How to Request a Refund for a Booking or Reservation
If you need to cancel a booking or reservation and request a refund, Rec and your city partner make the process straightforward.
Step 1: Check the Refund Policy for Your City
Each city has its own refund policy. You can find the policy:
On your booking receipt, or
In the confirmation email you received when booking.
Common rules include:
Refund requests usually must be made a certain number of days before the class or reservation.
Some cities allow refunds for extreme weather events.
If a class is canceled by the coach and not rescheduled in time, a refund is issued as account credit.
If a class is canceled by the user, refunds may be subject to administrative fees.
Step 2: Request a Refund
After confirming your city's policy:
For eligible court and facility reservations, and for most program registrations, cancel it yourself in your Rec account using the Cancel Reservation button — see How do I cancel or modify my reservation? You confirm with a checkbox that you understand you are giving up your spot and may not receive a refund. Where the policy allows a refund, it is issued automatically.
If you do not see a cancel option, or the cancellation window has passed, reach out to your local parks and recreation department directly. If the policy allows a refund, they can process it for you.
Special note: San Francisco Pickleball and Tennis courts
If you are requesting a refund for a court issue such as weather for SF Parks and Recreation Pickleball or Tennis, please read the San Francisco court bookings, cancellations and refunds policy before submitting a request. For SF courts, refunds to credit are handled automatically and you do not need to contact anyone.
How your refund is issued
If your refund request falls within the policy, it is issued in one of the ways below. Which one you receive is set by the policy of the Parks & Recreation department or organization running the activity — not by Rec, and not by your own preference.
Account Credit – added to your Rec account at no extra fee, and available immediately. Account credit can only be used with the organization that issued it, so a credit from one city cannot be used to book with another. See Account Credit: What it is and How to Use It. Some amounts always come back as account credit regardless of the department's policy: the price difference when a registration is transferred to a lower-priced section, and anything paid with a scholarship. Neither is returned to an original payment method.
Payment Method Refund – returned to your original payment method. A small transaction fee charged by the payment processor may apply, though the department can choose to refund that processing fee along with the refund.
Check or another method handled by the organization – some cities and districts issue refunds through their own finance department rather than through Rec. See the timing note below.
Some cancellations may also have administrative fees according to the organization's policy. Where they apply, these fees are deducted from the refund amount.
Timing of Refunds
How quickly you receive your refund depends on the method your organization uses to issue it.
Account credit – Available in your Rec account right away, as soon as the refund is processed.
Credit or debit card – Typically takes 3–5 business days to appear on your statement. This delay is due to your bank's processing times, not Rec.
Check or other methods – These refunds follow the city or district's payment schedule and can take considerably longer — often several weeks.
Because timing depends on how your organization handles refunds, please check your organization's refund policy for specifics. You can find it on your booking receipt or in your booking confirmation email. If the policy isn't clear about timing, contact your Parks and Recreation department directly — they set the schedule for non-card refunds.
If You Need Assistance
Start with your refund email. The department can include a note in it explaining how the refund was handled, and that note often answers the question. If, after reading it, you believe your refund was not processed correctly or needs further review, reach out to your local parks and recreation department directly. They can review the request and confirm how it will be handled.