Cooling-Off Period Calculator
Statutory cooling-off period end date.
Written and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Rules last verified · Sources
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the Cooling-Off Period Calculator works
The Cooling-Off Period Calculator works out the last day a consumer can cancel a contract under a statutory cooling-off or withdrawal right. Enter the date the period starts, set its length, and choose whether it runs in calendar or business days. The tool deliberately takes the length as an input rather than inferring it, because there is no single cooling-off period: the right is created separately by each jurisdiction and each type of contract, and the numbers genuinely differ.
A few of the common ones show the spread. The EU consumer right of withdrawal on distance and off-premises contracts runs 14 calendar days. The US FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives three business days for qualifying door-to-door and off-premises sales, and the federal Truth in Lending rescission right on certain home-secured loans runs three business days with its own definition of what counts. Australia’s off-premises sales and New Zealand’s door-to-door rules run on different counts again, and timeshare, insurance and gym-membership contracts frequently carry bespoke periods set by their own statutes. Look up the period that governs your contract, then enter it — the arithmetic is the easy part and the lookup is the part that matters.
Two mechanics deserve attention before you rely on a date. The business-days toggle is off by default, which is right for the calendar-day regimes but wrong for a three-business-day US rule — switch it on and set the holiday calendar, or the count will run straight through a weekend it should have skipped. And day zero is defined by the governing statute, not by convention: for a distance sale of goods the EU clock typically starts on delivery rather than on the order, while for a service contract it starts at conclusion. Starting the count from the wrong event moves the whole window. The tool computes the end date from the start you give it; establishing which event is the start is the part you have to get right first.
Worked example
A consumer signs an off-premises contract in an EU member state on Friday, 3 July 2026 with the standard 14-calendar-day withdrawal period and the business-days toggle off. The period ends on Friday, 17 July 2026 — the weekends inside the window are simply part of the count. Now run the same signature date under a US three-business-day rule instead: switch the toggle on, select the United States calendar, and the count skips the Independence Day holiday and the weekend to end on Wednesday, 8 July. Same contract date, same "three versus fourteen" intuition, and a result that depends entirely on which regime applies.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the calculator not know my cooling-off period?
Because there is no universal one. Cooling-off rights are created statute by statute and contract type by contract type: 14 calendar days for the EU right of withdrawal, three business days under the US FTC Cooling-Off Rule and for TILA rescission on certain home-secured loans, and different periods again for timeshares, insurance, gym memberships and door-to-door sales in Australia and New Zealand. Entering the period yourself is what keeps the tool honest across all of them rather than silently applying one country’s rule to another’s contract.
Do I need the business-days toggle?
It depends on the regime, and getting it wrong is the most likely way to land on the wrong date. Calendar-day periods such as the EU’s 14-day withdrawal right run straight through weekends and holidays, so leave the toggle off. Business-day periods such as the US three-day rules skip them, so switch it on and select the correct holiday calendar as well — the tool preselects one from your browser’s time zone, which will be the wrong one if you are working on a contract governed elsewhere.
When does the period actually start?
That is set by the governing law and is frequently not the signature date. Under the EU right of withdrawal, a distance sale of goods generally starts the clock on delivery to the consumer, while a service contract starts it at conclusion — and a trader who fails to inform the consumer of the withdrawal right can see the period extended substantially. Establish the triggering event under the statute that applies, then enter that date as the start.
What this calculator does not do
A limitation you know about costs far less than one you find after the deadline. These are the specific things this tool cannot work out for you.
- The federal rule is narrow: it covers sales of $25 or more away from the seller’s permanent place of business (or $130 or more at a temporary location), with a long list of exemptions including real estate, vehicles and most online purchases.
- Many state cooling-off statutes and EU/UK withdrawal rights run longer — commonly 14 days. Set the period to match the rule you are actually relying on.
Where these rules come from
The periods this calculator applies are taken from the primary sources below rather than from secondary summaries. Verify against them before relying on a date that matters.
- 16 CFR Part 429 — FTC Cooling-Off Rule
Three business days to cancel certain sales made away from the seller’s place of business.
- FTC — Buyer’s Remorse: the Cooling-Off Rule