Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in Missouri
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in Missouri, 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 Missouri
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 until midnight of the third business day after signing a complying agreement, under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.705. A business day means any day except Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. |
| Only financed sales at a residence | The right reaches only a consumer credit sale solicited at your residence, under § 407.700. A cash purchase, or one closed at a hotel or workplace, is outside the state statute. |
| The note comes back stamped cancelled | The seller must return any note within ten days with the word cancelled stamped conspicuously on the face, under § 407.715, a concrete obligation unique to Missouri's drafting. |
| No fee for work already done | If the seller performed services before cancellation, it is entitled to no compensation, under § 407.720. Goods become yours if unclaimed, with twenty days presumed reasonable. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cash and off-residence sales | A cash door-to-door sale, or one closed at a hotel, fair, or workplace, is outside the statute, because it reaches only credit sales at a residence. The federal rule is then the only floor. |
| Real property, by name | Missouri excludes real property or any interest in it, and personal property sold incident to a real property sale, along with sales under a preexisting revolving charge account. |
| Emergency with a substantial start | Under § 407.705.3 there is no cancellation where you requested emergency performance, the seller substantially began, and the goods cannot be returned in substantially as good condition. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in Missouri. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Check whether you financed the purchase
Missouri's three-day right reaches only consumer credit sales at your residence. If you paid cash, or signed at a hotel, use the federal FTC rule instead.
- Cancel in writing within the window
Send written cancellation to the address in the agreement by midnight of the third business day. Mailed notice counts on deposit, and Saturday does not count in the deadline.
- Make sure your note comes back cancelled
The seller must return any promissory note within ten days with cancelled stamped conspicuously on its face, under § 407.715. Insist on it.
- Complain if a valid cancellation is refused
File a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ Missouri Attorney General · Consumer ComplaintThis 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 Missouri buyers get wrong about cancelling
Missouri's cooling-off right is credit-only, so the first question is always how you paid. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.705 you have three business days to cancel a home solicitation sale, but § 407.700 defines the covered transaction as a consumer credit sale solicited at your residence. Pay cash at the door and you are outside the state statute, reliant on the federal FTC rule. Missouri is also one of the few states that excludes real property and anything sold incident to it by name, so a door-to-door land or lot pitch is outside the sections entirely. Where the statute applies, it is precise on the back end. The seller must return your promissory note within ten days with the word cancelled stamped conspicuously on the face, a checkable obligation few other states spell out. And if the seller already performed services, it gets nothing. Missouri defines a business day to exclude Saturday, so your deadline falls later than in Saturday-counting states. The official host refused direct access, so the text was read through a reader route to the official page.
Common questions
I paid cash at my door in Missouri. Do I get three days?
Not under §§ 407.700 to 407.720, which cover consumer credit sales. A cash buyer relies on the federal FTC rule, which gives three business days for a sale of 25 dollars or more at your residence.
The salesperson came to my office, not my house. Am I covered?
No. Section 407.700 requires solicitation at a residence of the buyer, so a workplace sale falls outside the state statute. Use the federal rule's 130 dollar off-residence branch.
Do I owe for work the contractor already did before I cancelled?
No. Under § 407.720.3, if the seller performed services before cancellation it is entitled to no compensation.
They still have my signed promissory note. What must they do?
Return it within ten days with the word cancelled stamped conspicuously on the face, under § 407.715.1.
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.