State Guides
Security deposit return deadlines, by state
Deadlines run from 14 days to 60, and 2states set none at all. Every figure below was read against the statute it cites — not copied from another guide — and each state page prints the statutory wording so you can check it yourself.
Jurisdictions
51
Shortest
14 days
Longest
60 days
No deadline
2
Grouped by deadline
Shortest first. Click a state for the statute, the wording and what has to be in the letter.
15 days1 state
20 days2 states
21 days6 states
30 days24 states
31 days1 state
60 days3 states
Every state, with its authority
| State | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 60 days | Ala. Code 35-9A-201(b) |
| Alaska | 14 days / 30 | Alaska Stat. 34.03.070(g) |
| Arizona | 14 business days | A.R.S. 33-1321(D) |
| Arkansas | 60 days | Ark. Code 18-16-305 |
| California | 21 days | Cal. Civ. Code 1950.5(h)(1) |
| Colorado | 30 days / 60 | C.R.S. 38-12-103(1) |
| Connecticut | 21 days | Conn. Gen. Stat. 47a-21(d)(2) |
| Delaware | 20 days | 25 Del. C. 5514(f) |
| District of Columbia | 45 days | 14 DCMR 309; D.C. Code 42-3502.17 |
| Florida | 15 days / 30 | Fla. Stat. 83.49(3)(a) |
| Georgia | 30 days | O.C.G.A. 44-7-34(a) |
| Hawaii | 14 days | HRS 521-44(c) |
| Idaho | 21 days / 30 | Idaho Code 6-321 |
| Illinois | 30 days / 45 | 765 ILCS 710/1 |
| Indiana | 45 days | Ind. Code 32-31-3-12(a) |
| Iowa | 30 days | Iowa Code 562A.12(3) |
| Kansas | 30 days | K.S.A. 58-2550(b) |
| Kentucky | None set | KRS 383.580 |
| Louisiana | 30 days / 60 | La. R.S. 9:3251(A) |
| Maine | 30 days / 21 | 14 M.R.S. 6033(2) |
| Maryland | 45 days | Md. Real Prop. 8-203(g) |
| Massachusetts | 30 days | M.G.L. c.186 s.15B(4) |
| Michigan | 30 days | MCL 554.609 |
| Minnesota | 21 days | Minn. Stat. 504B.178 subd. 3(a) |
| Mississippi | 45 days | Miss. Code 89-8-21(3) |
| Missouri | 30 days | RSMo 535.300(3) |
| Montana | 30 days / 10 | Mont. Code 70-25-202 |
| Nebraska | 14 days | Neb. Rev. Stat. 76-1416(2) |
| Nevada | 30 days | NRS 118A.242(4) |
| New Hampshire | 30 days | RSA 540-A:7 |
| New Jersey | 30 days | N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1 |
| New Mexico | 30 days | N.M. Stat. 47-8-18(C) |
| New York | 14 days | N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law 7-108(e) |
| North Carolina | 30 days / 60 | N.C. Gen. Stat. 42-52 |
| North Dakota | 30 days | N.D. Cent. Code 47-16-07.1(3) |
| Ohio | 30 days | Ohio Rev. Code 5321.16(B) |
| Oklahoma | 45 days | 41 Okla. Stat. 115(B) |
| Oregon | 31 days | ORS 90.300(13) |
| Pennsylvania | 30 days | 68 P.S. 250.512(a) |
| Rhode Island | 20 days | R.I. Gen. Laws 34-18-19(b) |
| South Carolina | 30 days | S.C. Code 27-40-410(b) |
| South Dakota | 21 days / 45 | S.D. Codified Laws 43-32-24 |
| Tennessee | None set | Tenn. Code 66-28-301 |
| Texas | 30 days | Tex. Prop. Code 92.103(a) |
| Utah | 30 days | Utah Code 57-17-3 |
| Vermont | 14 days / 60 | 9 V.S.A. 4461(c) |
| Virginia | 45 days | Va. Code 55.1-1226 |
| Washington | 30 days | RCW 59.18.280(1) |
| West Virginia | 60 days / 45 | W. Va. Code 37-6A-2 |
| Wisconsin | 21 days | Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.06(2) |
| Wyoming | 30 days | Wyo. Stat. 1-21-1208(a) |
Why these numbers disagree with other guides
Deposit deadlines are reported inconsistently across the web, and when we checked all 51 against the statutes we found several commonly-published figures to be wrong. Kentucky is widely listed as 30 or 60 days; KRS 383.580 sets no landlord deadline at all — the 30 days applies only where a tenant left owing rent and never asked for the deposit, and the 60 days is the tenant’s window to respond. South Dakota is usually given as 14 days; SDCL 43-32-24 says 21.
Two more are simply out of date. Connecticut dropped from 30 days to 21 in 2023, Washington rose from 21 to 30 the same year, and Louisiana changed in 2026 to permit a written agreement of up to two months. A guide written once and never revisited reports the old rule indefinitely, which is why every row here carries the date it was read.
The conditions that matter more than the number
A deadline is only as useful as the event that starts it. Several states do not begin counting until the tenant supplies a forwarding address in writing — Texas and Wyoming among them — so a tenant who vanishes has not started your clock. Others require a demandfrom the tenant before the obligation arises at all: Arizona, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina. Oklahoma is the sharpest version: no written demand within six months and the deposit becomes the landlord’s.
And Arizona’s 14 days are business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Every other state on this page counts calendar days.
Common questions
- Which state gives landlords the least time to return a deposit?
- Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska, New York, Vermont — 14 days. Arizona's 14 days are business days, which makes it tighter still in practice.
- Do any states have no deposit return deadline?
- Yes — Kentucky and Tennessee. Kentucky: KRS 383.580; Tennessee: Tenn. Code 66-28-301. Both still require the landlord to account for the deposit; they simply set no number of days.
- What happens if a landlord misses the deadline?
- The usual penalty is not a fine — it is forfeiting the right to withhold anything at all, even for genuine damage. Many states add double or treble damages plus the tenant's legal fees. A landlord with real damage and a late itemisation frequently recovers nothing.
- Can the lease give the landlord longer?
- Usually no. A statutory deadline is a ceiling a lease cannot extend, with a few express exceptions: Colorado permits up to 60 days by lease, Idaho up to 30, and since 2026 Louisiana permits up to two months by written agreement.
Track the deadline instead of remembering it
Pacific Rentals Pro knows your state’s rule, counts from the move-out date, builds the itemised statement from your real expenses, and warns you before the clock runs out. The table above is the same data the app runs on.
Start free →All 51 jurisdictions last read against their cited sources on November 6, 2026. General information, not legal advice — statutes change and local ordinances can add requirements. Each state page links to the source so you can confirm the current text.