Do web hosts require advance cancellation notice?

AnnouncementQuestion: Do web hosts require notice in advance before you can cancel your account with them?

Answer: Most web hosts will require a few days notice in advance. The policy differs from web host to web host. The number of days can be from 72 hours to 7 days. While some VPS and dedicated server web hosts will impose a 2-4 week notice must be given before you can cancel your service with them.

Shared web hosts

Most shared web hosts will require 2-7 days notice in advance. Some shared web hosts will not have such a policy and you can cancel at will. You can find the respective web host’s cancellation policy in their terms of use or acceptable usage policy.

VPS and dedicated web hosts

Most VPS and dedicated web hosts will have a policy requiring anywhere from 7 days to 30 days of notice. The policy will vary and the more customer friendly web hosts will have less than 2 weeks required. While some web hosts that require 1 month’s notice are not a web host that you want to use.

Web hosts that require 1 month notice before you can cancel can become a bottleneck in your web hosting needs if you need to add or remove services. Having to pay for a whole month of web hosting service that you no longer need is not a smart move. It is best to avoid any web hosts that require 1 month or any month notice in advance to cancel your services.