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Can you cancel a Pennsylvania home improvement contract within 3 days, even by phone?

Yes, within three business days of signing. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held on 30 April 2026 that HICPA requires home improvement contractors to permit consumers to cancel when consumers provide actual notice of cancellation, even if that notice is not in writing. The statute has an emergency exception; the law and the ruling are quoted below.

Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.
Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

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By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources read: 22 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-22

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Key facts

What does Pennsylvania's home improvement law say about cancelling?

Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) says an individual signing a home improvement contract shall be permitted to rescind the contract within three business days of the date of signing, with an exception for emergency work. Section 7(b) of the act, in its own words: "(b) Right of rescission.--An individual signing a home improvement contract, except as provided in the emergency provisions of section 7 of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, shall be permitted to rescind the contract without penalty regardless of where the contract was signed, within three business days of the date of signing."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

Section 7(a) lists what a valid contract contains, and section 7(c) covers your copy; the relevant items are quoted below. HICPA: "(a) Requirements.--No home improvement contract shall be valid or enforceable against an owner unless it:" Two items from that list: "(4) Contains the date of the transaction." "(13) Includes a notice of the right of rescission under subsection (b)." Section 7(c): "(c) Copy to be provided.--A contractor or salesperson shall provide and deliver to the owner, without charge, a completed copy of the home improvement contract at the time the contract is executed which shall contain all required notices."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General's home improvement brochure puts the right this way: "You have the right to rescind your home improvement contract without penalty within three business days of the signing date, except as provided under law for emergency situations."

Source: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, home improvement brochure (undated PDF), read 22 October 2026.

What did the Pennsylvania decision say about cancellation by phone?

Yes. Asked whether a consumer must cancel in writing, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania answered no in an opinion decided 30 April 2026. The opinion, in its own words: "When a contract falls within the ambit of both the UTPCPL and HICPA, is a consumer required to cancel in writing?" "The answer is no." "Today, we hold that HICPA (subject to its other provisions) requires home improvement contractors to permit consumers to cancel their contracts within three business days when consumers provide actual notice of cancellation to the contractors, even if that notice is not in writing."

Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.

The opinion names the means: "Under HICPA, however, the consumer must also be permitted to cancel home improvement contracts if he or she provides actual notice of cancellation within the three-day period by other means, such as verbally by telephone or in person."

Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.

The Attorney General's office, which brought the case, described the result in a release dated 1 May 2026: "Ultimately, this decision will allow consumers to cancel home improvement contracts — within three business days — through any medium, whether by phone, in writing, or in person, as long as the contractor has actual notice of the cancellation." The same release: "This decision only resolves a small portion of the ongoing case between the Office and Gillece."

Source: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, PA Supreme Court Upholds Consumer Right-to-Cancel Home Improvement Contracts Within Three Days Regardless of Medium (1 May 2026), read 22 October 2026.

The opinion says the provision from HICPA must control because HICPA contains the more specific provision, and that HICPA does not say cancellation must be in writing. The opinion quotes 73 P.S. § 201-7(a), the general law's cancellation rule, which says "that consumer may avoid the contract or sale by notifying, in writing, the seller within three full business days following the day on which the contract or sale was made". The court then wrote: "HICPA, of course, does not say cancellation must be in writing." "Yet even if a conflict does exist, the provision from HICPA must control because HICPA contains the more specific provision." "HICPA governs a specific set of contracts pertaining to home improvement, while the UTPCPL governs a much broader set of contracts pertaining more generally to goods and services."

Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.

Two more passages bound the ruling. A footnote: "For purposes of this appeal, we assume, without deciding, that the UTPCPL requires that notice of cancellation be given in writing." And on the written form a contractor hands over: "The notice’s information is accurate: the consumer may cancel by returning the written notice."

Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.

Which contracts does HICPA cover?

HICPA's own definitions set the reach, quoted here in part. HICPA: "Home improvement contract." "An agreement between a contractor, subcontractor or salesperson and an owner for the performance of a home improvement which includes all agreements for labor, services and materials to be furnished and performed under the contract."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

The definition of "Home improvement." opens: "(1) The term includes all of the following done in connection with land or a portion of the land adjacent to a private residence or a building or a portion of the building which is used or designed to be used as a private residence for which the total cash price of all work agreed upon between the contractor and owner is more than $500:" Its list of exclusions starts: "(2) The term does not include:" "(i) The construction of a new home."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

Does the three-day right apply to emergency work?

Not always. Section 7(b), quoted above, begins its right with the words "(b) Right of rescission.--An individual signing a home improvement contract, except as provided in the emergency provisions of section 7 of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, shall be permitted to rescind the contract without penalty regardless of where the contract was signed, within three business days of the date of signing.". The definition of home improvement also excludes: "(vii) Emergency work pursuant to section 7 of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

The court's opinion explains those provisions in a footnote: "The emergency provisions permit a consumer to waive the three-day right to rescind, thereby allowing contractor to begin work immediately in case of emergency."

Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.

How do you give notice you can show later?

Cancel early, say it plainly, and leave a trail: a phone call can count, but a record of it is what you will need if the contractor disputes the date. This is practical reasoning, not legal advice and not a finding from any agency.

  1. Find the date of signing on your copy of the contract and count three business days from it.

    Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

  2. Call the contractor's office, say in plain words that you are cancelling the contract, and write down the date, the time and who took the call.
  3. The same day, also send the cancellation form from your contract, or a short signed letter, so there is a written copy too. The court's opinion: "The notice’s information is accurate: the consumer may cancel by returning the written notice."

    Source: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, No. 32 WAP 2024 (J-77-2025), majority opinion decided 30 April 2026 (PDF), read 22 October 2026.

  4. Keep the contract, your call notes, a copy of what you sent and any mailing or delivery receipt together.
  5. If a crew still arrives, tell them again that you cancelled, and do not sign anything new on the spot.

Who sees your contact details when you post on InstaBids?

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts, read 22 October 2026.

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