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Indiana

Indiana · home improvement

Your rights in Indiana

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

For home contracts over $150, wherever you sign

Cancel in writing (mail, hand delivery or email) before midnight of the third business day after you both sign. Money back in 10 days.

They may keep the value of emergency work you OK'd in writing.

The exception, in the rule's words
  • Emergency or temporary work that you agreed in writing, before it was done, was needed to prevent damage to the property: if you cancel, the contractor is entitled to the reasonable value of that work.
Read the full rule

When it applies

Contracts over $150 to alter, repair, replace, rebuild or otherwise change a home with one to four units that someone lives in, entered into after June 30, 2017, wherever the contract was signed (not only door-to-door sales). If insurance is paying for the work, the 3 days run from the later of signing or the day you get your insurer's written final decision on coverage.

You can cancel in writing (by mail, hand delivery or email) before midnight of the third business day after you and the contractor both sign. If insurance is paying, the 3 days run from the later of signing or the day you get your insurer's written final decision on coverage. The contractor must return your payments within 10 days, but may keep the reasonable value of emergency or temporary work you agreed in writing, before it was done, was needed to prevent damage.

IC 24-5-11-10.6 · read on iga.in.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: IN law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 14 in writing before you sign.

  • Written & readableJobs over $150; complete before you sign: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be in writing for jobs over $150 on a home of one to four units, in a form you can reasonably read and understand. The contractor must give you the completed contract before you sign it.

  • Your name & the job addressGoes on the signed contract: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show your name and the address of the property being worked on.

  • Their name, address & emailCheck it on the signed contract: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the contractor's name, address and email address, plus the name, phone number and email address of the person to contact with problems or questions.

  • Date given & accept deadlineWhen you got it, and any deadline: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the date the contract was given to you and any deadline for accepting it.

  • Work & materials describedWhat work and materials are included: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Give a reasonably detailed description of the work. If the specifications are not included, say they will be given to you before work starts and need your separate written, dated approval.

  • Start & completion datesWhen work begins and is mostly done: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Give approximate start and completion dates and any contingencies that would materially change the completion date.

  • Contract price: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    State the contract price: the full amount less any discounts offered.

  • Whether others supply workWho else will work on the job: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Say whether any subcontractor, vendor or other third party will supply labor, services, materials or equipment.

  • 3-day cancel notice & formIn bold, with a form to detach: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include the statement of your three-business-day right to cancel and a detachable Notice of Cancellation form, in duplicate, in at least 10-point bold type.

  • Permits before work startsWho gets any license or permit: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Make the job conditional on the right party getting any required licenses or permits before work starts.

  • They sign firstBefore you sign or pay a deposit: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be signed by the contractor before you sign and before you can be required to make any down payment, with signature lines that show each signer's printed or typed name. You must get a fully signed copy right away, showing the date each side signed.

  • Changes signed by youAny change, in a signed writing: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Put any change in writing signed by you; a change you did not sign cannot be enforced against you.

  • No assignment of your rightsTo them or anyone else: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Not assign any of your rights to the contractor or to third parties.

  • No insurance-claim handlingIf insurance pays for the work: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For insurance-paid work where a third party supplies labor or materials, state that neither the contractor nor that third party may start or pursue a claim with your insurance company.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources17 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Statute text is the 2026 Indiana Code. It was read in full from the Indiana General Assembly's official 2026 Indiana Code download (iga.in.gov/ic/2026/2026-Indiana-Code-html.zip, posted June 30, 2026): the Home Improvement Contracts chapter (IC 24-5-11), the Home Solicitation Sales chapter (IC 24-5-10) and the trade chapters cited. The iga.in.gov section links are drawn by JavaScript and were not opened in a browser during this check. The section-link format was confirmed from the site's own code.
  • No deposit cap: IC 24-5-11 sets no limit on a deposit or down payment, and a search of the full 2026 Indiana Code found no contractor deposit limit. IC 24-5-11-11 only says the contractor must sign the contract before you can be required to make any down payment. The Attorney General's home improvement fact sheet (PDF dated 2013) advises 'Do not pay more than 1/3 of the total cost as a down payment'. That is advice, not a legal limit. depositCap is null, and the app must not state an Indiana cap or borrow one from another state.
  • Cancellation: IC 24-5-11-10.6 covers contracts entered into after June 30, 2017, wherever they were signed. Chapter 11 does not define 'business day'. The separate Home Solicitation Sales chapter (IC 24-5-10-1) defines it as any day other than Sunday or a legal holiday. The app should say 'third business day' and not list which days count. An August 2026 Attorney General release says homeowners 'generally have three business days to cancel'.
  • Refund timing is worded two ways. The statute (IC 24-5-11-10.6(d)) says payments must be returned not later than 10 days after cancellation. The notice form the statute requires says within 10 business days after the contractor receives the notice, 'minus any amounts you may owe for work already done'. The statute itself only lets the contractor keep the reasonable value of emergency or temporary work you agreed to in writing beforehand (10.6(e)). The app should say 'within 10 days' and should not promise a refund with no deductions.
  • Door-to-door sales: the Home Solicitation Sales chapter (IC 24-5-10-8, -9, -12) separately gives a 3-business-day right to cancel unsolicited sales of $25 or more made away from the seller's permanent place of business, with a refund within 10 business days. For emergency home improvements made within 3 days of the agreement, the seller may recover the fair market value of materials and labor. Indiana has its own home-improvement cancellation right, so the federal FTC rule is not used here.
  • Insurance-paid work: IC 24-5-11-10.5(a) bars contractors from advertising, offering or promising to pay or rebate any part of an insurance deductible. IC 24-5-11-10.5(d) bars them from acting as a public adjuster. The August 2026 Attorney General release repeats both rules.
  • Registration is null. Indiana has no statewide home improvement or general contractor license or registration. The State of Indiana business guide (in.gov/core/business_guide.html) says the only construction contractors licensed by the state are plumbers, and that many other areas require local licensing that varies by city and county. Title 25 of the 2026 Indiana Code (the licensed-occupations title) has no home improvement, general contractor, electrical, HVAC or roofing licensing article. The Attorney General fact sheet says licensing requirements vary from community to community and tells homeowners to check with the city or county building department. The app should say Indiana has no statewide contractor license and point to the local building department.
  • Local licensing is limited. Since February 28, 2013, a city, town or county may not adopt a new rule requiring a home builder or remodeler to be licensed, certified, permitted, registered or listed (IC 36-1-22-5). Rules adopted before March 1, 2013 still stand. Local governments may still license specific trades such as electricians, plumbers, tile layers and landscapers, and may still issue building permits (IC 36-1-22-6). Many places will therefore have no local license for a general remodeler. The app must not call a contractor unlicensed just because no local remodeler license exists.
  • Statewide trade credentials found: plumbing contractors and journeyman plumbers (Indiana Plumbing Commission, IC 25-28.5-1-11; the plumbing contractor license number must appear in written plumbing advertising and on service vehicles under IC 25-28.5-1-35), pesticide businesses (state chemist, IC 15-16-5-48), home inspectors (IC 25-20.2-5-1), radon testers and mitigators (Indiana Department of Health, IC 16-41-38-5), lead-based paint inspectors, risk assessors and abatement contractors (Indiana Department of Health, IC 16-41-39.8-3) and water well drillers and pump installers (Department of Natural Resources, IC 25-39-3-1).
  • Contractor bonds and local licenses: IC 22-11-3.1, the chapter titled for Lake and Porter Counties, requires a $5,000 unified contractor license bond, filed with the county recorder, in counties within two population bands. It also says those counties and their cities and towns are not barred from requiring licenses to do business, with limits on the fees. Other cities and counties set their own rules, subject to IC 36-1-22.
  • contractMust comes from IC 24-5-11-9, -10, -10.6, -11 and -12. The chapter defines the contract as an agreement 'oral or written' with a price over $150 (IC 24-5-11-4), but it requires the contractor to give you a completed contract with the listed terms and signature lines before you sign (IC 24-5-11-10). The Attorney General's fact sheet and its 2022 and 2026 releases say Indiana law requires home improvement contracts over $150 to be in writing. The chapter covers property with one to four units used as a dwelling (IC 24-5-11-7.5). The Attorney General's consumer alerts also tell homeowners to look for a payment schedule. The statute does not require one, so it is not in contractMust.
  • septic-well is in neither tradeCoverage list. Water well drillers and pump installers need a state DNR license (IC 25-39-3-1), but septic system installers register with counties (IC 16-41-25-12), so one answer does not fit the slug.

General information from official Indiana sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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