Cancellation policy template: handle late cancels and no-shows
Late cancels will still happen. A clear policy, agreed at booking, means you don't renegotiate each one by message.
This template isn't legal advice. Rules on cancellation fees differ by country and state, so check yours before you charge one.
Full policy
Cancellation and no-show policy
[Your practice name]. Last updated [date].
When you book a session, I hold that time for you. If a session is cancelled late or missed, I usually can't offer the time to anyone else. This policy explains how changes work.
Rescheduling and cancelling
You can reschedule or cancel up to [number] hours before the session starts, at no charge. Use the link in your booking confirmation email, or reply to it.
Late cancellations
A cancellation or reschedule with less than [number] hours' notice is a late cancellation. [Choose one: The session counts as used. / I charge [your fee]. / The first one is free; after that I charge [your fee].]
No-shows
If you haven't joined within [number] minutes of the start and haven't been in touch, I'll treat the session as missed. [Choose one: The session counts as used. / I charge [your fee].]
Arriving late
If you join late, we'll still finish at the booked end time.
If I need to cancel
If I have to cancel or move a session, I'll tell you as early as I can and offer you the next open time. You won't be charged for a session I cancel.
Illness and emergencies
Things happen. Tell me as soon as you can and we'll work it out. I decide these case by case.
Packages and series
If you've booked a package or a series, a late cancellation or no-show [uses one session from it / is handled as above].
By booking a session, you agree to this policy.
Short version for your booking page
Need to change your session? You can reschedule or cancel free up to [number] hours before it starts. Use the link in your confirmation email. After that, or if you miss the session, [it counts as used / I charge [your fee]]. Full policy: [link].
Message when the policy applies
Hi [client name],
Thanks for letting me know. This is inside the [number]-hour window in my cancellation policy, so [this session counts as used / I'll charge [your fee]].
When you're ready, you can book your next session here: [booking page link].
[Your name]
How to choose your notice period and fee
Pick the notice you'd need to offer the time to someone else. If another client could take the slot with a day's warning, a day is enough, and anything longer only makes the policy harder to keep. Then decide what a late cancel costs: the session counts as used, a fee you name, or nothing the first time.
- Write a fee you'd actually charge. One you always waive teaches clients to ignore it.
- Say what happens when you cancel, too, so the policy works both ways.
Telling a client about the policy without the awkward message
Tell clients before they book. Put the short version on your booking page, ask them to tick that they've read it, and link the full policy in your confirmation email. When you do have to apply it, keep the message short and kind.
- The third template above is that message. It names the window, says what it means and offers the next booking.
- If you waive it, say it's a one-off.
How to prevent late cancellations
Make moving a session easier than cancelling it late, and a clash turns into a reschedule.
- Send a reminder the day before with a reschedule link.
- Put your cut-off in your confirmation and reminder emails.
- When someone cancels, offer the next open time straight away.
Your cancellation window, enforced by the booking page
In Pick a Time you set a cancellation window for each booking page: anytime before the start, or 1, 2, 4, 12, 24 or 48 hours before. Until the cut-off, clients reschedule or cancel from the link in their emails. After it, the link stops offering either and tells them to contact you. Pick a Time doesn't charge fees for you.
- Paste the short version into your booking page description, and set the window to the notice period it names.
- Add a required checkbox booking question: I've read the cancellation policy.
Questions people ask
Is a cancellation policy legally binding?
We can't tell you that, and it depends on where you and your client are. On our reading, a policy the client saw and agreed to before booking is easier to stand behind than one they hear about after they cancel. Check with a lawyer before you rely on a fee.
How much should I charge for a late cancellation?
There's no standard number, and this template doesn't suggest one. You can count the session as used, charge part or all of your fee, or waive the first one. Choose an amount you'd actually collect.
What's the difference between a late cancellation and a no-show?
A late cancellation is a client telling you inside your notice window. A no-show is a client who doesn't come and doesn't tell you. The template has a line for each, so you can treat them the same or differently.
Can Pick a Time charge the late-cancel fee for me?
No. Pick a Time doesn't take payments today. It enforces the cancellation window: after the cut-off, clients can't cancel or reschedule from their link.
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