District of Columbia Door-to-Door Home Improvement Contract

District of Columbia Door-to-Door Home Improvement Contract

Before signing: Use for a home-improvement sale of at least $25 personally solicited by Contractor or its agent and signed by Buyer at Buyer's D.C. residence when both D.C. Code § 28-3811 and the federal Cooling-Off Rule apply. Exclude a transaction satisfying the statutory emergency-waiver conditions or involving public insurance adjusting; check each rule's remaining exceptions. The transaction date is the date Buyer actually signs. Give Buyer a completed signed agreement and two completed, easily detachable federal cancellation notices at signing, in the language principally used in the oral presentation. Print the federal statement beside Buyer's signature and both notices in bold type of at least 10 points. Explain the cancellation right orally at signing.

Buyer and transaction signing date: [__/__/____]

Buyer legal name and residence/work site: [NAME; STREET ADDRESS, WASHINGTON, DC ZIP]

Contractor legal business name: [________________________________]

Contractor's permanent business and cancellation address: [STREET ADDRESS, CITY, STATE ZIP]

Contractor telephone and email: [NUMBER; ADDRESS]

Seller or representative who solicited the sale: [NAME; TITLE]

Place of solicitation and signing: Buyer's residence at [ADDRESS]. Total purchase price: $[AMOUNT].

Coverage checked: ☐ D.C. home solicitation sale ☐ Federal covered door-to-door sale ☐ No emergency waiver or other exclusion removes coverage.

1. Work, materials, and permits

Contractor shall provide the labor, services, materials, equipment, and supervision described in Exhibit A at the work site above. The exhibit lists each work area, task, material or part with its specifications, quantity, and exclusions. Contractor shall perform the agreed work in a workmanlike manner and obtain the permits assigned to it below.

Permits and inspections: Contractor obtains [LIST] at its expense of $[AMOUNT]; Buyer obtains [LIST / NONE] at Buyer's expense of $[AMOUNT / 0]. D.C. Home Improvement Contractor license: [LICENSED BUSINESS NAME; BASIC BUSINESS LICENSE NUMBER; EXPIRATION DATE]. Home Improvement Salesperson license, if applicable: [NAME; LICENSE NUMBER]. Required contractor surety bond: [SURETY; BOND NUMBER; EXPIRATION DATE]. Confirm current license and bond status with DLCP before collecting an advance payment (16 DCMR § 800.1; DLCP Contractor and Construction Services).

Work outside Exhibit A requires a written change order signed by both parties before the changed work starts, stating the change to scope, price, and schedule.

2. Schedule and access

Scheduled start: [__/__/____]. Estimated completion: [__/__/____]. Work hours: [HOURS AND DAYS]. Buyer will give reasonable access and make selections identified in Exhibit A by the listed dates. Contractor shall give prompt written notice of a material delay and proposed revised date; a change to the agreed date requires a signed change order.

3. Price and payment

Total price, including labor, materials, tax, and charges: $[AMOUNT]. Estimate fee, if any: $[AMOUNT / 0], [INCLUDED / SEPARATE]. No other charge is due without a signed change order.

Advance-payment condition: Contractor shall not require or accept any payment before all contracted work is complete unless it is licensed as a D.C. home improvement contractor or the payment is taken by a licensed salesperson employed by a licensed contractor, as provided in 16 DCMR § 800.1. If that condition is not met, enter $0 for the deposit and any other precompletion payment.

Total scheduled payments: $[AMOUNT], equal to the total price. Contractor shall give an itemized invoice at each payment event. Buyer may identify a disputed amount in writing and pay the undisputed balance.

4. Completion and ordinary termination

At completion, the parties will inspect the work and record incomplete or defective items and a reasonable correction date. Additional workmanship warranty, if offered: [TERM AND REMEDY / NONE BEYOND APPLICABLE LAW]. Product warranties apply only to covered products under their terms.

For an ordinary material breach, the nonbreaching party may give written notice describing the breach and allow [NUMBER] days to cure if possible. If uncured, that party may end remaining work by written notice and seek lawful relief. The parties will account for conforming work, authorized materials, payments, and lawful offsets. This clause does not limit a statutory cancellation right.

Ordinary notice addresses: Buyer at [ADDRESS]; Contractor at the business address above. D.C. law governs. A court with jurisdiction in the District of Columbia may hear a dispute, subject to consumer protections. This contract has no arbitration, jury waiver, or fee-shifting clause.

5. Statutory cancellation and signatures

Buyer may cancel a covered D.C. home solicitation sale through midnight of the third business day after signing by giving Contractor written notice at its business address above. A properly addressed, postage-prepaid mailed notice is given when deposited in a mailbox; any written expression of the intention not to be bound suffices. Until Contractor has complied with the D.C. notice requirement below, Buyer may cancel by notifying Contractor in any manner and by any means. Following a covered cancellation, Contractor must tender payments and debt instruments within ten days under D.C. law; the federal form below states its separate ten-business-day rule. Contractor receives no compensation for services performed before cancellation under § 28-3811(i)(3).

D.C. third-business-day deadline: [DAY, MONTH, DATE, YEAR] at midnight. Federal third-business-day deadline on both notices: [DAY, MONTH, DATE, YEAR] at midnight. Calculate each under its governing rule and complete both copies before signing.

BUYERS RIGHT TO CANCEL

If this agreement was solicited at or near your residence and you do not want the goods or services, you may cancel this agreement by mailing a notice to the seller. The notice must say that you do not want the goods or services and must be mailed before midnight of the third business day after you signed this agreement. The notice must be mailed to: [CONTRACTOR NAME AND BUSINESS ADDRESS]. If you cancel, the seller may not keep any of your cash down payment.

Federal signature statement immediately beside Buyer's signature:

You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. See the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this right.

Buyer signature: ____________________ Date and time: [__/__/____, __:__]

Contractor or authorized representative signature: ____________________ Date: [__/__/____]

Printed name and title: [NAME; TITLE]

Delivery record: Buyer received this completed signed contract, Exhibit A, and both completed detachable notices at signing. Contractor orally explained cancellation. Buyer initials: [____]. Contractor initials: [____].

Exhibit A — work and material schedule

Work areas and tasks: [DESCRIBE]

Drawings incorporated by title and date: [DETAILS / NONE]. Excluded work: [DETAILS / NONE]. Buyer selections and due dates: [DETAILS / NONE].

Notice of Cancellation — copy 1, detach and give to Buyer

Transaction date: [DATE OF TRANSACTION]

You may CANCEL this transaction, without any Penalty or Obligation, within THREE BUSINESS DAYS from the above date.

If you cancel, any property traded in, any payments made by you under the contract or sale, and any negotiable instrument executed by you will be returned within TEN BUSINESS DAYS following receipt by the seller of your cancellation notice, and any security interest arising out of the transaction will be cancelled.

If you cancel, you must make available to the seller at your residence, in substantially as good condition as when received, any goods delivered to you under this contract or sale, or you may, if you wish, comply with the instructions of the seller regarding the return shipment of the goods at the seller's expense and risk.

If you do make the goods available to the seller and the seller does not pick them up within 20 days of the date of your Notice of Cancellation, you may retain or dispose of the goods without any further obligation. If you fail to make the goods available to the seller, or if you agree to return the goods to the seller and fail to do so, then you remain liable for performance of all obligations under the contract.

To cancel this transaction, mail or deliver a signed and dated copy of this Cancellation Notice or any other written notice, or send a telegram, to [CONTRACTOR LEGAL NAME], at [CONTRACTOR BUSINESS ADDRESS] NOT LATER THAN MIDNIGHT OF [CANCELLATION DEADLINE].

I HEREBY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION.

Date: [__/__/____] Buyer's signature: ____________________

Notice of Cancellation — copy 2, detach and give to Buyer

Transaction date: [DATE OF TRANSACTION]

You may CANCEL this transaction, without any Penalty or Obligation, within THREE BUSINESS DAYS from the above date.

If you cancel, any property traded in, any payments made by you under the contract or sale, and any negotiable instrument executed by you will be returned within TEN BUSINESS DAYS following receipt by the seller of your cancellation notice, and any security interest arising out of the transaction will be cancelled.

If you cancel, you must make available to the seller at your residence, in substantially as good condition as when received, any goods delivered to you under this contract or sale, or you may, if you wish, comply with the instructions of the seller regarding the return shipment of the goods at the seller's expense and risk.

If you do make the goods available to the seller and the seller does not pick them up within 20 days of the date of your Notice of Cancellation, you may retain or dispose of the goods without any further obligation. If you fail to make the goods available to the seller, or if you agree to return the goods to the seller and fail to do so, then you remain liable for performance of all obligations under the contract.

To cancel this transaction, mail or deliver a signed and dated copy of this Cancellation Notice or any other written notice, or send a telegram, to [CONTRACTOR LEGAL NAME], at [CONTRACTOR BUSINESS ADDRESS] NOT LATER THAN MIDNIGHT OF [CANCELLATION DEADLINE].

I HEREBY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION.

Date: [__/__/____] Buyer's signature: ____________________

Official sources

• D.C. Code § 28-3811
• FTC Cooling-Off Rule, official 2026 CFR