# Editing a membership

> Change a membership expiry date or switch it to a different package from the admin, without taking a payment or issuing a refund.

Canonical: https://www.clubpal.app/docs/membership/editing-a-membership
Section: Membership

Sometimes a membership needs adjusting after it has been bought: a member has paid you by bank transfer and needs another year, a family has moved onto a different package, or a renewal date needs correcting. Admins can make those changes directly, without taking a payment or issuing a refund.

Editing a membership requires the **Manage Membership** permission.

## Opening the editor

The **Edit Membership** option is available from two places:

- A member's own record, at **Admin > Members**, then open the member
- The package detail page, at **Admin > Membership > Packages**, then open the package to see the memberships on it

Both open the same **Edit Membership** window.

## What you can change

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Package** | Moves the membership onto a different package. |
| **Expiry Date** | Sets the date the membership runs to. Required, and cannot be in the past. |
| **Note** | An optional reason for the change, recorded against the membership's history. |

Click **Save Changes** to apply them.

> **Note**
>
> No payment is taken and no refund is issued. If moving to a dearer package leaves a balance owing, or a cheaper one leaves the member in credit, settle that with the member separately.

## Which memberships can be edited

A membership can be edited while its status is **Active**, **Trial**, **Lapsed** or **Pending Approval**. In any other status the fields are shown but cannot be changed.

Extending a **Lapsed** membership past today's date reinstates it as **Active**, so a member who lapsed and has since paid you directly does not need to buy again.

See [Membership status](https://www.clubpal.app/docs/membership/membership-status) for what each status means.

## Switching package

Switching package keeps the existing expiry date. A straight swap between packages does not move the member's renewal date, so if the new package should run to a different date, change **Expiry Date** yourself at the same time.

A package switch is rejected when:

- The target package is archived
- The target package allows fewer members than the membership already has, for example moving a family of four onto a package with a limit of two

Two other things follow the switch automatically:

- **Member groups**: groups assigned by the old package are removed only if that package is set to remove them on expiry. The new package's groups are added. See [Groups](https://www.clubpal.app/docs/membership/member-groups).
- **Auto-renewal**: if the new package does not allow renewals, auto-renewal is switched off for the membership.

## What gets recorded

Every change is written to the membership's notes, along with the optional **Note** you typed. That gives you a history of who changed what and why, which matters when a member queries their renewal date months later.

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: Does the member get an email when I edit their membership?**
A: No. The change is silent, so tell the member yourself if they need to know.

**Q: Can I shorten a membership?**
A: Yes, as long as the new expiry date is not in the past.

**Q: Can I edit a cancelled or expired membership?**
A: No. Only Active, Trial, Lapsed and Pending Approval memberships can be edited.

**Q: Does editing a membership change what the member paid?**
A: No. Payments and refunds are handled separately, through [Payments](https://www.clubpal.app/docs/payments/overview).