Funds Availability Policy: Hold Times, Exceptions, and Disclosures

A bank’s funds availability policy is governed by Regulation CC, and it sets how soon a deposit can be withdrawn: cash, wires, and ACH transfers must be available the next business day, most personal and business checks by the second business day, and certain checks like Treasury checks or cashier’s checks get next-day treatment when handed to a teller. Extended holds are allowed only in specific situations, and several dollar thresholds in the rule changed on July 1, 2025, so anything you read using the older figures is out of date.

Deposits Available the Next Business Day

Cash given to a teller, ACH credits, and wire transfers must be available for withdrawal no later than the next business day after the banking day of the deposit.¹

Several kinds of checks also qualify, but only under specific conditions. U.S. Treasury checks, U.S. Postal Service money orders, and state or local government checks are eligible, with government checks generally requiring in-person deposit by the payee named on the check. Cashier’s checks, certified checks, and teller’s checks qualify for next-day treatment when deposited in person to a bank employee, and the bank may require a special deposit slip.¹

The in-person requirement matters. Deposit a cashier’s check through a mobile app or an ATM instead of at the counter and it loses its next-day status, dropping to second-business-day availability.²

Standard Hold for Personal and Business Checks

Ordinary personal and business checks must be released no later than the second business day after the banking day you deposit them.³

You don’t lose access to everything during that hold. Your bank must release the first $275 of a day’s total check deposits by the next business day, for checks that don’t already qualify for next-day availability on their own.¹ That figure rose from $225 to $275 effective July 1, 2025, so if your bank’s disclosure still shows $225, it’s outdated.⁴

A separate $550 rule covers cash withdrawals. When the standard hold expires and funds first become available for uses like writing checks or making electronic payments, the bank may delay cash withdrawals for one additional business day. It must still release at least $550 in cash by 5:00 p.m. on the day the funds first become available, on top of the $275 already released.³

Mobile and ATM Deposits

Mobile check deposits follow the same second-business-day standard as other check deposits. The practical catch is that checks eligible for next-day availability at the counter lose that faster timeline when deposited remotely, because they weren’t handed to a teller.²

ATM deposits at your own bank’s machines generally follow the standard schedules. Deposits at a nonproprietary ATM, meaning one your bank doesn’t own or operate, face a much longer timeline: funds don’t have to be available until the fifth business day after the deposit.⁵ For faster access, use your bank’s own ATM or a branch.

When a Bank Can Hold Funds Longer

Regulation CC allows several exceptions to the standard schedule. Knowing the triggers can prevent a nasty surprise when a large deposit doesn’t post on time.

Large deposits: When check deposits on a single day exceed $6,725 in total, the bank can place an extended hold on the amount above that threshold. The first $6,725 still follows the normal schedule.⁶
New accounts: For the first 30 calendar days after you open an account, most check deposits can be held longer. Cash and electronic deposits still get next-day treatment, and the first $6,725 of certain checks (Treasury checks, cashier’s checks, and the like) follows the normal next-day rules. Amounts above $6,725 can be held up to nine business days, and ordinary personal checks aren’t subject to the standard schedule at all during this period.⁶
Redeposited checks: A check previously returned unpaid and then redeposited can be held longer.⁶
Repeated overdrafts: If your account has been repeatedly overdrawn, the bank can apply extended holds on all your accounts for six months after the last overdraft.⁶
Reasonable doubt about collectibility: If the bank has specific, articulable facts suggesting a check won’t clear, it can hold longer. A hunch isn’t enough; the regulation requires facts that would convince a reasonable person.⁶
Emergency conditions: Equipment failures, communication outages, another bank suspending payments, or events beyond the bank’s control can justify extending a hold. The bank must act diligently once the emergency ends.⁶

Both the $6,725 large-deposit and new-account thresholds went up from $5,525 on July 1, 2025. These figures adjust for inflation every five years.⁴

How Long an Exception Hold Can Last

Exception holds are capped based on the type of check:

Checks drawn on the same bank: up to one additional business day beyond the normal schedule.
Local checks: up to five additional business days.
Nonproprietary ATM deposits: up to six additional business days.⁷

A bank can go beyond these maximums, but it bears the burden of showing the longer hold was reasonable. That’s a high bar in practice, and most banks stay within the standard windows.

When the Clock Actually Starts

Every hold period is measured in business days, not calendar days. A business day is any Monday through Friday that isn’t one of the federal holidays listed in the regulation: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.⁸ The regulation has not yet been updated to include Juneteenth, though it became a federal holiday in 2021. Most banks close for Juneteenth anyway, which can effectively add a day to your hold even if the rule doesn’t require it.

A banking day is narrower: any portion of a business day when the bank is actually open and performing its normal functions. A branch that closes early on Fridays may not count that afternoon as part of its banking day.⁸

Cutoff times set when the clock starts. For deposits at a branch, the bank’s cutoff can be no earlier than 2:00 p.m. For ATMs and off-premise facilities, no earlier than noon.⁹ Anything deposited after the cutoff is treated as made the next banking day. A check dropped at the branch at 3:00 p.m. Monday, with a 2:00 p.m. cutoff, doesn’t start its hold period until Tuesday. Weekend and holiday deposits don’t start the clock either.

Disclosures You Should Receive

When you open a new account, the bank must give you a written disclosure of its funds availability policy, describing its typical timelines for each deposit type and the exceptions it may use.¹⁰ Notices must also be posted where employees accept consumer deposits, and every ATM must display a notice that deposited funds may not be available immediately.¹¹ The disclosures must be clear, conspicuous, and grouped together.¹²

When the bank places an exception hold on a specific deposit, it must give you written notice showing the deposit date, the amount held, and the date the funds will become available.¹⁰ Missing that notice can itself be a violation.

If the Bank Holds Your Funds Too Long

Banks that violate Regulation CC’s availability or disclosure requirements face civil liability. You can sue for actual damages, meaning the overdraft fees, late charges, or other costs you incurred because funds were held too long. A court can also award between $125 and $1,350 per individual action, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs. You must file within one year of the violation.¹³

Before filing, contact the bank’s compliance department and cite Regulation CC specifically. Regulators review compliance during audits, and banks tend to resolve well-documented complaints rather than let a pattern build.

1
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-day availability
2
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.10 – Next-day availability
3
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.12 – Availability schedule
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments
5
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 Subpart B – Availability of Funds and Disclosure of Funds Availability Policies
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eCFR. 12 CFR 229.13 – Exceptions
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eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
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eCFR. 12 CFR 229.2 – Definitions
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eCFR. 12 CFR 229.19 – Miscellaneous
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eCFR. 12 CFR 229.16 – Specific availability policy disclosure
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eCFR. 12 CFR 229.18 – Availability of Funds
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eCFR. 12 CFR 229.15 – General disclosure requirements
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eCFR. Civil liability