Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in Alaska
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in Alaska, the longer windows for timeshares and other categories, and why there is no general three-day right to return a car. Cited to the statute.
When the cooling-off right applies in Alaska
The door-to-door window, the categories with their own clocks, and the purchases that are not covered.
| When it applies | What it means |
|---|---|
| Five business days to revoke | A buyer may revoke the offer to buy within five business days of entering the contract, under AS 45.02.350(a). Revocation is effective on tendering the goods back to the seller or on posting a registered letter marked for the addressee only. |
| Only ten dollars needed | The right attaches to any door-to-door sale of ten dollars or more, the lowest threshold in the region and far below the federal 25 and 130 dollar lines. |
| Phone sales are covered | AS 45.02.350(d) defines a personal solicitation to include one made by telephone, so a sale a salesperson closed with you over the phone is inside the statute. |
| The seller pays return shipping | AS 45.02.350(b) puts the cost of returning rejected goods on the seller. The statute sits inside Alaska's Uniform Commercial Code sales article, so it is drafted as revoking the offer to buy rather than cancelling. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Prior negotiations at a store | A sale that followed prior negotiations during your visit to a fixed retail location is outside the statute, as is any sale conducted and consummated entirely by mail. |
| Emergencies and repair calls | A purchase you sought for a bona fide immediate personal emergency is excluded, and Alaska requires no signed waiver for it. A visit you asked for to repair or maintain your own property is also excluded. |
| Sales at your workplace | A sale conducted at the buyer's place of business falls outside the section, as does any purchase under ten dollars. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in Alaska. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Act within five business days
Alaska gives you five business days to revoke, two more than the federal rule. Do not wait the federal three if you can move faster.
- Send notice you can prove
Post a registered letter marked "Deliver to Addressee Only, Return Receipt," or tender the goods back to the seller. Either one makes your revocation effective.
- Do not pay to ship it back
The seller bears the cost of returning rejected goods under AS 45.02.350(b). If a seller demands you pay shipping, point to the statute.
- Complain if a valid revocation is refused
If a seller ignores a timely revocation, contact the Alaska Department of Law, Consumer Protection Unit.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ Alaska Department of Law · Consumer ProtectionThis is general consumer information, not legal advice. The category, the notice, and the deadline all matter, so confirm your right against the statute and use the complaint route if a valid cancellation is refused.
What Alaska buyers get wrong about cancelling
Alaska buried its cooling-off right inside its Uniform Commercial Code sales article, which is why the drafting talks about revoking the offer to buy rather than cancelling. Under AS 45.02.350 a door-to-door purchase of ten dollars or more can be revoked within five business days, and the statute expressly defines a personal solicitation to include one made by telephone, so a sale closed over the phone is covered. Two features stand out. The seller pays the cost of shipping rejected goods back. And the revocation right is not a bolt-on: the contract does not take effect at all unless it contains the revocation term and the seller hands over written notice. The honest limits are worth naming. Alaska's section sets no deadline for the seller to refund you and has no one-year window for a seller who never gave notice, so on those points the federal rule fills the gap. The official Alaska legislature host blocks automated access, so this page relies on two independent full-text mirrors that agree word for word.
Common questions
Is Alaska really five days, not three?
Yes. AS 45.02.350 gives five business days to revoke a door-to-door sale, two more than the federal three-day rule. Alaska is one of the most generous states on the length of the window.
Does the Alaska rule cover a sale closed over the phone?
Yes. AS 45.02.350(d) defines a personal solicitation to include one made by telephone, so a sale a salesperson closed with you by phone is inside the five-business-day right.
Who pays to ship the goods back in Alaska?
The seller. AS 45.02.350(b) puts the cost of returning rejected goods on the seller, not the buyer.
How fast does the seller have to refund me in Alaska?
Alaska's statute does not say. It sets no refund deadline, so use the federal rule's ten-business-day refund duty as your floor.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.