Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in Massachusetts
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts
The door-to-door window, the categories with their own clocks, and the purchases that are not covered.
| When it applies | What it means |
|---|---|
| Three business days after signing | The buyer may cancel by notifying the seller not later than midnight of the third business day after signing, under M.G.L. c. 93, § 48(A). Notice may be by ordinary mail, telegram, or delivery. |
| The seller cannot begin work during the three days | Under § 48(J), a seller of services may not commence the service during the three-day cancellation period, and if you cancel you owe nothing for work done in that window. A contractor who shows up the next morning takes the risk. |
| Over 25 dollars, cash or credit, anywhere off-premises | The right reaches any sale, lease, or service over 25 dollars signed away from the seller's address, whether or not it involves credit, under § 48(A). Exactly 25 dollars is outside the section. |
| Ten-business-day refund, no fee | The seller must refund within ten business days, including any down payment, and may not sell your note before the fifth business day, under § 48(D) and (I). No cancellation fee is allowed. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sales at the seller's address | A sale consummated at an address of the seller, its main office or a branch, is outside the section, along with any sale of 25 dollars or less. |
| Federal rescission and emergencies | A transaction where you already have a rescission right under the state Consumer Credit Cost Disclosure Act is excluded, as is a buyer-initiated emergency where the goods or services are needed at once. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in Massachusetts. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Stop the work if it starts early
A Massachusetts seller of services may not begin work during your three days, under § 48(J), and you owe nothing for work done in that window. Tell a contractor who arrives early to wait.
- Check your contract for missing terms
If any required or agreed term is missing, or you never got a signed copy, your three days have not started, under § 48(B). Keep whatever paperwork you did receive.
- Cancel in writing within the window
Send written cancellation to the seller by midnight of the third business day, by mail, telegram, or delivery. Keep proof of when you sent it.
- Use a 93A demand letter if refused
A violation of § 48 is a Chapter 93A violation. A 30-day demand letter can unlock multiple damages and attorney fees. File a complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ Massachusetts Attorney General · Consumer ComplaintsThis 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 Massachusetts buyers get wrong about cancelling
Massachusetts gives home-improvement buyers a protection most states do not: the seller cannot even start the work during your cooling-off period. Under M.G.L. c. 93, § 48 you have three business days to cancel an agreement over 25 dollars signed away from the seller's address, and section 48(J) forbids a seller of services from commencing the service during those three days, adding that you owe nothing for work performed in that window if you cancel. A contractor who shows up the next morning is taking the risk, not you. Massachusetts also has the broadest clock-start rule around. Leave out any required or agreed term, or fail to hand you a signed copy, and the three days never start running until it is corrected, under § 48(B). And selling the paper to a finance company does not cure the defect. Massachusetts covers sales cash or credit, at hotels and fairgrounds, not just at your home. The one place the federal rule is better is a sale of exactly 25 dollars, because Massachusetts requires a value in excess of 25 dollars. The official legislature host refused direct access, so the text was read through a reader route to the official page.
Common questions
Can the contractor start work during my three days in Massachusetts?
No. Under § 48(J), a seller of services may not commence the service during the three-day cancellation period, and you are not responsible for the value of work performed in that window if you cancel.
They left a term out of my contract. When do my three days start?
Not until it is corrected. Under § 48(B), failing to include any required or agreed term, or to deliver a signed copy, means the cancellation period does not begin until the failure is fixed.
I bought at a hotel presentation, not at my home. Am I covered?
Yes. Section 48 keys on signing away from an address of the seller, so a hotel-room or fairground sale over 25 dollars is covered.
My purchase was exactly 25 dollars. Am I covered?
Not under § 48, which requires a value in excess of 25 dollars. The federal FTC rule's 25 dollars or more residence branch may reach it, though.
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.