Can I cancel an alarm contract I signed at my door in Washington?

Usually, yes. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule covers sales of $25 or more made at your home and gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel. If the sale was financed, RCW 63.14.154 also lets you cancel by certified mail by midnight of the third day, not counting Sundays and holidays. Cancel in writing and keep proof of mailing.

What if the salesperson never gave me a cancellation form?

Under the FTC rule, the seller must give you a contract or receipt with a cancellation notice and two copies of a cancellation form, and must tell you about your right to cancel out loud. The FTC says that if you didn't get the forms, you can write your own cancellation letter. Send it by certified mail and keep a copy.

Do I have to pay for an alarm system that was already installed before I cancelled?

Under the FTC rule, the seller must refund all payments within 10 business days of your cancellation. You must make the goods available to the seller. Under RCW 63.14.154, you return the goods or make them available at the place they were delivered, and you take on no further liability for cancelling.

Where do I complain about an alarm salesperson in Washington?

File a consumer complaint with the Washington Attorney General's Office. Deceptive sales practices are unlawful under the Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86.020). If the alarm is monitored in Seattle or Tacoma, you can also tell the city, which licenses alarm companies.

Door-to-door alarm sales in Washington: your right to cancel and contract traps

Alarm systems are often sold at the door, sometimes with a “free” system tied to a multi-year monitoring contract. You have the right to cancel most of these sales for a few days after signing. This guide explains those rights, how to use them, and what to read before you sign. It is general information, not legal advice.

Your two rights to cancel

1. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule (federal).

What it covers: sales of $25 or more where the seller solicits the sale and you agree to buy at your home. It also covers sales of $130 or more at temporary locations such as hotel rooms, fairgrounds or convention centers. It covers sales at your home even if you invited the salesperson.
Deadline: midnight of the third business day after the sale. Saturdays count as business days; Sundays and federal holidays don’t.
What the seller must do: give you a contract or receipt with a notice of your right to cancel and two copies of a cancellation form, and tell you about the right out loud. The seller may not misrepresent the right or ask you to waive it.
After you cancel: within 10 business days, the seller must refund all payments, return any trade-in and cancel any note you signed, and tell you whether it will pick up the goods.
Not covered: among other things, sales made entirely online, by mail or by phone, and some emergency repairs you asked for.

2. RCW 63.14.154 (Washington, financed sales).

What it covers: a retail installment (financed) sale solicited in person or by commercial telephone solicitation at a place other than the seller’s business address shown on the contract. Many alarm deals bundle financed equipment with monitoring.
Deadline: send notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the seller’s business address in the contract, postmarked by midnight of the third day after signing, not counting Sundays and holidays.
After you cancel: the seller must refund all deposits within ten days. You return the goods, or make them available, at the place they were delivered, and owe nothing more for cancelling.

Both rights can apply to the same sale.

How to cancel

Sign and date the cancellation form, or write a short letter if you didn’t get one: your name and address, the date of the sale, and “I cancel this transaction.”
Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address in the contract, before the deadline. Keep a copy and the receipt.
Don’t let a technician start work during the cancellation window if you’re unsure. If the system is installed, make it available for pickup.
If the seller won’t honor the cancellation, file a complaint (below).

Pitches the Attorney General has acted on

In 2012, Washington’s Attorney General filed a Consumer Protection Act case against Pinnacle Security, a door-to-door alarm monitoring seller. The AG alleged its salespeople said:

the service was free as long as you kept the company’s yard sign up;
they worked for your existing security company, or had “taken over” its service;
you wouldn’t face cancellation fees for switching.

The AG said these claims were false and that customers ended up in multi-year contracts. The company agreed to change its sales practices and pay restitution and penalties, and denied the allegations. The same release notes that another alarm company, Cencom, agreed that year to change marketing and billing practices the AG called misleading; it also denied the allegations.

The AG’s advice then still applies: shop around, don’t buy from the first person at your door, get “free” offers in writing, and call your current company about cancellation fees first.

Contract traps to read for

Term length. Monitoring contracts often run for years. As one example, ADT’s published residential terms (seen 2026-11-01) describe a 36-month monitoring contract.
Early termination charge. In the same terms, ADT may charge 75% of the monthly charges left in the initial term if you end it early. Other companies use other formulas. Find the number in your contract.
Automatic renewal. Many contracts renew on their own unless you cancel in writing within a set window. The FTC’s 2024 “click-to-cancel” amendments were vacated by the Eighth Circuit on 2025-07-08, and in February 2026 the FTC restored the older version of its negative option rule. So the renewal clause in your contract, and any notice deadline it sets, matters. Put the cancellation window in your calendar.
Price increases. Check whether the company can raise the monthly price during the term, and whether you can cancel without a fee if it does.
Who owns the equipment. See Own your security system for installer codes and dealer-locked panels.
Credit checks at the door. Don’t let anyone run your credit until you have read the full contract.

Check who is selling

L&I license. A company paid to install or wire an alarm needs an L&I electrical contractor license covering alarm work (specialty 06, 02 or 01). Ask for the license number and check it on L&I Verify. See Does my installer need a license?
City alarm license. Seattle requires alarm monitoring companies to be licensed with the city; Tacoma requires an Alarm System Operator license.
Company name. Write down the legal name on the contract, not the name on the shirt.

Where to complain

Washington Attorney General: file a consumer complaint. Unfair or deceptive acts in trade are unlawful under the Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86.020).
L&I: for unlicensed electrical or alarm work.
Seattle or Tacoma: for alarm companies operating in those cities.

Every company in our security systems directory holds an L&I license we check automatically, and listings show the company’s own published contract terms where it publishes them. Nobody pays to be listed. See how we list.