UK appointment cancellation & no-show policy template
A copy-ready starting point for UK appointment-led service businesses to set notice, cancellation, no-show, deposit, late-arrival and rescheduling terms without presenting arbitrary penalties as automatically fair or enforceable.
No email gate. Copy the draft, replace every bracketed field, then review the commercial and consumer-law consequences before publishing it. This page is a practical starting point, not legal advice.
Copy-ready draft
Write the real rule. Do not copy somebody else’s penalty.
The placeholders force the business to decide notice, cancellation route and consequences from its own booking economics and legal review.
[BUSINESS NAME] — APPOINTMENT CANCELLATION & NO-SHOW POLICY Effective from: [DATE] We understand that plans change. If you need to cancel or rearrange an appointment, please give us at least [NOTICE PERIOD] notice using [CANCELLATION METHOD / BOOKING LINK / PHONE]. CANCELLING OR RESCHEDULING WITH ENOUGH NOTICE If you cancel or reschedule before the notice deadline, [STATE WHAT HAPPENS TO ANY DEPOSIT / PREPAYMENT AND HOW RESCHEDULING WORKS]. LATE CANCELLATION If you cancel inside the notice period, [STATE THE PROPORTIONATE DEPOSIT OR CANCELLATION CONSEQUENCE YOU HAVE REVIEWED FOR YOUR BUSINESS]. We will apply this policy fairly and take account of any loss we can reasonably avoid, including where the appointment can be refilled. NO-SHOW If you do not attend and do not contact us, [STATE THE REVIEWED NO-SHOW CONSEQUENCE]. LATE ARRIVAL If you arrive more than [X] minutes late, [STATE WHETHER THE SERVICE CAN BE SHORTENED, RESCHEDULED OR TREATED AS A LATE CANCELLATION]. EXCEPTIONS If illness, an emergency or another exceptional circumstance affects your appointment, contact us at [CONTACT METHOD]. Any discretion or exception will be considered consistently and recorded where appropriate. HOW TO CANCEL OR RESCHEDULE Use [SELF-SERVICE LINK / PHONE / EMAIL / OTHER METHOD]. Please do not rely on a channel we do not monitor for booking changes. QUESTIONS If you have questions about this policy before booking, contact [CONTACT DETAILS].
Before publishing
Check fairness, visibility and your real loss.
Choose the notice period from your real ability to refill the slot, not because another business uses 24 or 48 hours.
State exactly how a customer can cancel or reschedule and make that route visible before the booking is confirmed.
Review every deposit, retained prepayment or cancellation charge for fairness, transparency and proportionality.
Do not assume a fixed percentage or full-service charge is automatically fair merely because it appears in a template.
Consider what loss can reasonably be reduced by refilling the slot or avoiding costs that would otherwise have been incurred.
Separate late cancellation, no-show and late-arrival rules where the operational consequences are genuinely different.
State how emergencies or discretionary exceptions are handled so staff do not apply the policy arbitrarily.
Make important terms prominent before the customer is bound; do not reveal a fee only after an appointment is missed.
Keep the policy version, effective date and responsible owner so changes can be explained and reviewed.
Get qualified legal advice where the service, booking channel, customer type or charge creates uncertainty.
A cancellation charge is not fair just because it is written down.
Source review: 2026-09-01. The CMA guidance below was refreshed on 22 July 2026.
For consumer bookings, UK CMA guidance says terms and notices should be fair and transparent. It warns against hidden terms, disproportionate cancellation charges and keeping prepayments without regard to the business’s actual direct loss and reasonable steps to reduce that loss.
GOV.UK / CMA — Writing a fair contract for customersGOV.UK / CMA — Cancelling goods or services