Free California Tenant Notice to Vacate
The 30 days written notice California tenants use to properly end a periodic tenancy under Civil Code § 1946. Fillable PDF, move-out date calculator, and security deposit guidance under Civil Code § 1950.5 — built for tenants giving notice, not landlords.
The notice period runs from delivery, not from your last day in the unit. If you give 30 days’ notice on the 10th of the month and intend to move out before the period ends, you are still on the hook for rent through that 30 days window. Moving out early without paying through the period can lead to a small claims action or a security deposit deduction. Pay rent through the full notice period, document delivery, and surrender keys on or before the last day to start the 21-day security deposit clock under Civil Code § 1950.5.
CA Notice Period
30-Day
Day Type
Calendar
Statute
§ 1946
SD Return
21 Days
On this page
- What this form does and when to use it
- California statute and legal authority
- Step-by-step: writing your notice to vacate
- Fillable form & PDF download
- Required information that makes the notice valid
- How to deliver the notice to your landlord
- Move-out timeline and key dates
- What happens after the notice period ends
- Security deposit return under § 1950.5
- Common mistakes that cost tenants money
- Tenant rights during the notice period
- Frequently asked questions
- California statute reference table
A California Tenant Notice to Vacate is the written 30 days notice a tenant gives a landlord to end a periodic tenancy under California Civil Code § 1946. It identifies the rental unit, sets the last day of tenancy, provides a forwarding address for the security deposit, and creates the documentary record that protects you if the move-out is later disputed. The form on this page handles the statutory content automatically — you fill in the blanks, the PDF generates a clean, signature-ready notice, and you deliver it to your landlord.
In California, a tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days’ written notice, which may be given at any time, with rent due through the termination date (Civil Code § 1946). For other periodic tenancies, the notice must be at least as long as the rental period, up to 30 days, and the parties may agree when the tenancy begins to as little as seven days. Deliver it as Code of Civil Procedure § 1162 prescribes or by certified or registered mail. The landlord must then furnish an itemized statement and return the remaining deposit within 21 calendar days after you vacate (Civil Code § 1950.5).
What this form does and when to use it
The California Tenant Notice to Vacate is a written notice from the tenant to the landlord ending a periodic (typically month-to-month) tenancy under California Civil Code § 1946. It serves three purposes at once: it gives the landlord the statutorily required 30 days’ notice that the tenancy will end, it specifies the last day of tenancy so rent obligations stop on a defined date, and it provides the forwarding address where the landlord should mail the deposit and itemization (the 21-day period under Civil Code § 1950.5(h)(1) runs from when you vacate, not from the address). Without a properly written and delivered notice, a tenant who simply moves out remains exposed to claims for additional rent and may have a harder time recovering the security deposit.
Use this notice when you have a periodic tenancy — month-to-month is the most common form, but the same rule applies to week-to-week or other periodic arrangements (with a corresponding shorter notice period for terms shorter than a month). The 30 days notice applies regardless of how long you have lived in the unit. Many states impose longer notice obligations on landlords than on tenants — those longer landlord rules do not flow back to tenants. As a tenant on a periodic tenancy in California, you give at least 30 days’ notice for a month-to-month tenancy under Civil Code § 1946; for a shorter rental period the notice must be at least as long as that period, and a period of not less than seven days applies if you agreed to one when the tenancy was created.
This is not the right form for a fixed-term lease. If you have a lease with a defined end date and you intend to leave at the natural end of the term, the lease itself sets the end date — although it is good practice to send a written notice anyway to confirm your intent and give the landlord your forwarding address. If you want to leave a fixed-term lease early, the 30 days notice does not apply: you need either a lease provision authorizing early termination, the landlord’s written agreement to release you, or a statutory ground (uninhabitable conditions, domestic violence early termination, or military deployment under federal SCRA at 50 U.S.C. § 3955). Sending a § 1946 notice on a fixed-term lease without one of those grounds typically does not end your rent liability under California law.
Tenant notice vs. landlord notice: A common point of confusion. In most states the rules are asymmetric — landlords often face longer notice obligations (sometimes scaled to length of tenancy or limited to “just cause” grounds) while tenants on a periodic tenancy give a single fixed notice period. California requires a tenant to give 30 days’ written notice under Civil Code § 1946 regardless of how long you have lived in the unit. Any longer landlord notice rule does not flow back to you — your obligation is the 30 days stated in the statute.
Related Resources
- California lease termination laws
- California eviction notice laws
- California breaking lease laws
- California landlord tenant laws
- California habitability laws
- Lease termination laws by state
Document the move-out
A clean move-out is mostly about evidence. Date-stamped photos of every room, a w