A 3 day notice to vacate, also called a 3-day eviction notice, is given by a landlord to a tenant, informing them that they have violated the lease agreement. The 3-day notice gives an ultimatum to stop the breach of the lease agreement within three days, failing which the tenant must vacate the property within a fixed period of days. While a 3 day notice to vacate can be given for a number of reasons, it is mostly sent by the landlord for non-payment of rent on the due date.
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
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The notice can be sent on the next day after the due date has passed or if there is a grace period within the agreement, the day after such period. The three-day notice can also be sent for other violations under the lease, such as creating a nuisance, damage to the property, or neighbors’ complaints.
The states that allow landlords to serve a 3-day notice on their tenants are Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, South Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
The 3-Day Eviction Notice to Pay or Quit is also called a 3-day notice to vacate or a three-day eviction notice. A landlord completes it, signs it and delivers it to the tenant. FormsPal’s version is a fillable PDF you can fill in online.
| Document Name | 3-Day Eviction Notice to Pay or Quit Form |
| Other Names | 3-Day Notice to Vacate, Three-Day Eviction Notice |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 11 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 47 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
FormsPal’s easy to use and understand eviction notice template can be filled out by following these simple steps. Keep your lease agreement, the tenant’s full name, the property address and the amount owed nearby before you start. If you downloaded the PDF, you can fill it in with the PDF editor.
In the heading and first line of the form, enter the number of days of the notice period. Here, for giving a 3-day notice, enter the number “3” at all places where the “_ Day Notice” is mentioned.
Enter the date of the notice. It is very important to put the date correctly, as the three-day period will be calculated from that day following the date and exclude holidays observed by the court of clerks and weekends.
Enter the full name of the landlord and the tenant as written in the lease agreement. If there is any lease guarantor, mention the same.
Enter the full address of the leased premises, including the city, state, and postal code.
In the next paragraph, enter the number “3” before the words “DAY NOTICE TO QUIT.” Enter the date of the lease agreement. If you do not remember it, refer to your original lease agreement.
Select the reason for sending the 3-day notice. If any illegal activities such as drug dealings have taken place at the property, select the first box and describe the kind of illegal activities that happened. You can write in brief about how you came to know about the same. In case of illegal activities, the lease is terminated immediately, and a fixed number of days are given to move out.
If the notice is being sent for violations of lease terms, select the second box. Mention the terms from the agreement that have been breached. This could include an unauthorized stay of guests, having pets despite prohibition under the lease, or property damage.
If the 3-day notice is for failure to pay rent, the notice must mention the total amount of rent due, the due date, and the late fees for rent, if applicable.
Depending upon the reason mentioned for sending the notice, select the action that the tenant should take.
If the 3-day notice is being sent due to illegal activities at the leased premises, select the first box. Mention the number of days within which the tenant should vacate the premises.
If the 3-day notice is being sent for violations of the lease terms, mention the manner and the time period within which the concern should be addressed by the tenant.
If the 3-day notice is a notice to pay rent, mention the total amount due and the exact date by which the non-payment of rent must be cleared.
In the last part, enter all the details relating to the service of the paper.
A 3-day notice is only one of the notice lengths landlords use. In 45 of the 50 jurisdictions FormsPal’s verified state data covers (49 states and DC), the law sets a notice period for unpaid rent. The period is counted in days in 37 jurisdictions and runs from 3 to 14 days, depending on the jurisdiction.
The notice period also changes with the reason for the notice:
To count the days of a notice period, use the deadline calculator.
After a 3-day notice is served, the next step in the eviction process depends on what the tenant does. The tenant can pay what is owed, fix the problem, move out, or stay in the home. Each response leads to a different next step.
If the tenant offers full payment of the amount mentioned, then the landlord must accept it, and eviction cannot be done. If the tenant offers partial payment, it is up to the landlord to choose to accept it or not. The landlord may decline part payment and proceed to evict the tenant as per the terms mentioned. However, if the landlord chooses to accept part payment, it will be considered partial compliance, and eviction will not be possible.
Similarly, for violations of the lease terms, if the tenant addresses the same within three days, eviction cannot be done. However, in case of partial compliance, the landlord can decide whether to accept or proceed with the eviction. If the defect is not cured in 3 days, the landlord can proceed to evict the tenant.
If the landlord decides to proceed with the eviction of the tenant, he or she can file an “unlawful detainer” and begin the court process. However, unlawful detainer is a lengthy process, and the landlord must first try to settle the dispute with the tenant amicably.
In 37 of the 50 jurisdictions FormsPal’s verified state data covers, the law bars a landlord from evicting a tenant without a court order, a practice known as self-help eviction.
Yes. It depends on where the rental is and why the notice is sent. Notices for unpaid rent run from 3 to 14 days in the 37 of the 50 jurisdictions FormsPal’s verified state data covers that count the period in days. Look up the local rule before you serve a notice.
FormsPal’s form has options for unpaid rent, lease violations and illegal activity. In 32 of the 50 jurisdictions FormsPal’s verified state data covers, the law gives the tenant a chance to cure a lease violation after notice. The notice period for that reason can differ.
The form asks for the notice date, the names of the landlord and the tenant, and the address of the rental. It also asks for the reason for the notice, the action the tenant should take, and how the notice was delivered.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
