How long do you have to sign a severance agreement?
The federal minimums, quoted from the statute, and the single condition that decides whether they apply to you at all.
Last checked against primary sources: 2026-08-09
If you are 40 or over and the agreement waives age discrimination claims: at least 21 days to consider it, or at least 45 days if it is part of a group layoff, plus at least 7 days to revoke after signing.
If you are under 40: there is no federal statutory review period. Any time you are given is the employer's practice or your negotiation, not a right.
Why your age decides this
The review and revocation periods come from the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which applies to people 40 and over:
"The prohibitions in this chapter shall be limited to individuals who are at least 40 years of age."29 U.S.C. section 631(a)
The conditions exist because Congress decided that giving up an age claim should not happen casually. If you are under 40 you do not have that claim to give up, so the conditions attached to waiving it do not apply to you.
The three periods, quoted
| Period | Minimum | Statutory text |
|---|---|---|
| Consideration, individual | 21 days | "the individual is given a period of at least 21 days within which to consider the agreement" 29 U.S.C. 626(f)(1)(F)(i) |
| Consideration, group layoff | 45 days | "if a waiver is requested in connection with an exit incentive or other employment termination program offered to a group or class of employees, the individual is given a period of at least 45 days" 29 U.S.C. 626(f)(1)(F)(ii) |
| Revocation, after signing | 7 days | "the agreement provides that for a period of at least 7 days following the execution of such agreement, the individual may revoke the agreement, and the agreement shall not become effective or enforceable until the revocation period has expired" 29 U.S.C. 626(f)(1)(G) |
Read the revocation clause twice, because the second half is the useful part
The clause does two things. The obvious one is that you may change your mind within 7 days. The one that matters more is that the agreement is not effective or enforceable until that window closes. That is why severance money often arrives a week or more after signing: the agreement legally is not doing anything yet. If you are budgeting around a payment date, this is usually why it is later than you expected.
Do the counting yourself
We deliberately do not calculate anyone's deadline. Working out a specific person's date from their specific facts is the line between publishing information and practising law. Here is what to count:
- Find the date you were handed the agreement. Not your last day worked.
- Are you 40 or over on that date? If no, the minimums above do not apply.
- Was this a group layoff or exit incentive programme? That decides 21 against 45.
- Count that many days forward from the date you were handed it.
- Compare it with the deadline your agreement states. It may give you more. Where the ADEA applies it should not give you less.
- If you sign on a given date, add 7 days for the revocation window.
A deadline in your agreement that is shorter than the statutory minimum is a factual mismatch, not a judgement call, and it goes to whether the waiver is enforceable. It takes about ninety seconds to explain to an employment attorney, and it is one of the clearest reasons to spend an hour with one.
These materials are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. This is general information and not legal advice about your situation.
All four clocks, in one place
These pages each answer one question. The runbook puts all of them in the order the decisions actually arrive, with the state comparison table, worksheets for counting your own dates, and a section on which situations are worth an hour of an employment attorney.
32 pages. Five states covered in detail. Every legal and numeric claim cited to the statute, regulation or agency it came from, with the date it was retrieved.
Get the runbook, $49Instant PDF download. The gaps we could not verify before publication are listed inside the product rather than papered over.