Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in Tennessee
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee
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, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-703. Section 47-18-702 excludes only Sunday and nine holidays, so Saturday counts. |
| Thirty days if the seller hid its purpose | If the seller failed to identify itself as a seller, or represented its purpose was something other than selling, the window stretches to thirty days, under § 47-18-707. This catches the free-inspection and survey pitch. |
| 25 dollars for cash, no floor for credit | The right reaches a consumer sale or lease of goods or services, excluding cash sales under 25 dollars. Farm equipment, motor vehicles, insurance, and securities are excluded, and leases are covered. |
| Ten-day refund, 20-day goods | The seller must refund within ten days, under § 47-18-705. If it does not demand delivered goods within twenty days, they become yours with no obligation to pay. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cars, farm equipment, insurance, securities | Motor vehicles, farm equipment, insurance, and securities are excluded by name, along with cash sales under 25 dollars. |
| Store sales | A sale solicited at the seller's own established place of business is outside the definition, which reaches solicitations at any residence other than the seller's. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in Tennessee. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Ask whether the seller hid its purpose
If the person at your door did not say they were selling anything, or claimed to be doing a survey or inspection, you may have thirty days, not three, under § 47-18-707.
- Cancel in writing within the window
Mail written cancellation before midnight of the third business day. Saturday counts in Tennessee, so do not assume you have the weekend.
- If you got no notice, the clock has not started
Until the seller gives the "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" notice, you may cancel by any means, under § 47-18-704(d).
- Complain if a valid cancellation is refused
File a complaint with the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ Tennessee Division of Consumer AffairsThis 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 Tennessee buyers get wrong about cancelling
Tennessee is one of only two states with a thirty-day cooling-off window, and it targets a specific con. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-707, if the person at your door failed to identify themselves as a seller, or claimed their purpose was something other than selling, your cancellation window stretches from three days to a full thirty. This is the provision that catches the free home energy inspection, the neighborhood safety survey, and the we are just checking your roof after the storm pitch. For ordinary home solicitation sales, § 47-18-703 gives the usual three business days, running to midnight, and Saturday counts because the statute excludes only Sunday and nine holidays. Tennessee covers leases as well as sales, and reaches cash sales above 25 dollars, so it is not a credit-only state. One way Tennessee is less generous than its peers: it lets the seller keep the fair market value of any services performed before you cancel, where states like South Carolina and Utah give the seller nothing. A signed waiver is void, and your three days start over once you learn the waiver does not hold. Tennessee's official code is behind a Lexis portal, so this page relies on a content mirror of the statute.
Common questions
Someone did a free inspection and I ended up signing. How long do I have in Tennessee?
Up to thirty days. Under § 47-18-707, if the seller failed to identify itself as a seller or misrepresented its purpose, your cancellation window stretches to thirty days.
Does Saturday count toward my three days in Tennessee?
Yes. Section 47-18-702 excludes only Sunday and nine holidays, so Saturday counts against you.
Do I owe for work the seller already did before I cancelled?
Possibly. Unlike many states, Tennessee lets the seller recover the fair market value of services performed before cancellation, under § 47-18-706(c).
The salesperson never gave me a cancellation notice. How long do I have?
Indefinitely until they comply. Under § 47-18-704(d), until the seller gives the required notice you may cancel by any means.
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.