ATM deposits are not available immediately. Under Regulation CC, the federal rule that caps how long a bank can hold your money, cash you drop at your own bank’s ATM has to be available by the second business day after the deposit, and checks can take up to five business days or longer. The specific dollar thresholds in that rule were updated on July 1, 2025.
Cash Deposited at an ATM
Federal law treats ATM cash differently from cash handed to a teller. Cash given to a bank employee has to be available the next business day. At an ATM, no employee verified the deposit in real time, so the rule allows one extra day. Cash you deposit at your own bank’s ATM must be available no later than the second business day after the banking day of the deposit.1eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-Day Availability
Deposit that same cash at a third-party ATM and the wait stretches to the fifth business day.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.12 – Availability Schedule The ATM operator has to physically collect the cash and route it to your bank’s processing center before verification can start. If you need the money quickly, use a machine your bank owns.
Checks Deposited at an ATM
Checks take longer because the bank has to confirm the drawer’s bank will actually pay. Regulation CC sorts checks into tiers by risk.
Some checks get next-business-day availability no matter where you deposit them: U.S. Treasury checks, U.S. Postal Service money orders, cashier’s checks, certified checks, and state or local government checks, as long as endorsement and deposit-slip requirements are met.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC Ch. 41 – Expedited Funds Availability For any other check, the bank still has to release the first $275 by the next business day.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments That $275 figure replaced the prior $225 threshold on July 1, 2025.
For the rest of the check, timing turns on the check type and the ATM:
- Local checks at your bank’s own ATM: available by the second business day after the banking day of deposit.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.12 – Availability Schedule
- Nonlocal checks at your bank’s own ATM: available by the fifth business day.
- Any check at a third-party ATM: available by the fifth business day, regardless of type.
Five business days is the standard ceiling. Extended holds can push it further.
Why the ATM’s Owner Changes the Wait
A proprietary ATM belongs to the bank where you hold your account. It talks to your bank’s systems directly, so verification starts as soon as your deposit goes in. That direct link is why the rule allows shorter holds on those deposits.
A nonproprietary ATM belongs to a different bank or an independent operator. Your cash or check sits inside until the operator collects it, then travels through intermediaries to your bank. That extra leg is what pushes cash to five business days and puts every check into the same five-day bucket regardless of whether it’s local or nonlocal.2eCFR. 12 CFR 229.12 – Availability Schedule
If you’re not sure who owns a machine, the receipt or the welcome screen usually names the operator. The two-day versus five-day gap is worth checking before you deposit.
Cutoff Times and Business Days
All of these timelines count business days, which exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. A Friday-night deposit doesn’t start the clock until Monday, and if Monday is a holiday, until Tuesday.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC Ch. 41 – Expedited Funds Availability
Each ATM also has a daily cutoff. Anything deposited after cutoff is treated as arriving the next business day. Federal rules let banks set ATM cutoffs as early as noon.5eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Many banks are more generous, but not all. A 1:00 p.m. deposit at a machine with a noon cutoff doesn’t start clearing until the next business day, and a weekend or holiday can easily add another two or three calendar days to your actual wait.
When a Bank Can Hold Your Deposit Longer
Regulation CC carves out exceptions that let a bank hold deposits beyond the standard schedule when the risk of fraud or a bounced check is higher.
- New accounts. In the first 30 calendar days after you open an account, the bank can hold check deposits over $6,725 until the ninth business day. Cash and electronic payments still follow normal next-day rules on a new account.6eCFR. 12 CFR 229.13 – Exceptions
- Large deposits. When check deposits on a single day total more than $6,725, the bank can extend the hold on the excess by up to five additional business days for local checks or six for nonlocal.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments
- Redeposited checks. A check that bounced and is deposited again can be held longer, unless the first return was for a missing endorsement or a postdated check.
- Repeated overdrafts. If your account was negative on six or more banking days in the past six months, the bank can extend holds on all your deposits for six months after the last overdraft.6eCFR. 12 CFR 229.13 – Exceptions
- Reasonable cause to doubt collectibility. If the bank has specific reason to believe a check won’t clear, such as knowledge of a stop-payment order, it can extend the hold. The reason has to be documented; a general hunch is not enough.
The $6,725 threshold replaced the previous $5,525 on July 1, 2025, and stays in place through mid-2030.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments For local checks under an extension, the maximum total wait is seven business days. For nonlocal checks or deposits at a third-party ATM, it can reach eleven business days.
Hold Notices and Overdraft Fee Refunds
When a bank places an extended hold, it has to notify you. For ATM deposits, where no employee is present, the notice must be mailed or delivered no later than the first business day after the deposit or after the bank learns of the facts that triggered the hold, whichever is later.5eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
If the bank places an extended hold without giving proper notice, it cannot charge you overdraft fees that resulted from the hold. And even when notice was given, the bank has to refund overdraft fees on request if the overdraft wouldn’t have happened without the hold and the deposited check ultimately cleared.7eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)a> If you get hit with fees while a deposit is on hold, ask the bank to reverse them and cite Regulation CC.
If the Bank Holds Funds Longer Than the Law Allows
A bank that violates Regulation CC’s availability rules can be sued. You can recover your actual financial losses from the delay, plus statutory damages between $125 and $1,350 per violation on an individual claim, and a court can award attorney’s fees.8eCFR. 12 CFR 229.21 – Civil Liability You have one year from the violation to file. Before litigation, a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the bank’s primary regulator often gets faster results.
A Note on Mobile Check Deposits
The ATM timelines above don’t govern deposits made by photographing a check with your phone. Regulation CC’s specific hold schedules apply to ATM deposits; mobile deposits fall outside those consumer-facing limits, and the rule addresses remote deposit capture mainly through check-processing warranties.5eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Each bank sets its own mobile deposit policy. If you want the federal timelines to apply to a large check, deposit it at your bank’s own ATM.