Gyms in Tyler

Most Tyler membership gyms count as a "health spa" under the Texas Health Spa Act, which covers any business selling memberships for exercise instruction or facilities. A covered gym can't operate or sell memberships without a certificate of registration from the Secretary of State, one per location. The certificate costs $100, lasts a year, and must be posted where members can see it.

Not every fitness business is covered. The Act excludes tax-exempt nonprofits, member-owned private clubs, studios that teach only dance or aerobics, rehab providers and school programs. A Tyler studio that falls outside the Act also falls outside its refund protections, so ask which category it's in.

Two ways to look up a Tyler gym

• The SOS online health spa search shows registration and whether security is posted.
• The SOS PDF list of registered locations, updated every Wednesday, shows the same for each site.

Check the registration number printed in your contract against the search result; Texas requires both the posted certificate and the contract to carry it. A contract signed with an unregistered gym is void, and so is one where you relied on willfully false or misleading information.

Published prices are national rather than Tyler figures. Fixr puts a basic membership at $15 to $40 a month and gyms with more advanced equipment at $50 to $100 (January 2025). Forbes Health, citing Statista, gave an average of $28.58 a month in 2021, with a range of about $10 to $300.

The bigger number is often the commitment. Texas caps membership contracts at three years, and financed contracts can't require payments for more than five. A gym that never requires contracts or prepayment over 31 days, financing, automatic bank drafts or initiation fees can be exempt from posting security, so a month-to-month gym may show "no security posted" for a good reason. The full guide is on our Texas gyms hub.

Tyler gym security amounts

Unless exempt, a gym posts $20,000 to $50,000 per location with the Secretary of State, rising with its prepaid memberships, as a surety bond or certificate of deposit. A brand-new gym selling memberships before opening must hold the money in an FDIC-insured escrow account until 30 days after it opens, unless it qualifies for an exemption.

You can cancel for a full refund by sending written notice by certified mail by midnight of the third business day after the contract date. That right, and your rights if the gym closes or moves more than 10 miles, must appear in conspicuous 10-point type in the contract.

• Death or disability. A member who dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled, or the estate, can cancel and get unearned payments back.
• Closure or a move. If the gym closes without offering facilities within 10 miles, moves more than 10 miles, or doesn't provide advertised services, you can cancel for a partial refund.
• Storm closures. If a gym is unusable for 30 days or more because of something beyond the owner's control, such as a natural disaster, it must extend members' contracts by the same time.

A gym must post notice at each entrance at least 30 days before closing or relocating, except after a fire, flood or act of God. If it closes, mail your contract and proof of payment to the Secretary of State within 90 days of the closure notice appearing on the SOS website to claim against the security.

Since the Secretary of State only registers gyms, take a Tyler billing or sales dispute to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, (800) 621-0508. Gyms in Longview follow the same Act, and our Tyler hub lists the city's other services.