50-State Cure / Cancellation Period Table
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against each jurisdiction’s cited primary source before acting. Contract-for-deed cancellation statutes are frequently amended. Last verified: 2026-06-08.
This table answers one question for every U.S. jurisdiction: on a buyer’s default, does a statute give a fixed cure / cancellation period before the seller can wipe out the buyer’s interest — and if so, how long, what does it run from, and under what statute?
Read it together with forfeiture-vs-foreclosure (the doctrinal map) and
each linked jurisdiction page (the full §3 Default & Remedies module the cell
is drawn from). The “Remedy regime” column is the page’s remedy_regime
classification.
How to read this table
- “Statutory cure period?” — Yes means a statute prescribes a notice-and-cure / statutory-cancellation procedure with a defined period the seller must honor before the buyer’s interest is extinguished by forfeiture / cancellation (not the redemption period inside an ordinary mortgage foreclosure). No / judicial means there is no CFD-specific statutory cancellation track — the seller’s path on default is contract remedies and/or judicial foreclosure, and any cure right is contractual or equitable, not statutory.
- “Length” — the statutory cure / cancellation period. Tiered entries scale with how much the buyer has paid (more equity ⇒ longer cure). ”—” = the source page reports no fixed statutory period.
- “Runs from” — the event that starts the clock (service of notice, recording, mailing, default, or judgment).
- “Citation” — the controlling statute from the jurisdiction page’s §3
(
statutory_cancellation). Where the page flags the pointneeds_verification, the cell says so rather than guessing. - Coverage / waiver limits (residential-only, county-only, investor-seller-only, in-possession-only) are noted in the Scope / notes column — they frequently decide whether the period applies at all.
Jurisdictions WITH a statutory cure / cancellation period
These jurisdictions codify a notice-and-cure or statutory-cancellation procedure that fixes a period before forfeiture / cancellation can extinguish the buyer’s interest.
| Jurisdiction | Regime | Length | Runs from | Citation | Scope / notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| arizona | statutory_cancellation | 30 / 60 / 120 days, up to 9 months (equity-tiered: <20% paid→30; 20–<30%→60; 30–<50%→120; ≥50%→9 mo.) | default (then a separate ≥20-day notice of election to forfeit) | A.R.S. § 33-742(D), § 33-743 | Money default only; reinstatement allowed before forfeiture effective; notice forms prescribed. |
| delaware | hybrid | 120 days redemption | service of seller’s written notice of default | 25 Del. C. § 314(d)(2) | Consumer-purpose 1–4-family residential only; buyer redeems by paying full remaining balance; down payment becomes a security deposit. Outside § 314(d), remedies are contract-governed. |
| illinois | hybrid | 90 days | date of the default | 765 ILCS 67/40 (Installment Sales Contract Act) | Pre-suit cure. Below 20% paid → forfeiture via Eviction Article; at/above 20% paid on residential → foreclosed as a mortgage (IMFL redemption/reinstatement). |
| iowa | statutory_cancellation | 30 days | completed service of the notice | Iowa Code § 656.4 (ch. 656 forfeiture) | Prescribed notice; vendee or mortgagee may cure; ch. 656 forfeiture is the standard track. |
| kansas | hybrid | 30 days (<50% paid) / 90 days (≥50% paid) | completed service of notice of default and intent to forfeit | K.S.A. 58-5204(a),(b) | Residential CFD; timely tender of cure reinstates the contract. |
| louisiana | statutory_cancellation | 45 days | mailing of the notice | La. R.S. 9:2945(A) (bond for deed) | Escrow agent (not seller) mails the 45-day notice by certified mail; pure forfeiture barred — cancellation is the statutory route. |
| maine | treat_as_mortgage | 30 days | giving / service of the notice | 14 M.R.S. § 6203-F(2) | Residential, purchaser in possession; otherwise the contract is foreclosed as a mortgage. Foreclosure may not commence until ≥30 days after notice. |
| michigan | hybrid | 15 days (pre-judgment, forfeiture track) | service of the Notice of Forfeiture | MCL 600.5728 | Forfeiture via summary proceedings; writ of restitution further delayed (90 days / 6 months post-judgment redemption). Foreclosure is the alternative election. |
| minnesota | statutory_cancellation | 60 days (standard post-1985) / 90 days (investor-seller, ch. 559A) | service of the § 559.21 notice (or first publication) | Minn. Stat. § 559.21 (subd. 2a, 4) | Prescribed verbatim notice; investor sellers owe an added 30-day certified-mail pre-notice; unrecorded residential CFD cannot be cancelled (subd. 4b). |
| north-carolina | hybrid | ≥ 30 days (cure date not less than 30 days after notice) | service of the notice | N.C.G.S. § 47H-4 | ”Covered dwellings”; notice of default and intent to forfeit; timely cure reinstates; un-waivable equity of redemption survives a defective procedure. |
| north-dakota | statutory_cancellation | 1 year (or 6 months where amount then due > 66⅔% of original indebtedness — shorter cure for the equity-poor buyer) | service of the notice of cancellation | N.D.C.C. § 32-18-04 (ch. 32-18) | Notably buyer-protective; no reinstatement after the period lapses (“shall not be reinstated”). Seller may elect judicial cancellation instead. |
| ohio | hybrid | 10 days post-notice (after a 30-day post-default window must first run) | completed service of the ORC 5313.06 notice | ORC § 5313.05, § 5313.06 | Forfeiture only below the threshold (buyer paid <5 years and <20%); at/above, the contract is foreclosed as a mortgage (§ 5313.07). |
| oregon | hybrid | 60 / 90 / 120 days (equity-tiered: unpaid balance >75%→60; >50–≤75%→90; ≤50%→120) | giving (mailing / service) of the notice of default | ORS 93.915 (ORS 93.905–93.945) | Non-judicial statutory forfeiture only — no self-executing clause; more equity ⇒ longer cure. Seller may instead foreclose under ORS ch. 88. |
| pennsylvania | treat_as_mortgage | 30 days (nonpayment) / 60 days (repairs) — Philadelphia & Allegheny Counties only; 30-day Act 6 notice statewide | service of the notice | 68 P.S. § 904(c) (Phila./Allegheny); 41 P.S. § 403 (Act 6, statewide) | Possessory vendee cannot be forfeited; outside the two counties the vendor’s path is judicial foreclosure with the statewide Act 6 30-day Notice of Intention to Foreclose. |
| south-dakota | treat_as_mortgage | court-set, ≥ 10 days | rendition of the judgment (court-set compliance period — not a pre-suit notice) | SDCL 21-50-3 (ch. 21-50) | Judicial cancellation/foreclosure action; the judgment fixes the cure time; no separate post-judgment redemption window in ch. 21-50. |
| texas | hybrid | 30 days (§ 5.065 cure); 60 days added pre-sale notice on the § 5.066 equity route | date notice is given | Tex. Prop. Code § 5.065 (cure); § 5.066 (≥40% paid / 48+ payments equity route) | Most form-driven regime; once buyer has ≥ 40% equity or 48 payments, forfeiture is barred and the seller must use § 5.066 power-of-sale or judicial foreclosure (§ 5.079). |
| virginia | hybrid | > 30 days (“more than 30 days after notice is served”) | service of the § 55.1-3002 notice | Va. Code § 55.1-3002 | Covered residential executory contracts (§§ 55.1-3000 to 55.1-3003); protection may not be waived; eviction then runs through § 55.1-1245. |
| washington | hybrid | ≥ 90 days (“not less than 90 days after the notice of intent to forfeit is recorded”) | recording of the notice of intent to forfeit | RCW 61.30.070 (ch. 61.30) | Statutory forfeiture only (no self-executing clause); seller is not put to an election (RCW 61.30.020(2)); court-ordered sale available for equity-rich buyers. |
Jurisdictions with NO statutory cure period (contract / judicial track)
For these jurisdictions the source page reports no CFD-specific statutory notice-and-cure / cancellation period. On default the seller’s path is the contract’s own terms and/or judicial foreclosure; any cure right is contractual or equitable (and, in the treat-as-mortgage states, the buyer’s real protection is the equity of redemption in a mortgage foreclosure, not a pre-suit statutory cure). “Statutory cure period” below = None.
| Jurisdiction | Regime | Statutory cure period? | Default-remedy path (per §3) | Citation / authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| alabama | hybrid | None | Election, gated by time-of-the-essence; no statutory cure-notice regime | Common law (no CFD cancellation statute) |
| alaska | treat_as_mortgage | None (court-granted cure only) | Forfeiture disfavored; court recharacterizes as equitable mortgage / grants cure | jameson-v-wurtz-1964 (no statute) |
| arkansas | treat_as_mortgage | None | Equitable-mortgage foreclosure; forfeiture barred once buyer has substantial equity | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| california | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial action subject to buyer’s redemption right; no land-contract cancellation statute | Common law / Cal. Civ. Code redemption |
| colorado | hybrid | None | Forfeiture/possession by FED subject to equitable relief; no § 559.21-style statute | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| connecticut | hybrid | None | Seller’s election among common-law remedies; equity-limited forfeiture | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| district-of-columbia | unclear | None | No statutory remedy track; forfeiture by contract subject to equity | No CFD statute (needs_verification) |
| florida | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure (Ch. 702); forfeiture clause not the remedy | Fla. Stat. ch. 702 (foreclosure) |
| georgia | treat_as_mortgage | None | Election; repossession = rescission; no CFD cancellation statute | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| guam | treat_as_mortgage | None | Predicted judicial foreclosure (treat-as-mortgage); no cancellation statute | No Guam cancellation statute |
| hawaii | treat_as_mortgage | None | Foreclosure with equitable limits on forfeiture; no notice-and-cure statute | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 667-40 (foreclosure) |
| idaho | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure / judicial sale where forfeiture barred; no cure-period statute | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| indiana | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure of the contract as a mortgage (Skendzel); no CFD cancellation statute | skendzel-v-marshall-1973 |
| kentucky | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure / judicial sale always; forfeiture clause unenforceable | sebastian-v-floyd-1979 |
| maryland | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure only; forfeiture barred as a matter of law | Md. case/statute (forfeiture barred) |
| massachusetts | unclear | None | Unresolved; payment-forfeiture clauses uncertain; foreclosure path unsettled | No controlling authority (needs_verification) |
| mississippi | hybrid | None | Forfeiture / cancellation by chancery, equity-conditioned; no CFD cure-period statute | Stabiler (chancery; no statute) |
| missouri | strict_forfeiture | None | Contractual forfeiture per the contract; no statutory pre-forfeiture notice or cure | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| montana | hybrid | None | Contractual election among contract remedies; no CFD-specific cancellation statute | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| nebraska | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure of the contract as a mortgage; forfeiture disfavored | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| nevada | hybrid | None | Election constrained by DTPA foreclosure-protection; no CFD cancellation statute | NRS ch. 40 overlay (no CFD cure statute) |
| new-hampshire | hybrid | None | Vendor’s contract/equitable remedies; no statutory cure period | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| new-jersey | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure (treat-as-mortgage, judicial-foreclosure state); no cancellation statute | Common law / judicial foreclosure |
| new-mexico | strict_forfeiture | None | Forfeiture by escrow (self-help); no statutory cure period or notice form | Common law (“shock the conscience” equity) |
| new-york | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure of the vendee’s equity of redemption; no statutory cure | Common law (equity of redemption) |
| northern-mariana-islands | unclear | None | Unsettled; no CFD statute or published opinion on cure | No CNMI authority (needs_verification) |
| oklahoma | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial mortgage foreclosure always; strict forfeiture barred | Okla. case/statute (foreclosure) |
| puerto-rico | hybrid | None (no U.S.-type cancellation) | Resolution (resolución) of the reciprocal contract; civil-law, not U.S. cure-notice | P.R. Civil Code (no U.S. cancellation statute) |
| rhode-island | treat_as_mortgage | None | Unsettled; if treated as a mortgage, judicial foreclosure; no land-contract cure statute | No CFD authority (needs_verification) |
| south-carolina | treat_as_mortgage | None | Judicial foreclosure of the equity of redemption; no prescribed statutory cure period | Common law (equity of redemption) |
| tennessee | hybrid | None | Election; equity-scrutinized forfeiture; no statutory notice-and-cure | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| us-virgin-islands | unclear | None | Undetermined; no V.I. statutory cancellation/forfeiture procedure | No USVI authority (needs_verification) |
| utah | hybrid | None | Election anchored on forfeiture-as-liquidated-damages (URC); cure depends on the contract | Utah URC (no statutory cure period) |
| vermont | treat_as_mortgage | None | Foreclosure always as an equitable mortgage; forfeiture cannot self-execute | Vt. equitable-mortgage foreclosure |
| west-virginia | hybrid | None | Judicial enforcement in equity; forfeiture requires adjudication; no statutory cure period | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| wisconsin | hybrid | None (judicial cure via foreclosure) | Judicial strict foreclosure (Wis. Stat. § 846.30); no non-judicial cancellation | Wis. Stat. § 846.30 |
| wyoming | strict_forfeiture | None | Contractual forfeiture enforced per its terms; no statutory cure period | Common law (no cancellation statute) |
| american-samoa | unclear | None | Unclear / unresolved; no retrieved statute on cure or forfeiture | No authority (needs_verification) |
At-a-glance counts (as classified by the source pages, 2026-06-08)
- Statutory cure / cancellation period exists: 18 jurisdictions — Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington.
- No statutory cure period (contract / judicial track): 38 jurisdictions (the remaining 50 states + DC + 4 territories).
- Shortest fixed cure: 10 days (ohio post-notice; south-dakota court-set floor). Longest: 1 year (north-dakota).
- Several “statutory cure” entries are coverage-limited — residential-only (maine, virginia, north-carolina), consumer 1–4-family only (delaware), investor-seller-only for the 90-day tier (minnesota), or county-only (pennsylvania, Philadelphia & Allegheny). Always confirm the contract falls inside the statute’s scope before relying on the period.
▸ For Sellers / Operators — This is the single most deal-defining fact to confirm before you contract and again before you enforce. In a statutory-cure jurisdiction the period and the prescribed notice form are mandatory and often non-waivable — a defective notice or a missed day sinks the cancellation (see minnesota, texas, washington, oregon, arizona). In a No / judicial jurisdiction there is no statutory cure period to satisfy, but the flip side is usually judicial foreclosure with the buyer’s full equity of redemption — slower and costlier than a notice-and-cure forfeiture. Read the linked jurisdiction §3 in full; this table is the index, not the procedure.
▸ For Buyers — Where a statutory cure period exists, a timely cure within the window reinstates the contract regardless of any contrary contract clause (e.g. minnesota § 559.21, kansas K.S.A. 58-5204, north-carolina § 47H-4). Where it does not, your protection is whatever the contract grants plus the equitable / redemption rights of a forfeiture-vs-foreclosure foreclosure.
Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice, and may be out of date. Contract-for-deed cancellation statutes are frequently amended and outcomes turn on facts (residential vs. commercial, equity built, recording, coverage thresholds). Cells marked needs_verification or ”—” reflect points the underlying jurisdiction page could not confirm against a retrieved primary source — do not treat them as a statement that no law exists. Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction before drafting, enforcing, or signing an installment land contract.