How to set membership expiration dates on WordPress

Decide whether members should expire after a set period, such as 30 days or one year, or on the same calendar date, such as 31 December. These are different rules: a duration is calculated from signup, while a fixed date applies to members regardless of when they join.

Also decide whether renewal is manual or automatic. For a fixed-term membership, the member pays once, loses protected access at expiry, and renews through checkout. Recurring billing should not be combined with an expiry date unless you understand how your membership plugin handles both settings.

In Paid Memberships Pro, go to Memberships > Settings > Levels, then add a level or edit an existing one. In the level’s expiration settings, enable Membership Expiration and set the duration in the Expires In fields, such as 1 month or 1 year.

For a manual-renewal membership, set the initial payment and leave the recurring subscription option unchecked. Save the level, then check out with a test account to confirm that the expected expiry date is created.

A standard duration is not enough if every member must expire on a date such as 31 December. Paid Memberships Pro’s core level settings calculate expiry from signup, so a specific or variable calendar date needs an add-on or custom development.

With the Paid Memberships Pro Set Expiration Dates AddOn, edit the level and use its expiration-date field. You can enter a fixed date in YYYY-MM-DD format or use date placeholders for rules such as the first day of the following year. The add-on overrides the level’s normal expiration period.

To change one member’s end date, go to Memberships > Members and open the member’s edit screen. In the Memberships panel, choose Edit Membership, set the expiration date, and save the change.

If the member has an active recurring subscription, do not change the local date without deciding what should happen at the payment gateway. Cancelling the subscription may be required if the member must stop being billed when access ends.

Test the complete expiry path with a test member: confirm the expiration date appears in the member account, protected pages stop being available after expiry, and the member can find the renewal route. Paid Memberships Pro’s account page can display active levels and their expiration dates.

Check the email templates and deliverability as well. Paid Memberships Pro sends an expiration notice before the end date, while additional reminder intervals require an expiration-warning add-on. Do not assume reminders are working until you inspect the email log or receive a test message.

If you already use Paid Memberships Pro and need different expiry dates by level, individual member overrides, or fixed calendar dates, install and activate the Paid Memberships Pro Set Expiration Dates AddOn. Go to Memberships > Add Ons, install it, then configure the added expiration field while editing a level or discount code.

This is faster and safer than maintaining custom access checks, user metadata, scheduled jobs, renewal logic, and gateway cancellation rules yourself. The manual route is fine for a small site with simple fixed terms, but the add-on is the practical choice for calendar-based memberships and several membership levels.