Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in Oregon
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in Oregon, 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 Oregon
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 or paying | The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing a compliant agreement or paying by cash or check, under Or. Rev. Stat. § 83.720. Starting the clock on payment squarely covers cash buyers. |
| Saturday does not count | A business day excludes Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, under § 83.710. That makes an identical three-day window materially longer in Oregon than in Saturday-counting states. |
| No general threshold | Credit sales of any size are covered, and cash or check sales of 25 dollars or more, at your residence, workplace, or a rented hotel room. Oregon is not a credit-only state. |
| Goods at the seller's risk, no fee | The seller must refund within ten days, under § 83.740. Goods left behind become yours after twenty days and are at the seller's risk meanwhile, and the seller gets no compensation for services, with no cancellation fee. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cars, farm equipment, insurance, real property | Motor vehicles, farm equipment, insurance, and written contracts for real property or construction are excluded, along with arts and crafts sold at fairs. |
| Small cash sales | A cash or check sale of less than 25 dollars is excluded, though a credit sale of any size is covered. |
| Emergency handwritten waiver | A buyer-initiated emergency purchase is excluded only where you give a separate signed writing, not furnished by the seller, describing the emergency and waiving the right. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in Oregon. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Cancel in writing within the window
Send written cancellation to the seller by midnight of the third business day after you signed or paid. Saturday does not count in Oregon, so you get more calendar time.
- Cash buyers are covered too
Oregon starts the clock on payment as well as signing, and excludes only cash sales under 25 dollars. A cash sale of 25 dollars or more is covered.
- Do not worry about damage while goods wait
During the reasonable post-cancellation period, the goods are at the seller's risk, under § 83.750(2). If the seller does not collect within twenty days, they are yours.
- Complain if a valid cancellation is refused
File a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice, Consumer Protection.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ Oregon Department of Justice · 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 Oregon buyers get wrong about cancelling
Oregon is the most cash-buyer-friendly cooling-off statute in its region. Under Or. Rev. Stat. § 83.720 you have three business days to cancel, and Oregon starts your clock when you sign or pay by cash or check, so a cash buyer is squarely covered. Oregon excludes only cash or check sales under 25 dollars, meaning a financed job of any size and a cash job of 25 dollars or more are both in. Oregon also counts business days in the way most favorable to you, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, so an identical three-day window is materially longer here than in states that count Saturdays. Oregon builds the federal rule right into its own text: a seller may hand you the FTC notice form instead of Oregon's, as long as the Oregon-specific details are on it. And while your goods sit waiting for pickup, they are expressly at the seller's risk, and become yours if the seller does not come for them within twenty days. Oregon's campground membership right is unusually generous too, giving six business days if you signed without inspecting the site and then go inspect. The official host blocked direct access, so key sections were read through a reader route to the official page.
Common questions
Are motor vehicles or farm equipment covered in Oregon?
No. Both are expressly excluded from ORS 83.710, along with insurance and written real property or construction contracts.
I paid 20 dollars cash at my door. Do I have a cancellation right?
Not under ORS 83.710, which excludes cash or check sales under 25 dollars. A credit sale of any size, or a cash sale of 25 dollars or more, would be covered.
The seller gave me an FTC form instead of an Oregon form. Is that valid?
Yes, if it carries the Oregon-required information, under ORS 83.730. Oregon expressly allows the federal notice form as a substitute.
I joined a campground membership without visiting the site. How long do I have?
Three business days normally, but six business days if you signed without inspecting and then go inspect, under ORS 94.983.
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.