How to cancel a contract with a notice period

• The renewal or billing date: the day the next term or charge starts.
• The notice period: how many days before that date the company needs your notice, for example 30 days.
• The counting rule: whether notice counts from the day you send it, shown by the postmark, or the day the company receives it.

If the contract does not say how notice is counted, plan for receipt. It is the stricter reading, and a delivery record lets you prove you met it.

Several state laws require a reminder before certain contracts renew, which gives you the deadline in writing. In Illinois, a contract with a term of 12 months or more that renews for more than a month needs written notice 30 to 60 days before the cancellation deadline (815 ILCS 601/10). Vermont and the District of Columbia set a 30 to 60 day window for similar contracts (9 V.S.A. § 2454a, D.C. Code § 28A-203), and New York sets 15 to 45 days for an initial paid term of a year or more (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 527-a). Keep the reminder: it states the deadline the company itself set.

1. 1

   Start from the renewal date

   Use the date on your contract, your last bill or the renewal reminder.

2. 2

   Count back the notice period

   Subtract the notice days in calendar days unless the contract says business days. The result is your cut-off: the date the company must have your notice by, or the latest postmark date if sending is enough.

3. 3

   Add transit time if notice counts from receipt

   USPS lists First-Class Mail at 1 to 5 days. Count back 5 more delivery days from the cut-off to find the last day to post. USPS holidays are days with no mail service, so leave them out of the count.

4. 4

   Add a margin

   USPS says delivery time is not guaranteed. Post a few days earlier than the last safe day, especially near holidays.

5. 5

   Send it by Certified Mail

   Present it at a Post Office counter to get a postmarked receipt, and track it until it shows delivered.

The cancellation deadline calculator runs these steps for any renewal date and notice period and leaves out Sundays and USPS holidays for you.

Your membership renews on June 30 and the contract asks for 30 days' notice, received by the company. Thirty calendar days before June 30 is May 31, so the company must have your letter by May 31.

With up to 5 days in transit, you need to post the letter 5 delivery days before May 31. That puts the last safe day around May 26, and earlier when a day with no delivery falls in between, such as Memorial Day, a USPS holiday at the end of May. The calculator checks the exact dates. Posting a week before that gives you a margin for delays.

If the same contract counted notice from the postmark, a letter postmarked by May 31 would be on time. Ask for a hand-cancelled postmark at the counter so the date matches the day you mailed it; USPS applies it free of charge.

Notice counts from receipt: post at least 5 delivery days before the cut-off. Notice counts from sending: get a postmark dated on or before the cut-off.

Certified Mail is an extra service added to First-Class Mail or Priority Mail, so the delivery time to plan with is that of the mail class. USPS lists First-Class Mail at 1 to 5 days and Priority Mail at 2 to 3 days (USPS).

The actual time depends on where the letter starts and where it goes. The USPS Transit Time Map shows the expected delivery days from your ZIP Code to different areas. USPS says exceptions apply and delivery time is not guaranteed, which is why the 5-day top of the range is the safe number to plan with.

Unless your contract says otherwise, sending early is the simplest way to stay safe. Two cases need a closer look:

• Fixed terms. If you are inside a minimum term, notice may only end the contract at the end of that term. Say in the letter that you are giving notice to end the contract at the earliest date it allows.
• Notice windows. Some contracts accept notice only in a window, such as the last 60 days before renewal. A letter sent before the window opens may not count, so check the clause and send it inside the window.

In both cases, a letter that states the end date you want, or “the earliest date permitted under my agreement”, avoids a dispute about which renewal it applies to.

Save the tracking page once it shows delivered, and keep the receipt with your copy of the letter. If the company confirms a different end date, compare it with the delivery date and the notice clause and reply in writing. If a charge appears after the date your cancellation should have taken effect, see what to do if a company keeps charging you.

Need the letter itself? Use the cancellation letter template, or read how it works to have it posted for you the next business day.