Reference
Security deposit return laws by state
After you move out, your landlord has a limited window to either return your security deposit or send you a written, itemized statement of what they kept and why. That window is set by state law, and it is usually somewhere between 14 and 60 days.
Pick your state below for the deadline we are willing to publish, the statute it comes from, and the details that most often trip tenants up — like forwarding-address requirements and business-day counting.
All 51 states and D.C.
- Alabamaverify
- Alaska14 days
- Arizona14 days
- Arkansas60 days
- California21 days
- Colorado30 days
- Connecticut30 days
- Delaware20 days
- District of Columbia45 days
- Florida30 days
- Georgia30 days
- Hawaii14 days
- Idaho21 days
- Illinoisverify
- Indiana45 days
- Iowa30 days
- Kansas30 days
- Kentuckyverify
- Louisiana30 days
- Maine30 days
- Maryland45 days
- Massachusetts30 days
- Michigan30 days
- Minnesota21 days
- Mississippi45 days
- Missouriverify
- Montana30 days
- Nebraska14 days
- Nevada30 days
- New Hampshire30 days
- New Jersey30 days
- New Mexico30 days
- New York14 days
- North Carolina30 days
- North Dakota30 days
- Ohio30 days
- Oklahomaverify
- Oregon31 days
- Pennsylvania30 days
- Rhode Island20 days
- South Carolina30 days
- South Dakota14 days
- Tennesseeverify
- Texas30 days
- Utah30 days
- Vermont14 days
- Virginia45 days
- Washington30 days
- West Virginia60 days
- Wisconsin21 days
- Wyoming30 days
Where we cite a statute, and where we don't
45 states have a deposit-return period clear enough for us to state as a number and cite. 6 do not — usually because the rule varies by landlord size, by county, or by a written-demand step you have to take first. On those pages we say so plainly and your letter demands compliance with whatever period your state requires, without inventing a number.
States we flag for verification: Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee.
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Start my demand letterThis page is general information, not legal advice. State rules change and local ordinances can be stricter — verify your deadline before relying on it.