Dating Service Contract Cancellation Rights

What are your cancellation rights with a dating service?

In the states that have a dating service law, the rights look a lot alike:

1. A short cooling-off window. Usually three business days to cancel for any reason.
2. In writing. A letter or, for many online services, an email. A phone call alone usually isn’t enough.
3. A refund deadline. The company has a set number of days to give your money back.
4. The contract has to tell you. Several states require a cancellation notice in bold type near your signature.
5. Breaking the rules has a cost. In some states, a contract that doesn’t follow the law is void.

The details depend on where you live, so check the table below.

Which states have a dating service contract law?

We only list a state after opening the law’s text ourselves. If your state isn’t here, we haven’t verified a law for it yet. There may still be one.

If you live somewhere else, your state attorney general’s consumer office is the place to ask. The National Association of Attorneys General keeps a list of every AG NAAG · checked Oct 15, 2026.

How long is the cooling off period for a dating service?

In every state we checked that has a cancellation window, it’s three business days. The states differ on when the clock starts.

• California and Colorado: until midnight of the third business day after the day you sign Cal. Civ. Code § 1694.1 · checked Oct 15, 2026 C.R.S. § 6-1-731 · checked Oct 15, 2026.
• New York: within three business days after you receive your copy of the written contract, on paper or by email NY GBL § 394-c · checked Oct 15, 2026.
• Connecticut: within three business days after you receive a copy of the contract, or three business days after the service is made available to you, whichever is later Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-321 · checked Oct 15, 2026. That second part helps if the service is slow to start.

Business days usually mean Sundays and holidays don’t count. California’s required notice leaves them out Cal. Civ. Code § 1694.2 · checked Oct 15, 2026.

Three days is not long. If you signed on a Friday, your window may close by midweek.

How do you cancel a matchmaking contract in writing?

Keep it short, plain and provable. You don’t have to give a reason.

1. 1

   Find the cancellation address2 minutes

   Your contract should list a mailing address, and often an email for cancelling. Use exactly what it says.

2. 2

   Write two sentences5 minutes

   Your name, the date you signed, and: 'I am cancelling this contract under my right to cancel. Please refund all money I paid.'

3. 3

   Send it in a way you can prove10 minutes

   Email if the contract allows it, and keep the sent copy. If mailing, use certified mail and keep the receipt.

4. 4

   Write down the refund deadline1 minute

   Count the days your state allows, and put a reminder on your calendar.

In California, a mailed notice counts when it’s “deposited in the mail properly addressed with postage prepaid,” and online services must accept email Cal. Civ. Code § 1694.1 · checked Oct 15, 2026. In Colorado, an email notice is effective when you send it C.R.S. § 6-1-731 · checked Oct 15, 2026. New York’s law names certified or registered mail, or the email address in the contract NY GBL § 394-c · checked Oct 15, 2026. Connecticut’s names certified or registered mail to the address in the contract Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-321 · checked Oct 15, 2026. When in doubt, do both: email and certified mail.

Calling helps too, but don’t stop there. California lets you phone to stop a card charge or check during the window, and says you still have to send written notice Cal. Civ. Code § 1694.1 · checked Oct 15, 2026.

What if your state has no dating service law?

You still have options.

• Your contract. Its cancellation and refund terms apply. Read them with the matchmaker contract checklist. If you’re looking at a national firm, our pages on Tawkify cost and Kelleher International cover what those companies publish about their terms.
• The FTC Cooling-Off Rule. If you signed at a hotel, convention center, restaurant or other temporary location, a federal rule may give you until midnight of the third business day to cancel. It covers sales of $130 or more at temporary locations. It doesn’t cover sales made fully online or by phone, or at the seller’s own office FTC · checked Oct 15, 2026.
• Your credit card. If the service wasn’t “delivered as agreed,” that can be a billing error. The dispute has to reach your card issuer within 60 days after the first bill with the error FTC · checked Oct 15, 2026.

What other rights do these laws give you?

• Moving away. California and Colorado let you stop future payments if you move more than 50 miles from the dating service office and can’t transfer the contract. The fee for ending it is capped at $100, or $50 if more than half the term has passed. This doesn’t apply to online services that are generally available Cal. Civ. Code § 1694.3 · checked Oct 15, 2026 C.R.S. § 6-1-731 · checked Oct 15, 2026. New York requires a written policy for clients who move NY GBL § 394-c · checked Oct 15, 2026.
• Death or disability. In California and Colorado, you or your estate can stop paying for services you can’t use, with a doctor’s written verification for a disability.
• Length limits. California and Colorado cap payments at two years. New York caps the contract at two years and the price at $1,000, with exceptions for some online dating plans.
• Missing introductions. In New York, a contract over $25 has to promise a set number of referrals each month. If the service misses them two months in a row, you can cancel and get a refund, minus a cancellation fee.
• Void contracts. California says a dating service contract that doesn’t follow its rules “is void and unenforceable” Cal. Civ. Code § 1694.4 · checked Oct 15, 2026. Colorado says the same, and both say you can’t waive these rights.

Those New York rules have been enforced. In 2005, a New York City civil court ruled for two customers of an internet-based introduction service. It found the law covers services that match people “by use of computer,” and capped the lawful fee at $25 because the contracts promised no monthly referrals Doe v. Great Expectations, 2005 · checked Oct 15, 2026.

What should your contract say about cancelling?

Tick these off before you sign. If your state’s law requires something and it’s missing, ask the company why.

Cancellation terms to find in your contract

1. 1. A cancellation notice in bold type, near where you sign
2. 2. The company's name and the address to send a cancellation
3. 3. An email address for cancelling, if it's an online service
4. 4. The date you signed, written on the contract
5. 5. How many days you have to cancel, and when the clock starts
6. 6. How fast you get your money back
7. 7. What happens if you move away
8. 8. What happens if you get sick, become disabled or die
9. 9. An end date, and payments that stop within two years
10. 10. Whether it renews on its own, and how to stop that
11. 11. The total price, in dollars

From Dating Coach Online · datingcoachonline.com · By Maya, Dating Coach

For the full list of clauses, including refunds and substitutions, use the matchmaker contract checklist.

What if they won’t refund you?

Start with a calm email that quotes your state’s law and the date you sent your notice. If nothing happens:

1. File a complaint with your state. USAGov lists every state consumer protection office USAGov · checked Oct 15, 2026.
2. Dispute the charge with your card issuer, inside the 60-day window.
3. Consider small claims court. In 2016, ABC7 Chicago reported on a retired teacher who paid nearly $4,000, got no matches for months, sued in small claims court and won. She still hadn’t been paid when the story ran ABC7 Chicago, 2016 · checked Oct 15, 2026. Winning and collecting are two different steps.

Before you sign anything

Nobody’s coming to save you from a contract you didn’t read. The good news is you only have to read it once. And if every matchmaker contract you read makes you nervous, a coach may fit better. See matchmaker vs dating coach.

Before you pay, check what’s fair in professional matchmaker cost, decide if a matchmaker is worth it for you at all, and read what to expect from a matchmaker so you know what you’re buying. You can compare options at matchmaking services near me or browse matchmakers and dating coaches by city. Or book a free consultation and tell me what you need.