Extended Warranty Refund Rules by State

There is no federal floor, so the state row is the whole rule

The dealer sold you the service contract in minutes and folded it into the loan. Nobody at the desk told you how many days you had to cancel for a full refund, what fee they could keep, or who to call when the refund did not come. The answers are in state law, and this page puts yours in one row.

Federal law reaches an extended car warranty only far enough to say what it is not. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. 2301 and following, calls the product a service contract, separate from the warranty that came with the car, and sets no free-look window, no refund formula and no fee cap for one. So unlike a door-to-door sale, where a federal three-day rule sits under every state rule, a vehicle service contract has nothing underneath it. Your state row is the entire statutory rule, and in 22 states that row is empty, which leaves the terms to the company that wrote the contract.

Every one of the 51 rows below was read from the statute itself, in the state’s own code where its site would open and otherwise on Justia, and then read a second time, section by section, before this page was written. The second read changed nothing in this table, which is reported below anyway because the point of the method is that it could have.

The headline findings. Twenty-nine of the 51 jurisdictions write a refund right into law; 22 have a service contract statute, or a single sentence of one, that says nothing about cancellation. Fourteen of the 29 use the same model rule almost word for word, 20 days from mailing or 10 from delivery at the sale, full refund if no claim, 10 percent per month penalty after 45 days. California is the outlier at 60 days from receipt. Nineteen states cap the cancellation fee, and the caps run from $25 to 10 percent of the price. Two states, Florida and Georgia, regulate the product as insurance, and nine states passed a law whose whole content is that it is not.

The two clocks and the no-claim condition

Most free-look statutes run two clocks. If the provider mailed you the contract, the window runs from the mailing date, usually 20 days. If the dealer handed it to you at the sale, it runs from delivery, usually 10. Fourteen states use those exact numbers: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Alaska gives 30 and 10. Hawaii gives 30 and 20. DC and Maryland give the same number on both clocks, 30 and 20. Missouri gives 20 business days, the only state that counts that way. A finance office almost always hands the contract over at the sale, so the shorter clock is usually yours. That is one more reason to act the week you sign.

California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Texas, Vermont and Washington run one clock. California’s is 60 days from receipt of the contract, or 30 for a used vehicle sold without a manufacturer’s warranty. Idaho, Illinois and Washington count 30 days from purchase. Texas counts to the 31st day after purchase. Vermont gives 20 days from receipt.

The condition matters as much as the count. In 23 of the 26 states with a free look, the full refund is owed only if no claim has been made under the contract. Florida and Texas do it the other way: you get the full price less any claims paid, so a claim inside the window shrinks the refund rather than voiding the right. Missouri does both, a full refund if no claim and the full price less claims if there was one. Read the condition before you cancel a contract you have already used.

Three states with a refund rule have no free look in the statute at all. Arizona, North Carolina and Oklahoma go straight to pro rata from day one, with the fee cap as the only protection. In those three the contract’s own free look, if it has one, is the only full-refund right you hold.

After the free look

Every state with a refund rule gives you the unearned share of what you paid, calculated pro rata, less claims paid in most of them, less the contract’s cancellation fee up to the cap. What differs is the measure. Fourteen states say “unearned pro rata” and leave the measure to the contract. Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Texas and Washington name the measures, elapsed time or mileage, and let the contract pick. California says elapsed time or an objective measure of use, at the obligor’s option as determined at the time of cancellation, which is the sentence that lets a provider pick whichever pays you less. Expect them to use it. The refund math page works a $3,000 contract through both clocks.

Nine states with a free look say nothing about what happens after it. Arkansas, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Vermont and Wyoming wrote the free look into law and left the rest to the contract’s cancellation clause. In those nine the contract is the pro rata rule and the fee rule, and a contract that says “no refund after 30 days” is, as far as the statute goes, allowed to. The legislature left you to the seller’s paperwork.

The fee caps

Nineteen states cap what a provider may keep on cancellation. The flat caps are $25 in Alabama and Washington and $50 in Idaho, Missouri and Texas. Three states use a lesser-of test: California, $25 or 10 percent of the contract price; Illinois, $50 or 10 percent; Arizona, $75 or 10 percent. Nine states cap the fee at 10 percent of a base the statute names, and the base is worth reading, because 10 percent of the whole price or provider fee, which is DC, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico and Wisconsin, is a much larger number than 10 percent of the pro rata refund, which is North Carolina, or 10 percent of the unearned pro rata amount, which is Georgia and Oklahoma. Alaska caps it at 7.5 percent of the unearned provider fee. Florida takes a different route: you get at least 90 percent of the unearned pro rata premium, which is the same thing as a 10 percent cap.

Two things the caps do not do. They do not cap the fee inside the free look, where most statutes allow none at all, and they do not apply in the ten states that have a free look but no fee rule. Washington is the one state that charges inside the window: return the contract 10 or more days after purchase and the provider may keep $25 even within the 30-day free look.

The late-payment penalty

Twenty-one states add 10 percent per month to a free-look refund that is not paid on time. In 17 of them the deadline is 45 days after you return the contract. Iowa, New York and Washington allow 30 days. New Mexico allows 60. Nevada and New Mexico compute the penalty per 30-day period on the purchase price; Maine and Missouri compute it on the amount outstanding. Most of the penalty clauses reach only the free-look refund. Texas and Washington are the exceptions: Texas 1304.1581(e) applies its 10 percent per month to any refund not paid before the 46th day after notice of cancellation, and Washington’s 48.110.075(4)(c) adds 10 percent to any refund under that subsection not paid within 30 days of the contract’s return. If you are in one of these states and past the deadline, the penalty section is the sentence to quote, and the regulator in the table is where the complaint goes if quoting it does not work.

The table

Verified 29 of 51, meaning a free-look, pro rata or fee rule was read in the statute. The other 22 rows say “none in the statute read” because the statute was read and sets none; what was read in each is in the data file behind this table. Every row links to the statute text that was read. The Service contract law column tells you whether the state registers providers, regulates the product as insurance, or has only declared what it is not.

State	Service contract law	Free look	After the free look	Fee cap	Regulator	Statute
Alabama	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share	$25	Department of Insurance (provider registration, Ala. Code 8-32-3)	Ala. Code 8-32-3(g), (h)
Alaska	Provider act, registered	30 days from delivery of the contract, or the sale if delivered then, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	7.5% of the unearned provider fee	Division of Insurance (provider license, AS 21.59.140)	AS 21.59.170
Arizona	Provider act, registered	None set by statute	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	Lesser of $75 or 10% of the purchase price	Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (service company permit, A.R.S. 20-1095.01)	A.R.S. 20-1095.06(D)(9)
Arkansas	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date of mailing, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Insurance Commissioner (provider registration, Ark. Code 4-114-104)	Ark. Code 4-114-106(g)(6)
California	Provider act, registered	60 days from receipt of the contract; 30 days for a used vehicle sold without a manufacturer warranty; no claim made	Pro rata by time or use, at the obligor’s option	Lesser of $25 or 10% of the price of the contract	Department of Insurance (service contract provisions, Ins. Code 12800 and following)	Cal. Civ. Code 1794.41
Colorado	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Attorney General and district attorneys (C.R.S. 42-11-107)	C.R.S. 42-11-101 to 42-11-109
Connecticut	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Insurance Commissioner (form filing, Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-260(e))	Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-260
Delaware	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (18 Del. C. 918 exempts service contracts from the insurance laws)	18 Del. C. 917, 918
District of Columbia	Provider act, registered	30 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the gross provider fee	Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (provider registration, D.C. Code 31-2351.03(d))	D.C. Code 31-2351.03(g)
Florida	Regulated as insurance	60 days from the purchase; claims paid are deducted	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the unearned pro rata premium	Office of Insurance Regulation (service agreement company license, Fla. Stat. ch. 634 part I); complaints through the Department of Financial Services	Fla. Stat. 634.121(3)
Georgia	Regulated as insurance	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the unearned pro rata purchase price	Commissioner of Insurance (vehicle service agreements are property insurance unless underwritten by a licensed insurer, O.C.G.A. 33-7-6(b)(1))	O.C.G.A. 33-7-6(c)(3)
Hawaii	Provider act, registered	30 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 20 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Insurance Commissioner (provider registration, HRS 481X-3)	HRS 481X-7
Idaho	Provider act, registered	30 days from the purchase; no claim made	Pro rata by time or mileage	$50	Department of Insurance (Idaho Motor Vehicle Service Contract Act, licensing under Idaho Code 41-6209)	Idaho Code 41-6205(10)
Illinois	Provider act, registered	30 days from the purchase; no claim made	Pro rata by time or mileage, less claims paid	Lesser of $50 or 10% of the service contract price	Department of Insurance (provider registration, 215 ILCS 152/25)	215 ILCS 152/35
Indiana	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Department of Insurance (reimbursement policy filing, Ind. Code 27-1-43.2-11)	Ind. Code 27-1-43.2-10 to 27-1-43.2-12
Iowa	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date of mailing, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 30 days	Pro rata by time or mileage, less claims paid	10% of the total purchase price	Insurance Commissioner (service company license, Iowa Code 523C.2)	Iowa Code 523C.7(2)(l)
Kansas	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (K.S.A. 40-201a exempts service contracts from regulation as insurance)	K.S.A. 40-201a
Kentucky	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Department of Insurance (a motor vehicle service contract is not insurance if the provider carries a reimbursement policy, KRS 304.5-070(1)(p))	KRS 304.5-070(1)(p), (q)
Louisiana	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Secretary of State (provider registration, La. R.S. 51:3163); complaints to the Attorney General	La. R.S. 51:3163, 51:3164
Maine	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the provider fee paid	Superintendent of Insurance (provider and administrator registration, 24-A M.R.S. 7103(4))	24-A M.R.S. 7103(7)
Maryland	Other statute	20 days from receipt of the contract if mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Attorney General (Maryland Service Contracts and Consumer Products Guaranty Act, Md. Com. Law 14-406)	Md. Com. Law 14-403(d) to (g)
Massachusetts	No act reaches vehicles	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Division of Insurance (the service contract sections of M.G.L. c. 175 exempt agreements regarding automobiles)	M.G.L. c. 175, s. 149V(c)
Michigan	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (MCL 500.125 says a service contract is not insurance)	MCL 500.125
Minnesota	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Department of Commerce (provider registration with the commissioner of commerce, Minn. Stat. 59B.03 subd. 3)	Minn. Stat. 59B.03 subd. 5
Mississippi	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the gross provider fee	Mississippi Insurance Department (regulation under Miss. Code 83-65-101 and following)	19 Miss. Code R. 4-4.04
Missouri	Provider act, registered	20 business days from the mailing date, or the contract date if executed and delivered at the sale; claims paid are deducted; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	$50	Department of Commerce and Insurance (violations are level two under Mo. Rev. Stat. 374.049)	Mo. Rev. Stat. 385.206(13), (14)
Montana	Other statute	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Department of Justice (Mont. Code 30-14-1301; exempt from the insurance title under 30-14-1302(5))	Mont. Code 30-14-1302, 30-14-1304
Nebraska	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Director of Insurance (contract and reimbursement policy filing, Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-3522)	Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-3520 to 44-3526
Nevada	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the provider mails the copy, or receipt if furnished at purchase, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share	No cap set	Division of Insurance (provider registration, NRS ch. 690C)	NRS 690C.250; NAC 690C.120
New Hampshire	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Insurance Commissioner (obligor registration, N.H. RSA 415-C:3)	N.H. RSA 415-C:3, 415-C:6
New Jersey	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was sent, or receipt if delivered at purchase, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Division of Consumer Affairs, Department of Law and Public Safety (N.J.S.A. 56:12-87)	N.J.S.A. 56:12-93(k)
New Mexico	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the provider mails the copy, or receipt if furnished at purchase, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 60 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the purchase price	Office of Superintendent of Insurance (provider registration, NMSA 59A-58-4, 59A-58-5)	NMSA 59A-58-9
New York	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date of mailing, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 30 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Department of Financial Services (provider fee filing with the superintendent, N.Y. Ins. Law 7903(a))	N.Y. Ins. Law 7903(e)
North Carolina	Provider act, registered	None set by statute	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the amount of the pro rata refund	Commissioner of Insurance (N.C.G.S. 66-370; insurance backing under 66-373)	N.C.G.S. 66-372(e)(3)
North Dakota	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Insurance Commissioner (backing policy filed with the commissioner, N.D.C.C. 26.1-40-18)	N.D.C.C. 26.1-40-18
Ohio	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Attorney General (the sale is a consumer transaction under the Consumer Sales Practices Act, Ohio Rev. Code 3905.426(J))	Ohio Rev. Code 3905.426
Oklahoma	Provider act, registered	None set by statute	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the unearned pro rata provider fee	Insurance Commissioner (service warranty association license, 15 O.S. 141.4, 141.5)	15 O.S. 141.13
Oregon	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Department of Consumer and Business Services (obligor registration, ORS 646A.154(3))	ORS 646A.154, 646A.156
Pennsylvania	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (40 P.S. 477f exempts service contracts from regulation as insurance)	40 P.S. 477f
Rhode Island	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (R.I. Gen. Laws 6-57-2 says service contracts are not insurance)	R.I. Gen. Laws 6-57-2
South Carolina	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Department of Insurance (provider registration with the director, S.C. Code 38-78-30(C))	S.C. Code 38-78-30(F)
South Dakota	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (SDCL 58-1-3(3) exempts motor vehicle service contracts from the insurance title)	SDCL 58-1-3(3)
Tennessee	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (Tenn. Code 56-2-126 exempts service contracts from regulation as insurance)	Tenn. Code 56-2-126
Texas	Provider act, registered	30 days from the date of purchase; cancellation before the 31st day; claims paid are deducted; refund due within 45 days	Pro rata by time or mileage, less claims paid	$50	Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (provider license, Tex. Occ. Code ch. 1304)	Tex. Occ. Code 1304.1581
Utah	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Insurance Department (provider registration and reimbursement insurance, Utah Code 31A-6a-103)	Utah Code 31A-6a-103, 31A-6a-104(3)(a)(vii)
Vermont	Provider act, registered	20 days from receipt of the contract; no claim made	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Department of Financial Regulation (provider registration with the commissioner, 8 V.S.A. 4248)	8 V.S.A. 4251(a)(9)
Virginia	Provider act, registered	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (obligor registration, Va. Code 59.1-436); licensed motor vehicle dealers are exempt from the chapter	Va. Code 59.1-436, 59.1-440.1
Washington	Provider act, registered	30 days from the purchase; a fee of up to $25 applies if returned 10 or more days after purchase; no claim made; refund due within 30 days	Pro rata by time or mileage	$25	Office of the Insurance Commissioner (provider registration, RCW ch. 48.110)	RCW 48.110.075(4)
West Virginia	Declared not insurance, no provider act	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None in the statute read	None named (W. Va. Code 33-4-2 exempts service contracts from the insurance chapter)	W. Va. Code 33-4-2(a)(4) to (6)
Wisconsin	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Unearned pro rata share, less claims paid	10% of the provider fee	Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (provider and administrator registration, Wis. Stat. 616.54)	Wis. Stat. 616.56(15), (16)
Wyoming	Provider act, registered	20 days from the date the contract was mailed, or delivery if handed over at the sale, or 10 days if handed over at the sale; no claim made; refund due within 45 days	Whatever the contract says; the statute is silent	No cap set	Insurance Commissioner (provider registration, Wyo. Stat. 26-49-103(c))	Wyo. Stat. 26-49-103(e)

The 22 states where the contract is the whole rule

They come in three kinds. Nine states passed a one-section statute saying a service contract is not insurance and is exempt from the insurance code, and nothing else: Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia. There is no registration, no free look, no pro rata rule and no fee cap in any of them. Kentucky’s carve-out applies only when the provider carries a reimbursement insurance policy, which is a fact worth checking on your contract’s face page.

Twelve states have a real service contract act that registers providers or requires a backing insurance policy but says nothing about the refund: Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and Virginia. Most of these acts require the contract to state its own cancellation terms, and several, Indiana, Nebraska and Ohio among them, let you claim a refund owed on cancellation directly from the reimbursement insurer if the provider has not paid it within 60 days. That direct-claim right is the useful part of an otherwise empty row. Ohio’s section does carry a 30-day full-refund right, but only for a vehicle value protection agreement, not a service contract. Virginia’s act exempts licensed motor vehicle dealers, so a contract sold by a dealer there sits under nothing at all. The party with the most sales pressure got the exemption.

Massachusetts is its own case. Its service contract sections, 149M through 149W of chapter 175, exempt warranties, service contracts and other agreements regarding automobiles, so the statute sets no rule for a car. The Division of Insurance treats automobile service contracts as insurance products needing its approval, but that position is on the regulator’s page, not in the statute, and the table says so.

In all 22, read the contract’s cancellation clause first. Most national providers print a 30-day full-refund window and a pro rata rule with a $50 fee because they sell the same form in the 29 states that require it, and the form is a contract you can hold them to whether or not your state does. Quote their own clause back to them.

The two states that call it insurance

Florida licenses service agreement companies under part I of chapter 634 of its insurance code, and its cancellation rule reads like an insurance rule: cancel within 60 days for 100 percent of the gross premium less claims paid, minus an administrative fee of up to 5 percent, and after 60 days for at least 90 percent of the unearned pro rata premium less claims. Complaints go through the Department of Financial Services. Georgia’s 33-7-6 says a vehicle service agreement sold by anyone other than a licensed insurer is property insurance, then applies the model 20-day and 10-day rule, a 10 percent per month penalty after 45 days, and a fee of up to 10 percent of the unearned pro rata price. The Justia page for that section is headed “effective until January 1, 2027,” so a revised version is coming; the row reflects the text in force today.

Everywhere else the regulator in the table is the office that registers providers, which in most states is the insurance department or commissioner even though the product is not insurance. Texas uses its licensing department, New Jersey its Division of Consumer Affairs, Maryland its attorney general, Montana its Department of Justice, Louisiana its Secretary of State with complaints to the attorney general, Oregon its Department of Consumer and Business Services, and Virginia its Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The complaint page has what each one wants in the file.

What the second read changed

Nothing in this table. All 29 verified rows were read a second time on the same URL, section by section, checking the day count, the clock, the no-claim condition, the penalty, the pro rata measure and the fee cap against the row. Every figure held. One thing the second read added rather than changed: Georgia’s section carries a January 1, 2027 sunset on its current text, which is now in the row’s note. The companion GAP table did move one row on its second read, and says which.

How to use this

Find your state and read the Free look column first. If you are inside the window and have made no claim, send a written cancellation to the provider or administrator named in the contract, keep proof of the date, and cite the section in the Statute column. If you are past the window, the After column tells you whether the statute or the contract sets your refund, and the Fee cap column tells you the most that can come off it. Twenty-one states attach a 10 percent per month penalty to a late free-look refund; the note behind each row names the deadline. If your row says “none in the statute read,” the contract’s cancellation clause is the rule, and the how to cancel page walks through it. This is general information about the statutes as they read on September 16, 2026, not legal advice, and a state legislature can change any row above.