Gyms in Webster

A gym that sells memberships in Texas is usually a "health spa" under state law and can't operate without a Secretary of State certificate for each location. The certificate hangs where members can see it, and its number goes in your contract. Check the gym on the Secretary of State's health spa search, or on the PDF list of registered locations updated every Wednesday.

Both also show whether the gym has posted security. That's a surety bond or certificate of deposit, from $20,000 for a location with up to $20,000 in prepaid memberships to $50,000 once prepayments pass $45,000. Gyms with no contracts or prepayments over 31 days, financing, bank drafts or initiation fees can be exempt. A contract with an unregistered gym is void.

A gym planning to close or relocate must post notice inside and outside each entrance at least 30 days ahead and tell the Secretary of State, though that notice isn't required after a fire, flood or act of God. If it shuts without offering another site within 10 miles, or moves more than 10 miles away, you can cancel for a partial refund. To claim against its security, mail your contract and proof of payment to the Secretary of State within 90 days of the closure notice appearing on its website.

A new gym selling memberships before it opens must generally hold the money in an FDIC-insured escrow account until 30 days after opening. If it doesn't open within 180 days, prepaying members are generally owed a full refund. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, so keep a copy of your contract somewhere other than the gym's app.

A certified-mail cancellation sent before midnight of the third business day after the contract date brings a full refund. Contracts can't run longer than three years, and the Act's protections can't be waived. A member who dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled, or the member's estate, can cancel and recover unearned payments.

A gym also can't claim to be "bonded by the state" or misrepresent its staff's qualifications or the results you'll get. The Secretary of State only registers gyms, so report a Webster gym's practices to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, (800) 621-0508.

Nationally, Statista via Forbes Health put the average membership at $28.58 a month in 2021, with prices from about $10 to $300. Fixr's January 2025 figures put basic memberships at $15 to $40 a month and gyms with more advanced equipment at $50 to $100. Nonprofits, member-owned private clubs and studios that teach only dance or aerobics fall outside the Act, so its protections may not apply there. The Texas gym guide has more; see also the Webster guide and gyms in Clear Lake.