30 Days From Today

What people use 30 days for

• Monthly rolling contracts and rent notice periods
• Retailer return windows and refund deadlines
• Free-trial expiry and subscription renewals
• Invoice payment terms written as "net 30"

Thirty days and one month are rarely the same date

Only April, June, September and November are thirty days long. Start a thirty-day count in a 31-day month and you land a day short of the same date next month; start it on 31 January and thirty days takes you into early March, while "one month" lands on 28 or 29 February. The comparison above shows how far apart the two answers are for a count that starts today.

This matters because contracts mean what they say. A clause giving "30 days notice" is a count of days, and a clause giving "one month" is a calendar step — courts and tribunals read them differently, and so should you.

Does the count start today or tomorrow?

Most notice and return periods exclude the day the clock starts. If a shop gives you thirty days to return something bought today, day one is usually tomorrow, so the deadline is the date shown above. Where a contract says "within 30 days of receipt", the day of receipt itself is normally excluded too.

The count runs on calendar days unless the wording says "working days" or "business days". Weekends and public holidays inside the window are included, which is why a thirty-day deadline can land on a Sunday — check whether your agreement rolls that forward to the next working day.

Frequently asked questions