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Consumer rights · Your right

Door-to-door sales in New York: your 3-day right to cancel and get your money back

Updated By The editorial teamNot reviewed by an attorney — based on the official sources below

In short

If a salesperson sold you goods or services at your home or anywhere other than the seller's regular place of business, New York's Door-to-Door Sales Protection Act (Personal Property Law §§ 425–431) and the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule let you cancel until midnight of the third business day after you signed. Cancel in writing; a mailed notice counts when you drop it in the mailbox. The seller must return all your payments, any trade-in and any signed note within 10 days, and pick up the goods from your home. If the seller never told you about this right, you can cancel at any time, by any means, until it does.

Read on for the details, the exceptions and the sources.

In plain words

Door-to-door sale
A sale where the seller personally solicits you and you agree to buy somewhere other than the seller's place of business — usually at home, even if you invited the salesperson.
Cooling-off period
A short window after signing in which you can cancel without penalty.
Notice of cancellation
A tear-off form, in two copies, that the seller must give you with the contract. Signing and sending one cancels the sale.

What is it?

The Door-to-Door Sales Protection Act gives you a "cooling-off" period to cancel contracts signed under high-pressure door-to-door sales tactics (Personal Property Law § 425). You may cancel until midnight of the third business day after the day you signed (§ 427(1)). The seller must give you a completed receipt or contract in the language of the sales pitch, with a bold notice of your right to cancel, two copies of a "Notice of Cancellation" form, and must tell you about the right out loud (§ 428(1)–(2)). The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule sets similar requirements nationwide (16 C.F.R. § 429.1).

Who qualifies?

A buyer of goods or services for personal, family or household use — including courses of instruction — where the seller or its representative personally solicited the sale and you agreed to buy at a place other than the seller's place of business. It counts even if you invited the seller to come (§ 426(1)–(2)). The FTC rule also covers sales at temporary locations such as hotel rooms, convention centers, fairgrounds and restaurants, and at your workplace (16 C.F.R. § 429.0(a)).

  • New York law: any such sale except purchases of $25 or less delivered at one time (§ 426(1)(f)).
  • FTC rule: sales of $25 or more at your home, or $130 or more at other locations (16 C.F.R. § 429.0(a)).

Exceptions

  • You negotiated the deal earlier during a visit to the seller's permanent store (§ 426(1)(a)).
  • You contacted the seller for a genuine personal emergency and gave a separate, dated, handwritten statement waiving the right to cancel (§ 426(1)(b)).
  • The sale was made entirely by mail or phone, with no other contact before delivery (§ 426(1)(c)).
  • You asked the seller to come to repair or maintain your property — but extra goods or services sold during that visit, beyond the parts needed for the repair, are still covered (§ 426(1)(d)).
  • Sales of real estate, insurance, or securities through a registered broker-dealer (§ 426(1)(e)).
  • Under the FTC rule, also vehicles sold at temporary locations by dealers with a permanent place of business, and arts or crafts sold at fairs (16 C.F.R. § 429.3).
  • Home improvement contracts have their own 3-business-day cancellation right (General Business Law § 771(1)(h)).

How much?

Everything you paid. Within 10 days after cancellation, the seller must return all your payments and any note or other evidence of debt, and return any trade-in in substantially as good condition, or pay you the trade-in allowance stated in the agreement (§ 429(1)–(2)). The required notice form adds that any security interest from the sale will be cancelled (§ 428(1)(b)).

If the seller refuses to return your payments within that time, it is liable for them, and if you win in court the judge must award you $100 plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs on top of the payments (§ 429(3)). The seller can't charge you for services it already performed before you cancelled (§ 430(3)).

How is it calculated?

Add up every payment: deposit, down payment, installments and fees, plus the agreed trade-in allowance if the seller doesn't return your trade-in in the same condition. That total is what must come back to you. Nothing is deducted for services already performed (§ 430(3)).

What documents do you need?

  • The contract or receipt — it must show the date, the seller's name and address, and the cancellation notice (§ 428(1)(a)).
  • The two "Notice of Cancellation" forms, if you were given them.
  • Proof of payment.
  • A copy of your cancellation notice and proof of the date you mailed or delivered it.

How do you get it?

  1. Write your cancellation

    Sign and date one copy of the Notice of Cancellation, or write any note that shows you don't want to be bound — the form isn't required (§ 427(4)).

  2. Send it before the deadline

    Mail or deliver it to the seller's address. If you mail it, it counts as given when you deposit it in a mailbox, properly addressed and stamped (§ 427(3)). Proof of mailing, such as certified mail, helps.

  3. Make the goods available

    Keep the goods in good condition and let the seller collect them from your home; you don't have to deliver them anywhere else (§ 430(1)–(2)).

  4. Wait for the refund

    Payments, notes and trade-ins are due back within 10 days (§ 429(1)).

What if they refuse?

Until the seller returns your payments, you can keep the goods and have a lien on them for what you're owed (§ 429(4)). If the seller doesn't ask for the goods within a reasonable time after cancellation — presumed to be 20 days — they become yours without any obligation to pay (§ 430(1)). You can sue for your payments plus $100 and attorney's fees (§ 429(3)), for example in small claims court, and complain to the Attorney General. If a finance company bought your contract, it is subject to your claims and defenses against the seller (§ 431(2)).

Deadlines

  • Midnight of the third business day after the day you signed (§ 427(1)).
  • Under New York law, a business day is any day except Sunday and certain listed holidays — so Saturdays count (§ 426(6)). Under the FTC rule, Sundays and federal holidays don't count (16 C.F.R. § 429.0(f)).
  • For personal emergency response services (medical alert systems), the window is the seventh business day (§ 427(1)).
  • If the seller didn't give you the written notices or tell you orally about your right, you can cancel by any means, and the 3-day period only starts once the seller complies (§ 428(2)).
  • The seller must refund within 10 days of cancellation (§ 429(1)).

Figures that change

  • FTC Cooling-Off Rule thresholds: $25 or more at home; $130 or more at other temporary locations (as of 2026-10-30; FTC Cooling-Off Rule — definitions, 16 C.F.R. § 429.0)

Frequently asked questions

I invited the salesperson to my home. Can I still cancel?

Yes. New York's definition of a door-to-door sale includes sales made in response to or following an invitation by the buyer (§ 426(1)). An exception applies only if you asked the seller to come to repair or maintain your property, and even then extra goods or services sold during the visit are covered.

Do Saturdays count toward the 3 days?

Under New York law, yes: a business day is any day except Sunday and certain holidays (§ 426(6)). Count carefully, and send your notice as early as you can.

The salesperson never mentioned any right to cancel. What now?

Until the seller gives you the required written notices and tells you orally, you can cancel by notifying it in any manner, and the 3-day period hasn't started (§ 428(2)).

What if the seller doesn't come to pick up the goods?

Make them available at your home. If the seller doesn't demand them within a reasonable time — presumed to be 20 days — they become yours without any obligation to pay (§ 430(1)).

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This page is general information based on the official sources listed, current as of the update date. It is not legal advice and does not replace a review of your own situation; if a case is already in court, a deadline is close, the amount is large, or there are criminal, immigration or family-law consequences, talk to a lawyer or legal aid.