Your rights
I bought something at home or at a hotel or fair sale. Can I cancel it within 3 days?
Key points
- Deadline
- You can cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturdays count as business days; Sundays and federal holidays don't.
- Covers
- Sales of $25 or more at your home, and of $130 or more at other places away from the seller's store, like your workplace, a hotel room, a convention center or a fairground.
- Refund
- Once the seller gets your cancellation, it has 10 business days to refund your payments, return any trade-in and cancel any note you signed.
- Not covered
- Purchases in a store, or made entirely online, by mail or by phone. For those, the seller's return policy decides, unless another law applies.
Yes, for many sales made at your home or at a seller's temporary location, you can cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale, for a full refund and without giving a reason. That is the Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule. It covers sales of $25 or more at your home and $130 or more at places like your workplace, a hotel room, a convention center or a fairground. The seller must tell you about this right and give you two copies of a cancellation form.
It is not a general right to return things. The Cooling-Off Rule doesn't cover purchases in a store, or purchases made entirely online, by mail or by phone. For those, the FTC says the seller's return policy tells you whether you can get a refund, unless another law applies, such as the 3-day right to cancel certain loans secured by your home.
Which sales you can cancel within 3 days
The Cooling-Off Rule covers sales where a seller personally sells to you somewhere other than its own place of business. The FTC lists sales at your home, workplace or dormitory, and at a seller's temporary location, like a hotel or motel room, convention center, fairground or restaurant. It also applies when you invite a salesperson to make a presentation in your home.
- At your home: $25 or more. A sale made at your home is covered if the purchase price is $25 or more, whether it is one contract or several.16 C.F.R. § 429.0(a)
- Anywhere else away from the seller's store: $130 or more. Sales at other covered places, such as your workplace, a dorm lounge or a rented hotel room, convention center, fairground or restaurant, are covered from $130.16 C.F.R. § 429.0(a) · FTC
- The price includes interest and charges. The purchase price means the total you pay or will pay, including all interest and service charges.16 C.F.R. § 429.0(e)
- Personal, family or household use, and any course. The goods or services must be mainly for personal, family or household use. Courses of instruction or training are covered whatever your reason for taking them.16 C.F.R. § 429.0(b)
Sales the Cooling-Off Rule doesn't cover
Some sales can't be cancelled under the rule, even when they happen in a place it normally covers. The rule doesn't cover sales:
- Under $25 at your home, or under $130 at a temporary location.
- Of goods or services not mainly for personal, family or household use.
- Made entirely online, by mail or by phone.
- Made after you finished negotiating at the seller's permanent place of business, where it regularly sells what you bought.
- Needed to meet an emergency that you contacted the seller about.
- Made because you asked the seller to come to your home to repair or maintain your property. Anything extra the seller sells you on that visit, beyond the parts needed for the repair, is covered.
- Of real estate, insurance or securities.
- Of cars, vans, trucks or other motor vehicles at a temporary location, if the seller has at least one permanent place of business.
- Of arts or crafts at fairs or places like shopping malls, civic centers and schools.
A loan secured by your home works differently. If the deal gives you the Truth in Lending right to cancel, that right applies instead. See other federal rights to cancel.
Store and online purchases: no 3-day rule
The Cooling-Off Rule doesn't reach what you buy in a store or entirely online, by mail or by phone. The FTC's advice for those purchases is to check the company's own return policy. A seller's return policy should tell you if you can return the item for a refund and how. Many stores won't take returns or exchanges after a set time, like 30 or 90 days, and some stores, such as some outlet stores, don't allow any returns.
Where a specific rule can still help:
- An online, mail or phone order that doesn't ship on time. If the seller hasn't shipped within the time it promised when you bought, you can cancel the order.
- A credit card charge for something you never got. You can dispute it with your card company as a billing error. Send the dispute within 60 days of the date the first statement with the error was sent to you.
- An online subscription or free trial that keeps charging you. Federal law requires the seller to give you simple ways to stop recurring charges. See subscriptions.
Your 3 business days: how to count them
Your right to cancel for a full refund lasts until midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturday is a business day. Sundays and federal holidays are not. The FTC gives these examples:
- Sale on a Monday, no federal holiday that week: you can cancel until midnight on Thursday.
- Sale on a Monday, and Tuesday is a federal holiday: until midnight on Friday.
- Sale on a Friday, no holiday on the Monday or Tuesday after: until midnight on Tuesday.
- Sale on a Friday, and the next Monday is a federal holiday: until midnight on Wednesday.
The seller must write the last day to cancel on your cancellation form, and that date can't be earlier than the third business day after the sale. You don't have to give a reason. You have a right to change your mind.
What the seller must tell you and give you
- Tell you out loud. At the time you sign or buy, the seller must tell you orally that you have the right to cancel.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(e)
- A dated contract or receipt, in your language. You must get a completed copy of the contract or receipt when you sign. It must show the date and the seller's name and address, be in the same language as the sales pitch, and state in bold near your signature that you may cancel before midnight of the third business day.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(a)
- Two copies of a cancellation form. The form is titled “Notice of Cancellation” or “Notice of Right to Cancel”. One copy is for you to keep and one is to send if you cancel. The seller must fill in its name and business address, the date of the sale and the last day to cancel.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(b)-(c)
- No waiver in the contract. The contract or receipt can't include any waiver of your right to cancel, or a confession of judgment.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(d)
- No misleading you about cancelling. The seller can't misrepresent your right to cancel in any way.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(f)
- Your IOU stays with the seller at first. The seller can't sell or transfer your note or other debt paper to a finance company or anyone else before midnight of the fifth business day after you signed.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(h)
How to cancel, step by step
- Find your deadline. It is midnight of the third business day after the sale. The seller should have written the date on your cancellation form.
- Sign and date one copy of the cancellation form. Keep the other copy. You don't have to give a reason.
- No form? Write your own letter. A short signed and dated letter saying you cancel the sale works. The rule accepts any other written notice. Include the date of the sale and what you bought.
- Send it so you can prove the date. Mail it to the address given for cancellations, postmarked before midnight of your deadline. Use certified mail with a return receipt, so you have proof of when you mailed it and when it arrived. You can also deliver it by hand before the deadline.
- Keep copies of everything. Keep the contract or receipt, your copy of the form or letter, and the mailing receipt.
- Keep the goods ready. Make anything delivered to you available to the seller at your home, in about as good condition as when you got it, or follow the seller's instructions to send it back at the seller's expense and risk.
- Count 10 business days. That is how long the seller has, after it gets your notice, to refund you and to say whether it will pick up the goods.
What to say if the seller pushes back
“All sales are final once you sign.”
You can say: “Under the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule I can cancel until midnight of the third business day. I'm cancelling, and I'm sending the form in writing today.”
“Why do you want to cancel?”
You can say: “I don't have to give a reason. I've changed my mind.”
“What if we take 20 percent off and you keep it?”
You can say: “No, thank you. Please confirm you received my cancellation.”
“There's a cancellation fee.”
You can say: “The notice of cancellation says I can cancel without any penalty or obligation. I expect my full refund within 10 business days.”
“You'll have to ship everything back to us yourself.”
You can say: “The goods are here for you to pick up. If you want them shipped, send me instructions and the shipping will be at your expense and risk.”
“You signed a form giving up your right to cancel.”
You can say: “The rule doesn't allow a contract to waive my right to cancel.”
Saying it on the phone doesn't replace the written notice. Send the signed form or your letter before the deadline even if you have already told the seller.
After you cancel: your refund and the goods
- Refund within 10 business days. Within 10 business days after receiving your notice, the seller must refund all your payments, return any trade-in in about as good condition as when it got it, cancel and return any check or note you signed, and end any security interest from the sale.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(g)
- It must tell you about the goods. In the same 10 business days, the seller must tell you whether it will pick up the goods delivered to you or leave them with you.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(i)
- Not picked up in 20 days? You may keep them. If you make the goods available and the seller doesn't pick them up within 20 days of your notice, you may keep or get rid of them with no further obligation. If you agree to mail them back, the seller must reimburse your mailing costs.16 C.F.R. § 429.1(b) · FTC
If the seller didn't give you the form or won't cancel
Leaving out the cancellation forms, not telling you about your right to cancel, or refusing a valid cancellation are all unfair and deceptive practices under the FTC's rule. What to do:
- No form? Don't wait for one. Write your own cancellation letter and make sure it is postmarked within three business days of the sale.
- Seller ignores your cancellation? Keep your mailing receipt and copies. The FTC suggests a written complaint to the business, sent by certified mail with a return receipt, that says what you want and how long you will wait.
- Paid by credit card? If a dispute about the purchase comes up, tell your card company you want to dispute the charge.
- Report it. Tell the FTC and your state attorney general or local consumer protection office. Some state laws give you more rights than the Cooling-Off Rule, and some local offices can help resolve your complaint.
Other federal rights to cancel
A refinance or home equity loan: 3 business days. The Truth in Lending Act gives you a right to cancel, called the right of rescission, for most mortgages that are not used to buy your home, such as a refinance or a home equity loan.
- Midnight of the third business day. The clock starts only after all three have happened: you sign the loan contract, you get the Truth in Lending disclosure (usually the Closing Disclosure), and you get two copies of a notice of your right to cancel. Saturdays count; Sundays and legal public holidays don't.CFPB · 12 C.F.R. § 1026.23(a)(3), (b)
- Cancel in writing. Tell the lender in writing, with the form it gave you or a letter. You can't cancel just by calling or visiting. The notice counts when you mail it.CFPB · 12 C.F.R. § 1026.23(a)(2)
- Money back within 20 calendar days. After the lender gets your notice, it must return the money or property you paid in the loan within 20 calendar days, and the security interest in your home becomes void.12 C.F.R. § 1026.23(d)
- Up to 3 years if the papers were missing or wrong. If you didn't get the notice or the required disclosures, or certain important information in them was wrong, you may be able to cancel for up to three years after closing. The CFPB says to talk to a lawyer right away if you think this applies.CFPB · 12 C.F.R. § 1026.23(a)(3)
- When there is no right to cancel. A loan to buy or build your main home, a refinance with the same lender that adds no new money, and a loan from a state agency are not covered.CFPB · 12 C.F.R. § 1026.23(f)
Online subscriptions and free trials. Under the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, a seller that signs you up online for a plan that keeps charging you until you cancel must:
- Show all the terms first. Clearly disclose all material terms before taking your billing information.15 U.S.C. § 8403(1)
- Get your consent. Get your express informed consent before charging your card or account.15 U.S.C. § 8403(2)
- Let you stop the charges simply. Provide simple ways for you to stop recurring charges to your card or account.15 U.S.C. § 8403(3)
Cancelling a sale: checklist
- The sale was at my home ($25 or more), or away from the seller's store at a place like my workplace, a hotel or a fairground ($130 or more).
- It isn't an excluded sale, like real estate, insurance, an emergency repair I asked for, crafts at a fair, or a vehicle from a dealer with a permanent lot.
- I know my deadline: midnight of the third business day, counting Saturdays but not Sundays or federal holidays.
- I signed and dated one copy of the cancellation form, or wrote my own letter because I got no form.
- I sent it by certified mail with a return receipt, postmarked before the deadline, and kept a copy.
- The goods are ready for pickup in the condition I got them.
- I wrote down the date. The seller has 10 business days after getting my notice to refund me.
- If the seller broke the rule, I reported it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to my state consumer protection office.
Common questions
Is there a 3-day right to return anything I buy?
No. The Cooling-Off Rule covers sales at your home, workplace or dorm, or at a seller's temporary location, above the price limits. It doesn't cover purchases in a store or made entirely online, by mail or by phone. For those, the seller's return policy tells you whether you can get a refund, unless another law applies.
Do Saturdays count in the 3 business days?
Yes. Saturdays are business days; Sundays and federal holidays are not. A sale on a Friday, with no holiday on the following Monday or Tuesday, can be cancelled until midnight on Tuesday.
Do I have to give the seller a reason for cancelling?
No. You have a right to change your mind. Sign and date the cancellation form, or write your own letter, and send it before the deadline.
What if the seller never gave me a cancellation form?
Write your own cancellation letter, sign and date it, and make sure it is postmarked within three business days of the sale. Send it by certified mail and keep a copy. A seller that doesn't give you the forms is breaking the FTC's rule, so report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.
Can I cancel a car I bought at a tent sale?
Not under the Cooling-Off Rule, if the dealer has at least one permanent place of business. Motor vehicles sold at auctions, tent sales and other temporary places by such dealers are exempt. Check your state's laws and the contract itself.
Can I cancel a refinance after closing?
Usually, yes. For most mortgages not used to buy your home, like a refinance or a home equity loan, you have until midnight of the third business day after the last of: signing, getting the Truth in Lending disclosure, and getting two copies of the notice of your right to cancel. Cancel in writing. See loans and subscriptions.
Official sources
- FTC: Buyer's remorse: the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule may help consumer.ftc.gov
- 16 C.F.R. part 429: Rule concerning cooling-off period for sales made at homes or at certain other locations (1-1-26 edition) govinfo.gov
- FTC: Cooling-off period for sales made at home or other locations (rule page) ftc.gov
- FTC: Solving problems with a business: returns, refunds and other resolutions consumer.ftc.gov
- FTC consumer alert: Outlet shopping: the deal is in the details (return policies) consumer.ftc.gov
- FTC consumer alert: What to do if your online order never arrives consumer.ftc.gov
- CFPB: Can I change my mind after I sign the closing documents for a second mortgage or refinance? consumerfinance.gov
- CFPB: How long do I have to rescind? When does the right of rescission start? consumerfinance.gov
- CFPB: Are there situations where I would not have a right of rescission? consumerfinance.gov
- 12 C.F.R. § 1026.23: Right of rescission, Regulation Z (1-1-25 edition) govinfo.gov
- 15 U.S.C. § 8403: Negative option marketing on the Internet (ROSCA) govinfo.gov
- FTC: Negative Option Rule (rule page and current status) ftc.gov
- 91 FR 6507 (Feb. 12, 2026): FTC revision of the Negative Option Rule to conform to federal court decisions govinfo.gov
- FTC press release (Mar. 11, 2026): public comment on negative option marketing practices ftc.gov
- FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov reportfraud.ftc.gov
- USA.gov: State consumer protection offices usa.gov
- CFPB: Submit a complaint about a financial product or service consumerfinance.gov
Related
This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your situation. Justice is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any court or government agency.