What is a cooling-off period?

Some sales are built to push you into a quick yes: a visit at your door, a long presentation in a hotel ballroom, a pitch at a fair. A cooling-off period answers that pressure with time. You get a short window to think it over and cancel without having to give a reason.

There is no general cooling-off right for every purchase, and people often assume there is one. Buying in a shop and changing your mind later does not give you one, and a store's return policy is a choice the store made, not a legal right. A cooling-off period exists only where a law or your contract creates it. A related legal idea, covered in our guide on the right of rescission, lets you undo certain home-secured credit deals.

The rule covers purchases with minimum values: a lower one for sales at your home and a higher one for sales at a temporary location. Check the FTC's page for the current figures, because the agency can adjust them.

A worked example: you sign a contract at your kitchen table on a Friday. Saturday is the first business day, Sunday does not count, so Monday is the second and Tuesday the third. Your notice must be postmarked by midnight on Tuesday. If a federal holiday fell on Monday, the deadline would move to Wednesday.

The postmark rule works in your favor. The notice counts when it is mailed, so send it by a method that gives you a dated record.

The FTC rule is narrow. It leaves out these categories:

• Real estate, insurance and securities.
• Sales you complete entirely by phone, mail or the internet, with no visit from the seller and no meeting at a temporary location.
• Sales that fall below the dollar limits.
• Sales made at the seller's permanent place of business.
• Emergency repairs you ask for, and certain other categories the FTC lists, such as arts and crafts sold at some fairs or shopping malls.

The online and phone exclusion surprises many people. Signing up for a subscription on a website or by phone does not come with a federal three-day right. If you want out of one of those, the route is the company's terms and your state's laws, which are covered in automatic renewal laws by state.

State law and the contract can give you more than the FTC rule does. Several states set their own cooling-off periods for categories such as health clubs, home solicitation sales or vacation ownership, and the length varies. The rescission period in a timeshare contract is one example: the FTC notes that it depends on state law and your contract, so the dates on your own paperwork come first. Our timeshare cancellation guide explains how to find it and cancel in writing.

A contract can also give you a trial or review period of its own, and a seller may simply promise a longer return window than any law requires. Read the cancellation clause for words such as trial period, review period, rescission or notice of cancellation, and note whether the period runs from the signing date, the delivery date or the date you receive a form.

1. 1

   Note the date and the place of the sale

   Where you signed decides which rule applies. Write down the date, the place and the name of the salesperson.

2. 2

   Find the cancellation form

   A seller under the FTC rule must give you a form. If you did not get one, write your own notice that says you are cancelling the sale, with the date, and sign it.

3. 3

   Send it before the deadline

   Count three business days, counting Saturdays and skipping Sundays and federal holidays. The notice must be postmarked by midnight of the last day. Use the cancellation deadline calculator to check your date, and keep a dated record of mailing. Our guide to certified mail for cancellations shows what each record proves.

4. 4

   Follow up on the refund

   If the 10 days pass without a refund, write again, keep your copies and see what to do when a company keeps charging you.