies. Many studios also offer the option to freeze a membership temporarily for injury, pregnancy or a long absence. Put the conditions for that clearly in writing.
5. Cooling-off period for online sign-up
If a member signs up remotely, for instance through your website, a statutory cooling-off period of fourteen days applies in principle. If the member wants to start training within that period, you must explicitly ask for consent and confirm that the right of withdrawal (partly) lapses as a result. Arrange this neatly in your sign-up process.
6. House rules, access and conduct
Refer to your house rules and state what happens when they are broken: from a warning to refusing access or ending the membership. That gives you a basis to act on misconduct or safety risks.
7. Liability and safety
Exercise carries risks. Describe what you do and do not offer (for instance supervision or an intake) and to what extent you exclude liability for injury or damage to property. Note: liability for intent or gross negligence cannot simply be contracted away, and an exclusion that is too broad can be invalid.
8. Opening hours and changes
State that opening hours, schedules and the class offer can change, for instance on public holidays or for maintenance, and under which conditions you can close temporarily. That prevents arguments when a class is cancelled for once.
9. Personal data and privacy
You process your members' personal data, so refer to your privacy statement and describe briefly which data you use for which purpose. Make sure that statement is in line with the GDPR.
Frequently asked questions
They are not required by law, but without clear terms you are in a weak position with non-payment, cancellations or incidents. In practice they are indispensable. They only apply if a member was able to read and accept them before or when entering the agreement.
No. Under the Wet van Dam a membership that continues after the first period must then be cancellable monthly with a notice period of at most one month. An automatic renewal by another full year is not allowed for consumers.
During the minimum term you may hold a member to that term. After that, a silently continuing membership has a notice period of at most one month. You may always offer a shorter one.
If someone signs up remotely, a fourteen-day cooling-off period applies in principle. If the member wants to start training right away, you explicitly ask for consent that waives that right (partly). Build that step into your sign-up form.
Your terms and your system have to say the same thing. With REQUR you link online sign-up, direct debits and cancellations to one system, so contract lengths, notice periods and direct debits run the way you agreed them.
From terms to practice
Good terms are step one. REQUR handles your memberships, online sign-up and direct debits, so what you agree is automatically right in your administration too.
You might also like
Member management software for gyms
All your members, their membership and their payment status in one overview. Dir...
A website for your gym
A website that does more than show you exist: it brings in new members. Sign-ups...
Payments
Transparent rates for iDEAL, SEPA direct debit and card payments, plus payment h...