Membership Term: The membership term is January 1st to December 31st. When selecting a membership payment plan (annually or monthly), the member agrees and understands that New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) membership is a year-long membership term. Members are obligated to fulfill their membership payment(s) for the duration of the entire membership term.
Annual Payments: When the member selects annual payments, membership dues should be paid in full on or before January 1st via check, credit card, debit card, or wire transfer to maintain membership for the entire membership term. Cash is not an acceptable form of membership dues payment.
Monthly Payments: NYSBA offers a budget-friendly, monthly payment plan. When the member selects monthly payments, the first payment is due on the day of membership enrollment with subsequent payments spread out over the remaining months in the membership term.Recurring payments will occur on the first day of each month until the member chooses to cancel membership or change payment types. Recurring payments will be charged to the credit, debit, or bank card the member has on file with NYSBA. Check and cash payments are not acceptable forms of membership dues payments under the monthly payment plan.
Auto-Renew Program: When a member joins the Auto Renew Program, membership renewsautomatically annually on January 1st at the corresponding dues level based on years of admission or selected membership level (i.e., Sustaining). Payments will recur annually, or monthly until cancelled by contacting the Member Resource Center at 800.582.2452.
Follow-Up When Payment is Declined: Approximately 90 days, 60 days, and 30 days prior to credit card expiration date, member will be contacted via email that their credit card information needs to be updated. This email will be sent approximately 10 days prior to the first of the month. For example,
Example #1:
Scheduled Payment = November 1st
E-mail delivered = October 18th
- If card expires October 31st
- If card expires November 30th
- If card expires December 31st
E-mail indicates card is expired. The card will expire at the time of scheduled payment.
E-mail indicates card will expire next month and to update it accordingly.
E-mail indicates card will expire in two months and to update it accordingly.
Example #2:
Scheduled Payment = December 1st
E-mail delivered = November 17th
- If card expires November 30th
- If card expires December 31st
- If card expires January 31st
E-mail indicates card is expired. The card will expire at the time of scheduled payment.
E-mail indicates card will expire next month and to update it accordingly.
E-mail indicates card will expire in two months and to update it accordingly.
Credit card payment will be pulled as scheduled on the first of the month. In the event of a declined credit, debit, or bank card payment, member will receive an email notice from the NYSBA Treasurer notifying the member that their payment was declined and access to membership benefits will cease in 30 days if the credit card on file is not updated. NYSBA will contact the member via phone call once within that month to attempt to collect payment and update credit card information.
If the dues payment is not collected after the fifth notice (4 emails and 1 phone call), membership will be cancelled and access to member benefits will be discontinued 30 days after credit card payment is declined.
Membership Drops: For those who pay annually, NYSBA will send renewing members 6 print invoices and 6 eblast invoices to the preferred direct mail billing addresses and preferred email billing address the member has on file. Invoices will be sent in October, November, December, January, February, and March.
Cancellations: In the event a member elects to cancel or otherwise terminate their annual membership, they agree to pay the remaining balance satisfying their annual membership term in full at time of cancellation. The member will retain access to NYSBA member benefits for the entire membership term (January 1st through December 31st).
If NYSBA is unable to collect the outstanding balance, access to NYSBA member benefits will be discontinued immediately. If the member chooses to rejoin NYSBA within the same calendar year, they will be responsible for paying the outstanding dues balance in full prior to rejoining.
Refunds: NYSBA is not obligated to issue refunds for cancelled memberships. Full refunds or partial refunds for cancelled memberships will be considered and issued at the discretion of NYSBA and are not guaranteed. To request a full or partial refund, please contact [email protected] and provide a brief explanation of the purpose of the cancellation and request for the full or partial refund.