# Cooling-Off Period

*Regulation & Compliance — Finicade finance glossary*

A cooling-off period gives a consumer a fixed window to cancel a contract without penalty — three days on some US home loans, fourteen in much of the EU.

A cooling-off period gives a consumer a fixed window to cancel a contract without penalty — three days on certain US home loans, fourteen on many EU consumer credit and insurance contracts. It exists to defeat pressure selling, which relies on a decision being irreversible. The window usually starts from receipt of the documents rather than the conversation, and it is routinely allowed to lapse unused.

**Also known as:** right of rescission, right to cancel, cancellation period

**Related terms:** [Truth in Lending Act](https://finicade.com/glossary/truth-in-lending-act), [Disclosure](https://finicade.com/glossary/disclosure), [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau](https://finicade.com/glossary/consumer-financial-protection-bureau), [Surrender Charge](https://finicade.com/glossary/surrender-charge), [Arbitration Clause](https://finicade.com/glossary/arbitration-clause)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/cooling-off-period