Security Deposit Return Deadline by State
Statutory deadline for landlords to return a security deposit, by state.
Written and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Rules last verified
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the Security Deposit Return Deadline by State works
The Security Deposit Return Deadline calculator returns the date a landlord must return the deposit and, in most states, deliver an itemised statement of any deductions. It holds verified windows for sixteen states and returns no date for the rest — deposit statutes range from 14 to 60 days and applying one state’s figure to another is exactly the error worth avoiding.
The unit is not uniform either, which is easy to miss. Most states count calendar days, so weekends and holidays run inside the window. <strong>Arizona counts business days</strong>, and the calculator now counts them properly — fourteen business days from a move-out at the start of June runs three weeks on the wall calendar once a weekend pattern and a federal holiday are taken out, not a fortnight. Treating that as calendar days, as the tool previously did, understated the landlord’s window by about a week.
Two things this cannot settle. The trigger event is usually the end of the tenancy or the return of possession, and states differ on which — a tenant who moves out early but keeps the keys may not have started the clock. And the deadline governs the return and the itemisation, not the reasonableness of the deductions themselves; a landlord who itemises on time but withholds improperly is compliant on this deadline and exposed on a different one. Many states carry punitive damages for a late or missing itemisation, often a multiple of the deposit, which is why the date is worth having exactly.
Worked example
A tenant moves out in Arizona on Monday, 1 June 2026. Arizona’s statute gives fourteen business days, so the count steps over four weekends and the Juneteenth holiday, landing on Monday, 22 June — three weeks after move-out. Counted as calendar days it would have come out on 15 June, a week early. Select Oregon instead and the calculator returns no date, listing the sixteen states whose windows it has verified.
Frequently asked questions
Does my state count business days or calendar days?
Most count calendar days, but not all — Arizona’s statute is expressed in business days, which makes its fourteen-day window materially longer than a calendar fortnight. The calculator applies the right unit for each state it covers. If your state is not covered, check the unit as well as the number when you look up the statute, because it is the detail most often lost in summaries.
What starts the clock?
Usually the end of the tenancy or the return of possession, and states differ on which. Handing back the keys, the lease end date and the date the tenant actually vacated can be three different days. Where they diverge, the statute’s own language controls — and a tenant who has moved their belongings out but not returned possession may not have started the clock at all.
What if the landlord misses the deadline?
Consequences vary but are frequently severe: many states provide that a landlord who fails to return the deposit or itemise on time forfeits the right to withhold anything, and several add punitive damages of two or three times the deposit. Some require the tenant to make a written demand first. Check your own state’s remedy provision, because the procedural steps matter as much as the deadline.
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.
- Only the states marked with a tick have verified data. Deposit-return deadlines are set by state statute and several distinguish between returning the deposit and delivering an itemised statement of deductions.
- Many states start the clock at the end of the tenancy, others at the date the tenant delivers possession or provides a forwarding address. Confirm which applies.