Plain-words guide

How long do I have to sign a severance agreement?

The honest answer has three parts: the date the company wrote, the deadline the law guarantees (if it covers you), and the extra time companies grant when asked. Here is each one, in plain words.

If you are 40 or older, the law sets your floor

Federal law — the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, part of the age-discrimination law, 29 U.S.C. § 626(f) — says a worker 40 or older must get at least 21 days to consider a severance agreement that asks them to give up age-discrimination claims. If the offer is part of a program covering a group (a layoff of two or more people), the floor is 45 days. The days count from when the final terms are handed to you, and the company cannot shorten them, pressure you out of them, or make the offer shrink for using them. You may sign sooner — but only if it is genuinely your choice.

A real change restarts the clock

If the company materially changes the terms after handing you the paper — more money, different dates, a new clause — the thinking-it-over period restarts from the change. Small corrections may not restart it, and companies sometimes ask you to agree in writing that a change does not restart the clock. Know that sentence exists before you sign anything containing it. The checker counts the restart automatically.

Under 40: the date is an ask, not a deadline

The federal clocks protect workers 40 and up. Under 40, no federal minimum applies — the date in your letter is the company's chosen date. That does not make it immovable: extensions are granted every day, usually for the asking, because a company would rather have a clean signature in three weeks than a reluctant one in ten days and a resentful ex-employee. Ask in writing; keep the answer.

Some states set their own clocks

California gives at least 5 business days to consider agreements related to your separation, for workers of any age. New York gives 21 days (plus 7 days to change your mind) for agreements with confidentiality terms covering discrimination claims — though since 2023 the 21 days can be waived in writing before any lawsuit. Illinois gives 21 days plus 7 to revoke for covered confidentiality terms. Minnesota gives 15 days after signing to take back a release under its human-rights law. Your state page shows whether your state adds a clock.

What to do with the time

Days you do not use are gone forever. Spend them in order: (1) run the paperwork audit — is everything the law requires actually in the document? (2) read every clause with a translator's eye (the kit's decoder), especially the non-compete and the money clauses; (3) decide your asks; (4) ask, in writing, with days to spare. If your situation has a red flag — a recent complaint, protected leave, a big equity position — those days are also when a flat-fee attorney review ($350–$750 is the going range) fits.

Go deeper

Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit

The clause-by-clause decoder — every clause in plain words: what it means, what to look for, the exact questions to raise
The paperwork audit (the legal checklist) — every item the law names for workers 40+, checked against your documents
The group layoff list audit (Exhibit A) — titles and ages of who was picked and who was not, checked line by line. No other tool does this
The negotiation playbook — what companies actually move on (money, dates, stock deadlines, the non-compete, your reference) and the words that move them
Ready-to-send scripts: asking for more time, asking for changes, and the change-your-mind letter (revocation)
The red-flag page — the short list of facts that mean a lawyer's paid hour is worth it, and how to find one who does this daily

Get the SeveranceDecoded Kit — $49

One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.