What are the security deposit rules in Wyoming?
Wyoming puts no cap on security deposits, and the landlord must return the balance with a written, reasoned itemization of any deductions within 30 days after the tenancy ends or within 15 days after receiving the tenant's new mailing address, whichever is later — and if the unit was damaged, the deadline stretches by another 30 days.
The tenant has a matching duty: within 30 days of moving out, tell the landlord where to send the money. Wyoming is unusually landlord-friendly on two points. First, the statute says the refund comes 'without interest,' so no interest is ever owed. Second, nonrefundable deposits are expressly legal if the landlord clears a double disclosure: the rental agreement must state that a portion is nonrefundable, and the tenant must also get written notice of that fact when the deposit is taken. Money separately labeled as a utilities deposit runs on its own clock — refundable within 10 days once the tenant shows all utility bills are paid. A landlord who unreasonably sits on the money can be ordered to pay back the full deposit plus court costs, but there is no doubling penalty, and a tenant who sues unreasonably can be ordered to pay the landlord's court costs instead. Deductions can reach accrued rent, damage beyond reasonable wear and tear, cleaning to move-in condition, and any other costs the lease provides for.
Wyoming security deposits at a glance
| Maximum deposit | No statutory cap |
|---|---|
| Return deadline | 30 days |
| Deadline conditions | Two-trigger clock, later date controls (W.S. 1-21-1208(a)): the balance of the deposit and prepaid rent plus the written itemization must be delivered or mailed within thirty (30) days after termination of the rental agreement OR within fifteen (15) days after the owner receives the renter's new mailing address, whichever is LATER. 'If there is damage to the residential rental unit, this period shall be extended by thirty (30) days' — the extension keys to the existence of damage. The renter must, within 30 days of termination, notify the owner or designated agent of the location where payment and notice may be made or mailed. Separately identified UTILITIES deposits run on their own track (1-21-1208(b)): refund within 10 days of a satisfactory showing that all renter-incurred utility charges are paid; absent that showing within 45 days of termination, the owner must within 15 days thereafter apply the utilities deposit to the outstanding utility debt, and any remaining refund is due within 7 days after application or within 15 days after receipt of the renter's new mailing address, whichever is later. |
| Itemization required | Yes |
| Itemization rules | Deposit money may be applied only to accrued rent, damages to the unit beyond reasonable wear and tear, the cost to clean the unit to its condition at the beginning of the rental agreement, and 'other costs provided by any contract' — an unusually broad lease-based catchall. Any deductions require 'a written itemization of any deductions from the deposit together with reasons therefor' delivered or mailed within the (a) deadline (W.S. 1-21-1208(a)). No statutory receipts requirement (the court system's TENANT-03 form asks for receipts, but that is the form, not the statute). |
| Separate account required | No |
| Interest owed to tenant | No |
| Account & interest rules | No interest is ever owed on the deposit — express statutory text, not mere silence: the balance 'shall be delivered or mailed without interest to the renter' (W.S. 1-21-1208(a)). No trust-account, escrow or commingling rule exists anywhere in the article (verified negative, full-article read). |
| Pet deposits | No pet-deposit statute and no cap. A pet deposit is simply part of the 'deposit' under the article, subject to the same return, itemization and penalty rules — and it may be made nonrefundable via the W.S. 1-21-1207 dual-disclosure route. |
| Non-refundable fees allowed | Yes |
| Penalty for violation | If the owner or his agent 'unreasonably fails' to comply with the return or utilities-deposit rules, the renter may recover 'the full deposit and court costs' (W.S. 1-21-1208(c)) — no double or treble multiplier and no attorney-fee award. The exposure cuts both ways: if the owner prevails and the court finds the renter acted unreasonably in bringing the action, the OWNER may be awarded court costs. Separately, a renter whose damage exceeds the deposit remains liable for the excess 'plus interest at ten percent (10%) per annum on any unpaid amounts' (W.S. 1-21-1211(b)). |
| Tenant forwarding-address duty | Express statutory duty: 'The renter shall within thirty (30) days of termination of the rental agreement, notify the owner or designated agent of the location where payment and notice may be made or mailed' (W.S. 1-21-1208(a)). No forfeiture attaches to a failure, but the alternative 15-day refund trigger runs only from the owner's receipt of the new address, so a renter who never supplies one leaves the outer clock at 30 days (60 with damage) after termination. |
Notes and caveats
Statute citations
- Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1208 (a)-(c) Official source
- Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1207 Official source
- Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1209 Official source
- Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1211 (b) Official source
- Title 1, ch. 21, art. 12 (LSO NXT infobase view, double-read endpoint) Official source
- Wyoming Judicial Branch, TENANT Form 03 instructions — Request for Return of Deposit (rev. Sept 2024; reprints § 1-21-1208 verbatim) pp. 2-3 Official source
How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text from the official Wyoming Legislative Service Office statute files (wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf, title34.pdf, title15.pdf, title40.pdf — the wyoleg.gov site is an SPA that serves its statute PDFs directly to curl; the Title 1 file reflects 2025-session repeals and is current through the 2025 General Session): Title 1 ch. 21 art. 12 (W.S. 1-21-1201 through 1-21-1211) and art. 10 (1-21-1001 through 1-21-1017) read in full, plus W.S. 34-2-126 through 34-2-132. Double-read via a second official endpoint: the LSO NXT infobase ('2021 Titles', wyoleg.gov/NXT/gateway.dll) article views for arts. 12 and 10 — the entire Article 12 text (12,872 normalized characters) is CHARACTER-IDENTICAL between the official 2021 edition and the official 2025 PDF. Deposit figures additionally triple-read against the Wyoming Judicial Branch's TENANT Form 03 instructions (wyocourts.gov, rev. Sept 2024), which reprint W.S. 1-21-1208 verbatim; FED figures corroborated by the Judicial Branch Eviction Handout; FindLaw mirror matched 1-21-1208 and 34-2-128 verbatim (Justia 403s automated fetchers). Verified negatives (no deposit cap, no interest or separate-account rule beyond the express 'without interest' clause, no rent-increase or periodic-termination notice statute, no late-fee cap or grace period, no entry-notice statute, no rent-control or preemption provision) run by full-article reads plus keyword sweeps of Titles 1, 15, 34 and 40 — zero occurrences of 'month-to-month', 'late fee', 'late charge' or 'grace period' in Titles 1/15/34. Mandatory session sweep on the official LSO bill API (lsoservice.wyoleg.gov): all 891 bills of the 2025 General and 2026 Budget Sessions enumerated by short title, and all 278 enacted chapters (171 of 2025, 107 of 2026) separately enumerated — zero on-topic enactments; dead bills 2025 HB0213 (owner utility duties) and 2026 HB0183 (renter tax relief) both 'Did not Consider for Introduction'. The 2026 Budget Session has adjourned; next regular session January 2027.