Gyms in Georgetown

The security a gym posts with the Secretary of State scales with its prepaid memberships, from $20,000 for up to $20,000 prepaid to $50,000 for more than $45,000, and can be a surety bond or certificate of deposit. Two kinds of gyms can be exempt. One never requires contracts or prepayment over 31 days, financing, automatic bank drafts or initiation fees. The other is established: it swears every three years to assets over $50,000 per location, five years under substantially the same ownership, and no closure complaints. The Secretary of State's weekly list shows whether each location has posted security.

A gym selling memberships before opening must hold those prepayments in an FDIC-insured escrow account until 30 days after it opens, unless exempt. If it doesn't open within 180 days of its first sale, or closes within 30 days of opening, prepaying members are generally entitled to a full refund.

Under the Act, a health spa is any business selling memberships for exercise instruction or facility use, which covers most membership gyms. Exclusions include tax-exempt nonprofits, member-owned private clubs, dance- or aerobics-only studios, rehab providers and school programs. A covered gym needs a Secretary of State certificate of registration for each location; it costs $100 and runs one year. The certificate must hang where members can see it, and the registration number must appear in your contract.

Search the gym on the Secretary of State's online health spa search. If the seller wasn't registered when you signed, the contract is void. A gym may not advertise that it is "bonded by the state", or misrepresent its staff's qualifications, its facilities or the results you can expect.

Every gym contract covered by the Act must state, in conspicuous 10-point type, your right to cancel within three business days and your rights if the gym closes or moves more than 10 miles. To use the first, send written notice by certified mail by midnight of the third business day after the contract date for a full refund.

• Contracts can run no longer than three years; financed contracts can't require payments for more than five.
• You can cancel for a partial refund if the gym closes without a replacement within 10 miles, relocates more than 10 miles, or doesn't provide advertised services.
• A member who dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled, or the estate, can cancel and recover unearned payments.
• If the gym is unusable for 30 days or more because of something outside the owner's control, your contract is extended by the same period.

The Act's protections can't be waived, and a violation counts as a deceptive trade practice.

Fixr's national range (January 2025) is $15 to $40 a month for a basic gym and $50 to $100 for one with more advanced equipment. Forbes Health, citing Statista, gave a 2021 national average of $28.58 a month. Add any initiation or annual fee to the monthly price when you compare Georgetown gyms.

A closing or relocating gym must post notice at each entrance at least 30 days ahead and notify the Secretary of State, except after a fire, flood or act of God. Members can then claim against its security by mailing their contract and proof of payment to the Secretary of State within 90 days of the closure notice going up on its website. The Secretary of State registers gyms but doesn't police their practices; for complaints, call the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at (800) 621-0508.

Read the Texas gyms guide for more, the Georgetown hub for local services, and compare Round Rock gyms.