Martial Arts Laws in Texas: Contracts, Cancellation, Safeguarding and Combat Sports

Texas regulates health spas under Tex. Occ. Code ch. 702, and the definition (membership instruction in, or use of facilities for, a physical exercise program, with facilities expressly including martial arts equipment) likely reaches martial arts schools that sell memberships. Covered schools must register with the Secretary of State, post $20,000 to $50,000 security unless exempt, cap contracts at three years, and honor a three-business-day cancellation right. Texas has no general automatic renewal statute, every person must report suspected child abuse, and TDLR regulates professional combat sports and amateur MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing through approved amateur associations.

Texas at a glance

A field that reads “none located” means our research did not find a statewide rule. It does not prove that none exists, and local rules may still apply.

Which martial arts businesses does Texas law reach?

The Texas Health Spa Act, Tex. Occ. Code ch. 702, defines a health spa as a business that offers for sale, or sells, memberships that provide members instruction in or the use of facilities for a physical exercise program (Tex. Occ. Code § 702.003(4)). Facilities expressly include martial arts equipment, and services include exercise instruction and instructional classes (§ 702.003(3), (14)). The exclusions cover tax-exempt organizations, member-owned private clubs, businesses operated exclusively to teach dance or aerobic exercise or provide physical rehabilitation, state-licensed activities, school activities and government hospitals. There is no martial arts exclusion.

Because of this wording, a martial arts school that sells memberships is likely a health spa. A nonprofit 501(c) school is excluded. If you sell only month-to-month memberships with no initiation fee and no prepayment beyond 31 days, you can apply for an exemption from the security requirement, but you still need a certificate of registration (§ 702.202).

What are the membership contract rules in Texas?

No one may operate a health spa or sell a membership without a health spa operator's certificate of registration from the Secretary of State (§ 702.101). The applicant must file a surety bond or other security in an amount set by the Secretary, not less than $20,000 or more than $50,000 (§ 702.151). A certificate holder can apply for an exemption from security if it does not require contracts longer than 31 days, notes or retail installment contracts, recurring bank debits, fees other than monthly dues, or prepayment beyond 31 days, or if it files a sworn statement every three years showing more than $50,000 in assets per location, five years of substantially the same ownership or management, and no closure complaints (§ 702.202). Proof of registration is tied to the sales tax permit (§ 702.107).

A contract may not exceed three years, and a contract financed through a retail installment contract or note may not require payments for more than five years (§ 702.303). Overlapping contracts with the same buyer count as one contract. If the facility is unusable for 30 consecutive days or more because of an event beyond the owner's control, terms must be extended.

Section 702.304 requires specific notices in at least 10-point conspicuous type, including the do-not-sign-with-blanks notice, the three-business-day cancellation notice with the address for certified mail, the closure or relocation notice (and the claim-against-security notice if security is posted), and the death or disability notice. Prepayments taken before a new location opens must be placed in an FDIC-insured escrow account within 14 days, with statements filed with the Secretary of State, and kept there until 30 days after opening (§§ 702.351 to 702.356).

Cancellation, refunds and automatic renewal in Texas

A member may cancel and get a full refund by sending written notice, with proof of payment, by certified mail to the home office before midnight of the third business day after the contract date. The refund is due within 30 days (§ 702.307). A member may also cancel and receive a refund of unearned payments if the spa closes without alternative facilities within 10 miles, relocates more than 10 miles, or fails to provide advertised services, and a member who dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled, or the estate, may cancel. Refunds of unearned payments are due within 30 days (§ 702.308).

We located no general Texas automatic renewal statute. Bills to add one, HB 860 and SB 838 (2025), were referred to committee and not passed. Automatic renewal practices are still subject to the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and to the Health Spa Act's term limits, and the federal rules on negative option billing may apply.

Child safeguarding, abuse reporting and background checks in Texas

Texas is a universal reporting state. A person who has reasonable cause to believe a child's health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect must report immediately (Tex. Fam. Code § 261.101(a)). Professionals, defined as people licensed or certified by the state or employed by a state-licensed facility who have direct contact with children, must report within 48 hours and cannot delegate the report (§ 261.101(b)). Coaches are not specifically named. Reports go to the Department of Family and Protective Services or law enforcement.

We located no statute requiring background checks for all private youth sports or martial arts staff. However, Tex. Hum. Res. Code § 42.041(b)(18) exempts from child-care licensing a program giving direct instruction in a single skill only if, among other conditions, it does not advertise as child care, tells parents it is not state-licensed and about physical risks, and conducts background checks on all employees and volunteers who work with children using Department of Public Safety information. After-school karate pickup programs that rely on this exemption must meet every condition. Youth camps licensed under Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 141 have their own staff screening rules.

The Texas concussion statute applies to interscholastic athletics sponsored or sanctioned by school districts, public and charter schools, and the UIL (Tex. Educ. Code § 38.152). It does not reach private martial arts schools.

Business registration, tax, workers' compensation and insurance in Texas

Entities register with the Texas Secretary of State, which also runs health spa registration. Local permits, zoning and certificates of occupancy are municipal.

Sales tax: Under 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298, health club (spa) admissions and memberships are taxable amusement services, while instruction for any sport is a nonamusement service. A school whose fees are primarily for martial arts instruction is likely nontaxable, but bundled gym access may be taxable. Confirm with the Comptroller.

We located no general state liability insurance mandate. Workers' compensation coverage is elective for most private employers in Texas, and employers who do not carry it must give required notices (Tex. Lab. Code §§ 406.002, 406.005; section numbers not re-checked in this session).

MMA, kickboxing and combat-sports regulation in Texas

TDLR administers Tex. Occ. Code ch. 2052 and 16 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 61. TDLR states it regulates professional boxing, kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai, slap fighting and bare-knuckle boxing, and amateur MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing events. Combative sports exclude student training and exhibitions by martial arts schools or associations of schools where participation is for health and recreation, not competition, and the intent is partial contact only (Tex. Occ. Code § 2052.002(4)).

Promoters need a TDLR license and bond (§§ 2052.101, 2052.102). Amateur events are run by amateur combative sports associations that must be nonprofits, file rules approved by TDLR, carry contestant medical insurance of at least $50,000, give TDLR 21 days' notice of events, provide physicians and use TDLR-licensed referees (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 61.48). Professional contestants need comprehensive medical and eye exams and blood tests. Full-contact gym smokers or interclub bouts are risky without TDLR approval.

Who enforces these rules in Texas?

A violation of the Health Spa Act is a false, misleading or deceptive act under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 17.41 et seq., and public and private DTPA remedies apply (Tex. Occ. Code § 702.403). Section 702.503 also allows actual damages, equitable relief, punitive damages and attorney's fees. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division enforces the DTPA, and the Act carries civil penalties and criminal offenses (§§ 702.551 to 702.558).

Frequently asked questions

Can a martial arts school in Texas sell a multi-year membership?

Yes, up to three years. Financed contracts cannot require payments beyond five years. Longer contracts violate Tex. Occ. Code § 702.303.

How do Texas students cancel?

By certified mail to the home office before midnight of the third business day after signing, with a full refund within 30 days. Death, total and permanent disability, closure or relocation more than 10 miles also allow cancellation with a refund of unearned payments within 30 days.

Does Texas require background checks for martial arts instructors?

No general statute was located. But a single-skill program relying on the child-care licensing exemption must run DPS background checks on employees and volunteers who work with children.

Does my MMA gym need a license in Texas?

Classes and partial-contact student exhibitions are excluded. Full-contact amateur MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing events must be run by a TDLR-approved amateur association, and professional events need TDLR-licensed promoters and contestants.

Official sources

1. Tex. Occ. Code ch. 702 (Health Spas) · Texas Legislature
2. Form 3002 Health Spa Registration · Texas Secretary of State
3. HB 860 (89th Leg., 2025) history · Texas Legislature Online
4. SB 838 (89th Leg., 2025) history · Texas Legislature Online
5. Tex. Fam. Code § 261.101 · Texas Legislature
6. Tex. Hum. Res. Code § 42.041 · Texas Legislature
7. Tex. Educ. Code § 38.152 · Texas Legislature
8. Tex. Occ. Code ch. 2052 (Combative Sports) · Texas Legislature
9. Combative Sports at a Glance · Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
10. 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 61.48 (amateur combative sports associations) · Cornell LII (secondary copy of TDLR rule) secondary source
11. 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.298 (amusement services) · Cornell LII (secondary copy of Comptroller rule) secondary source
12. Statute text mirror used for section reading · Texas.Public.Law (secondary) secondary source