To cancel ADT home security, call the retention line at 1-800-238-2727; ADT does not accept cancellations by email or through the online portal.1ADT. How Do I Cancel My ADT Monitoring? If you’re still inside your initial contract term, you’ll owe 75 percent of your remaining monthly payments as a termination charge. If that term has already ended, you owe nothing beyond 30 days’ notice.
Check Your Contract Status Before You Call
The single question that determines your cost is whether you’re still in the initial term. ADT’s standard residential monitoring contract runs 36 months, except in California, where it runs 24 months.2ADT. Residential Security Terms and Conditions Once that term expires, the contract automatically renews month-to-month, and no early termination fee applies during those renewal periods.3ADT. Monitoring Contract Terms
Pull your original service agreement or log into your customer portal and find your activation date. Someone who signed up four years ago on a 36-month contract is already month-to-month and can walk away cleanly. Plenty of people assume they’re locked in when they’re not.
What the Early Termination Fee Costs
If you cancel during the initial term, ADT charges 75 percent of your total remaining monthly payments, due in full. The contract labels this a “contract termination charge” rather than a penalty, which narrows your ability to challenge it as unreasonable.4ADT. Monitoring Contract Terms – Section: Early Termination of This Contract
The calculation is simple. Multiply the months remaining by your monthly monitoring rate, then take 75 percent. With 18 months left at $49.99 per month, the remaining balance is $899.82 and the termination fee comes to about $675. With 10 months left at the same rate, you’d owe roughly $375. Run the number before you dial so it doesn’t surprise you on the call.
Making the Cancellation Call
Before calling 1-800-238-2727, have three things in front of you: your account number from your monthly statement or the customer portal, the verbal security password you set up at installation, and the date you want monitoring to stop.
The call routes to a retention specialist whose job is to keep you. Expect discounted rate offers, free equipment upgrades, or temporary pauses. If you’ve already decided, a brief “I appreciate the offer, but I’d like to proceed with cancellation” keeps things moving. Make sure the representative logs your cancellation and starts the 30-day notice clock on the day of the call.
Before you hang up, ask for a cancellation confirmation number and an emailed summary showing the effective date and terms. Write the number down somewhere outside your email account. That confirmation is your proof if charges keep posting later.
The 30-Day Notice Window
ADT requires at least 30 days’ notice before the end of your current billing cycle, and service continues through that window.3ADT. Monitoring Contract Terms If your cycle renews on the 15th and you call on the 10th, you’ll still be billed for that cycle, and cancellation takes effect at the end of the following one.
This applies whether you’re in the initial term or month-to-month. It’s a procedural requirement, not an extra fee. But timing it badly costs you one more month.
Returning Your Equipment
What you have to return depends on how you got the system. With a professional install, door and window sensors typically become yours once they’re mounted. Cameras, control panels, and smart hubs often remain ADT’s property, especially if they came through a lease or bundled equipment arrangement.
The return timeline is tighter than most people expect. Contact ADT’s support center within seven days of your termination date to start the return and get a Return Material Authorization number. From the date the RMA is issued, you have 21 calendar days to get the equipment back to ADT’s warehouse.5ADT. ADT Smart Home Security – Return Policy, Return Process, and Non-Returned Equipment Fee
Miss that window and ADT charges the full manufacturer’s suggested retail price for each unreturned item to the card on file. A smart camera or touchscreen panel can run into the hundreds. ADT provides a prepaid shipping label with the RMA, so shipping isn’t on you. Don’t let the box sit by the door.6ADT. Return Policy, Return Process, and Non-Returned Equipment Fee
Ways to Cancel Without Paying the Fee
Within Three Days of a Home Sale
If an ADT salesperson came to your home to close the deal and you signed within the last three business days, the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule lets you cancel any door-to-door sale of $25 or more with no penalty.7Federal Trade Commission. Cooling-off Period for Sales Made at Home or Other Locations Business days exclude Sundays and federal holidays.8eCFR. 16 CFR Part 429 – Rule Concerning Cooling-off Period for Sales The seller is required to give you a cancellation notice form at the time of sale; if they didn’t, the three-day clock may not have started. This rule does not apply if you bought online or at an ADT retail location.
Within Six Months Under the Money-Back Guarantee
ADT offers a satisfaction guarantee during the first six months after installation. If ADT has attempted to resolve a system-related issue and failed, you can get a refund of your installation price and all monitoring fees paid.9ADT. ADT Certificates and Guarantees The conditions are strict: you must have bought ADT’s Quality Service Plan at activation, kept your monthly payments current, and returned the equipment. The guarantee isn’t transferable, and problems you caused don’t qualify.2ADT. Residential Security Terms and Conditions Give ADT a documented chance to fix the issue first.
Active-Duty Military Orders
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act covers home security contracts. Under 50 U.S.C. ยง 3956, an active-duty service member can terminate at any time after receiving military orders to relocate for 90 days or more to a location that doesn’t support the contract, or after receiving permanent change of station orders.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3956 – Termination of Certain Consumer Contracts Deliver written or electronic notice of termination along with a copy of your orders to ADT. No termination fee applies. The contract must have been signed before you received the qualifying orders.
Death of the Account Holder
When the account holder dies, the estate administrator or next of kin can cancel without the standard termination fee by contacting customer service and submitting a copy of the death certificate. ADT’s legal department handles these separately from routine cancellations. Automated billing continues until someone formally requests cancellation, so handle this early rather than disputing posthumous charges later.
Transferring Instead of Canceling When You Move
If you’re moving rather than switching providers, transferring service to your new address can erase the fee entirely. ADT asks that you call (888) 281-8308 at least 30 days before your move.11ADT. Moving? Call ADT First! If you set up your system yourself with ADT’s self-setup kit, you may be able to reinstall your devices at the new address. Professionally installed systems generally stay with the house, but if the buyer wants to keep the system, ADT can transfer the account to them, which closes out your obligation. The new location has to be inside ADT’s service area.
If Charges Keep Posting After You Cancel
The most common post-cancellation problem is charges that keep hitting your card or bank account past the termination date. Your confirmation number is your first line of defense. Call ADT, cite it, and request immediate reversal of any unauthorized charges.
If ADT doesn’t resolve the issue directly, know that the standard services agreement includes a binding arbitration clause covering billing and collection disputes, which limits your ability to file a traditional lawsuit or join a class action.12ADT. ADT Services Agreement For small amounts, a chargeback through your credit card company is usually faster and more practical than arbitration. Keep your confirmation number and the emailed cancellation summary ready to support the dispute.