Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in Arkansas
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in Arkansas, 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 Arkansas
The door-to-door window, the categories with their own clocks, and the purchases that are not covered.
| When it applies | What it means |
|---|---|
| Absolute right for three days | The buyer has the absolute right to cancel until midnight of the third calendar day, excluding Sundays and holidays, after signing, under Ark. Code Ann. § 4-89-107(a). Saturday counts, unlike the federal business-day count. |
| The sale must exceed 25 dollars | The right reaches a personal solicitation away from the seller's premises for more than 25 dollars, under § 4-89-102. An exactly 25 dollar sale is not covered, because the statute says the price must exceed that figure. |
| Phone sales are covered | Arkansas expressly reaches seller-initiated telephone sales where the buyer agrees to purchase from the buyer's home. Insurance sales are excluded. |
| No notice, no clock | If the seller fails to give both oral and written notice of the right to cancel, the cooling-off period does not begin to run until actual notice is given, and the buyer is no longer obliged to return the goods in substantially the same condition. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Insurance and licensed professionals | Insurance sales are outside the statute, as are the services of attorneys, real estate brokers, securities dealers, and healthcare professionals. |
| Store and repair-visit sales | Sales following prior negotiations at a fixed business location, and repair or maintenance visits you requested, carry no cooling-off right. Anything at or under 25 dollars is also outside. |
| Goods after twenty days | If the seller does not call for the goods at your address within twenty days after you give notice of cancellation, you may keep them. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in Arkansas. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Count the day carefully
Arkansas counts calendar days minus Sundays and holidays, so Saturday counts against you. Do not assume you have the weekend to decide.
- Check whether you got both notices
If the seller never told you out loud about the right to cancel, or never gave the written form, the three days have not started and you can still cancel.
- Cancel in writing
Send written cancellation to the seller by midnight of the third day. Keep proof of when you delivered or mailed it.
- Complain if a valid cancellation is refused
The Arkansas Attorney General runs a dedicated home-solicitations page. File a complaint there if a seller ignores a timely cancellation.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ Arkansas Attorney General · Home SolicitationsThis 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 Arkansas buyers get wrong about cancelling
Arkansas uses the emphatic phrase absolute right, and it counts days in a way that can catch you out. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 4-89-107 a buyer of a home solicitation sale over 25 dollars can cancel until midnight of the third calendar day, excluding Sundays and holidays, after signing. Because it counts calendar days rather than business days, Saturday counts against you, unlike the federal rule. Note that the price must exceed 25 dollars, so a sale of exactly 25 dollars is not covered. Arkansas has a strong protection for a buyer who was never properly warned. The seller must give both oral and written notice of the right to cancel, and if either is missing the cooling-off period does not begin to run until actual notice is given. At that point you are also released from the duty to return the goods in original condition. Arkansas also reaches seller-initiated telephone sales, and if the seller never collects the goods within twenty days you may keep them. Arkansas does not publish its code free on a state host, so this page relies on a content mirror of the official text.
Common questions
Does Saturday count toward my three days in Arkansas?
Yes. Arkansas counts calendar days minus Sundays and holidays, so Saturday counts against you. This is stricter than the federal rule, whose business day excludes Saturday.
The salesperson never said anything out loud about cancelling. Does that matter?
Yes. Arkansas requires both oral and written notice. Without both, the cooling-off period does not begin to run until actual notice is given, and you no longer have to return the goods in original condition.
My purchase was exactly 25 dollars. Am I covered?
No. The statute requires the price to exceed 25 dollars. A sale of exactly 25 dollars falls outside Arkansas's home solicitation right.
The company never came back for the equipment. Can I keep it?
Yes. If the seller does not call for the goods at your address within twenty days after you give notice of cancellation, you may keep them.
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.