CIV § 1689.6

California Civil Code § 1689.6 - The three-day right to cancel a door-to-door contract

Civil Code § 1689.6 gives a California buyer until midnight of the third business day — the fifth for a senior citizen — to cancel a home solicitation contract.

Official text CIV § 1689.6 — California
  • (a) (1) Except for a contract written pursuant to Section 7151.2 or 7159.10 of the Business and Professions Code, in addition to any other right to revoke an offer, the buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation contract or offer until midnight of the third business day, or until midnight of the fifth business day if the buyer is a senior citizen, after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase which complies with Section 1689.7.
  • (2) In addition to any other right to revoke an offer, the buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation contract written pursuant to Section 7151.2 of the Business and Professions Code until midnight of the third business day, or until midnight of the fifth business day if the buyer is a senior citizen, after the buyer receives a signed and dated copy of the contract or offer to purchase that complies with Section 1689.7 of this code.
  • (3) (A) In addition to any other right to revoke an offer, the buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation contract or offer to purchase written pursuant to Section 7159.10 of the Business and Professions Code, until the buyer receives a signed and dated copy of a service and repair contract that complies with the contract requirements specified in Section 7159.10 of the Business and Professions Code and the work commences. (B) For any contract written pursuant to Section 7159.10 of the Business and Professions Code, or otherwise presented to the buyer as a service and repair contract, unless all of the conforming requirements listed under subdivision (a) of that section are met, the requirements set forth under Section 7159 of the Business and Professions Code shall be applicable, regardless of the aggregate contract price, including the right to cancel as set forth under this section.
  • (4) The five-day right to cancel added by the act that amended paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to contracts entered into, or offers to purchase conveyed, on or after January 1, 2021.
  • (b) In addition to any other right to revoke an offer, any buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation contract or offer for the purchase of a personal emergency response unit until midnight of the seventh business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase which complies with Section 1689.7. This subdivision shall not apply to a personal emergency response unit installed with, and as part of, a home security alarm system subject to the Alarm Company Act (Chapter 11.6 (commencing with Section 7590) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code) which has two or more stationary protective devices used to enunciate an intrusion or fire and is installed by an alarm company operator operating under a current license issued pursuant to the Alarm Company Act, which shall instead be subject to subdivision (a).
  • (c) In addition to any other right to revoke an offer, a buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation contract or offer for the repair or restoration of residential premises damaged by a disaster that was not void pursuant to Section 1689.14, until midnight of the seventh business day after the buyer signs and dates the contract unless the provisions of Section 1689.15 are applicable.
  • (d) Cancellation occurs when the buyer gives written notice of cancellation to the seller at the address or email address specified in the agreement or offer.
  • (e) Notice of cancellation, if given by mail, is effective when deposited in the mail properly addressed with postage prepaid.
  • (f) Notice of cancellation given by the buyer need not take the particular form as provided with the contract or offer to purchase and, however expressed, is effective if it indicates the intention of the buyer not to be bound by the home solicitation contract or offer.
  • (g) “Personal emergency response unit,” for purposes of this section, means an in-home radio transmitter device or two-way radio device generally, but not exclusively, worn on a neckchain, wrist strap, or clipped to clothing, and connected to a telephone line through which a monitoring station is alerted of an emergency and emergency assistance is summoned.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Section 1689.6 is the cooling-off right, and unlike rescission under § 1689 it needs no reason at all. Paragraph (a)(1) gives the buyer, in addition to any other right to revoke an offer, the right to cancel a home solicitation contract or offer until midnight of the third business day — or midnight of the fifth business day if the buyer is a senior citizen — after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase that complies with § 1689.7. Paragraph (a)(2) applies the same periods to contracts written under Business and Professions Code § 7151.2, running instead from receipt of a signed and dated copy of the complying contract.

The phrase "which complies with Section 1689.7" is the part that matters most in practice. Section 1689.7 prescribes what the contract must contain — the notice of the right to cancel, in the required form and language, together with a cancellation form. Where the contract does not comply, the three or five days do not run from signature in the ordinary way, which is how a buyer can still be within the right long after the transaction. Paragraph (a)(3) treats service and repair contracts under Business and Professions Code § 7159.10 separately, tying cancellation to receipt of a complying contract and the commencement of the work.

Subdivision (b) gives a longer period — until midnight of the seventh business day — for the purchase of a personal emergency response unit. The five-day senior citizen period applies to contracts entered into, or offers conveyed, on or after 1 January 2021. What the section does not do is define "home solicitation contract"; that is § 1689.5, and it turns on where the contract was made and how the sale was solicited rather than on what was sold. Whether a particular sale is within the scheme, and whether the clock ever started, is worth checking with a lawyer or a consumer agency quickly, because the periods are short when they do run.

When it applies

  • A salesperson called at the door and you signed for solar panels or windows that evening
  • A contract signed at a home presentation for water treatment or alarms
  • A roofing or improvement contract signed at your kitchen table
  • The contract you were given contains no cancellation notice or form
  • The buyer is a senior citizen and was told the deadline had passed after three days
  • A personal emergency response unit bought at home

What this section does not say

  • It is not a general right to cancel any purchase. The right attaches to a home solicitation contract as defined in § 1689.5, not to something bought in a shop or ordered online.
  • It does not apply where the contract was made at the seller's place of business. The scheme is built around solicitation and signing away from the seller's premises.
  • It is not three days from delivery or from the work starting. Paragraph (a)(1) runs the period from the day the buyer signs a complying agreement or offer.
  • It does not work if the paperwork was defective in the buyer's favour only. Where the contract does not comply with § 1689.7 the position is governed by that section, and the ordinary clock does not simply run from signature.
  • It does not require a reason, and it does not require the goods to be faulty. Cancellation within the period is a right, not a remedy for something going wrong.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

A salesperson calls at the door and by the end of the evening the homeowner has signed for a rooftop system. Two days later they change their mind, and the company says the panels are already on order and the deposit is forfeit.

How the wording applies

Section 1689.6 lets the buyer of a home solicitation contract cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing, without needing a reason. It hinges on whether the paperwork complied with section 1689.7: where the required notice of cancellation was not given in the proper form, the three days did not simply start running from signature.

How the parties settled it

The company cancels the agreement and returns the deposit in full, keeping nothing for the order it says it placed, and the homeowner returns any materials already delivered.

Illustrative example

An older homeowner signs at home for a water treatment unit and telephones on the fourth day to cancel. The company says the deadline was three days and has passed.

How the wording applies

The period is three business days for most buyers and five for a senior citizen, so the answer turns on a single fact, the buyer's age at the date of signing, and on whether the days counted were business days rather than calendar days.

How the parties settled it

The company treats the cancellation as effective, collects the unit at its own cost, and refunds everything paid within an agreed number of days.

Related sections

CIV § 1689 Grounds to rescind: mistake, duress, fraud (CIV § 1689) CIV § 1691 Promptly give notice & restore value (CIV § 1691) CIV § 1572 Actual fraud: 5 types under California CIV § 1572

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of CIV § 1689.6 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in California.

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