You can cancel Covered California anytime during the year — there is no requirement to wait for open enrollment or a qualifying life event. The marketplace does ask for at least 14 days’ advance notice, and it strongly recommends setting your termination date for the last day of a month, since insurers are not required to refund partial-month premiums. Before you cancel, confirm that replacement coverage is in place, because voluntarily dropping a plan will not qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period, and any months you go uninsured may trigger a California tax penalty.
Year-Round Cancellation Is Allowed
Enrollment in a Covered California plan is generally limited to the annual open enrollment window (November 1 through January 31 for 2026 coverage) or a qualifying life event. Cancellation carries no such restriction. State regulations let you terminate coverage through the exchange whenever you choose, whether you gained employer-sponsored insurance, qualified for Medi-Cal, or simply no longer want the plan.1Cornell Law School. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, 6506 – Termination of Coverage in a QHP There is no legal penalty for leaving the marketplace itself. The penalty that exists applies to being uninsured, not to the act of canceling.
The 14-Day Notice Rule
Covered California requires at least 14 days’ notice before your requested termination date.2Covered California. Cancel Your Plan If you want coverage to end on June 30, contact Covered California by June 16. When you give at least 14 days’ notice, your coverage ends on the date you specified. Give fewer than 14 days and the termination date shifts to 14 days after you submit the request.1Cornell Law School. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, 6506 – Termination of Coverage in a QHP
If you need faster cancellation, call the Covered California service center at (800) 300-1506 or contact your insurance company directly. Those requests are handled case by case.2Covered California. Cancel Your Plan
Pick the Last Day of the Month
Covered California recommends setting your termination date for the last day of the month rather than a mid-month date. Insurers are not obligated to refund prorated premiums. Cancel effective June 15 after paying June’s premium, and your insurer may keep the money for the remaining days.2Covered California. Cancel Your Plan An end-of-month date matches what you have already paid for.
You remain responsible for premiums through the official termination date. If you stop paying before coverage formally ends, you risk a gap that could affect future enrollment or tax filings.
How to Submit Your Cancellation Request
You have three options.
Online
Log in to your account at CoveredCA.com and go to your plan management options. Follow the prompts to request termination, choose your end date, and confirm. Save any confirmation number the system provides.2Covered California. Cancel Your Plan
By Phone
Call (800) 300-1506, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Have your account information and member identification numbers ready; those are printed on the front of your insurance card or on billing statements. Ask the representative for a reference number.3Covered California. Contact Us
By Mail
Send a written request that includes your full name, member identification number, the date you want coverage to end, and your signature. Allow enough mailing time for the letter to arrive at least 14 days before your requested termination date.
Dental and Vision Plans Follow Different Rules
Canceling your health plan does not automatically cancel a stand-alone dental plan bought through the marketplace. You can end dental coverage at any time through the same process. Vision plans must be canceled by calling the vision insurance company directly, because Covered California does not process vision terminations.2Covered California. Cancel Your Plan
Voluntary Cancellation Will Not Reopen Enrollment
This is the single most important thing to understand before you cancel. Voluntarily dropping your Covered California plan does not qualify you for a Special Enrollment Period. A Special Enrollment Period opens after certain life changes, and voluntary cancellation is specifically excluded as a qualifying event.4CMS. Special Enrollment Periods Job Aid If you cancel and then change your mind, you will generally have to wait until the next open enrollment period to get another marketplace plan.
Do not cancel until replacement coverage is confirmed, whether through an employer, Medi-Cal, Medicare, or a spouse’s plan.
When Your Coverage Officially Ends
After you submit the request, Covered California and your insurance company will each send written notice confirming the exact termination date. Under state regulations, the insurer must send this notice within five business days of the termination.1Cornell Law School. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, 6506 – Termination of Coverage in a QHP Keep it. You may need it when filing taxes or proving prior coverage to a new insurer.
Coverage remains active and the insurer must pay eligible claims through the termination date shown on that notice. Once the date passes, your obligation to pay marketplace premiums ends.
The California Individual Mandate Penalty
California requires residents to keep qualifying health coverage for every month of the year. If you cancel and go uninsured, you may owe a penalty on your state income tax return. For the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), the penalty is at least $950 per adult and $450 per dependent child under 18. A family of four uninsured for the full year would face a penalty of at least $2,800.5Covered California. Penalty Details and Exemptions Penalty The California Franchise Tax Board assesses the penalty, and it adjusts annually.
Exemptions exist for income below the state filing threshold and for hardship or religious grounds. The penalty applies only to months you lacked coverage, so canceling partway through the year means a prorated amount rather than the full annual figure.
If You Received Premium Subsidies, Expect a Tax Reconciliation
If advance premium tax credits lowered your monthly premiums, canceling mid-year triggers a filing requirement. You must file IRS Form 8962 with your federal return to reconcile the subsidies you received against the amount you actually qualified for based on your final annual income. This form is required even if you would not otherwise need to file.6IRS.gov. 2025 Instructions for Form 8962 – Premium Tax Credit
To complete Form 8962, you will need Form 1095-A, which the marketplace must send you by January 31 of the year after your coverage.7Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 1095-A – Health Insurance Marketplace Statement Because you were enrolled for fewer than 12 months, calculate your credit on a monthly basis rather than using the annual shortcut on the form.
If your actual income was higher than your enrollment estimate, you may have received more in subsidies than you were entitled to and will owe some or all of the excess back. Repayment is capped based on income, though at 400 percent or more of the federal poverty level there is no cap and the full excess is repaid.8IRS.gov. Instructions for Form 8962 – Premium Tax Credit
Canceling Because of Medicare
If you are approaching 65 or becoming eligible for Medicare, cancel your Covered California plan only after your Medicare enrollment is in place. Marketplace coverage does not count as creditable coverage that would let you delay Medicare Part B without penalty.9Medicare.gov. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties
Stay on a marketplace plan past your initial Medicare enrollment window without signing up for Part B, and you face a late enrollment penalty of 10 percent added to your Part B premium for each full year you delayed. The standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month in 2026, and the penalty applies for as long as you have Part B, typically for life.9Medicare.gov. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties Once you enroll in Medicare, you are also no longer eligible for marketplace premium tax credits, so there is no financial reason to keep a Covered California plan alongside it.