Gift Card Expiration Date Rules Under Federal and State Law

Under federal law, the money on a gift card cannot expire for at least five years from the date it was issued or the date funds were last loaded onto it. That five-year floor comes from the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 and its implementing regulation at 12 C.F.R. § 1005.20, and it applies to store gift cards, general-use prepaid cards, and gift certificates. Many states go further, banning expiration dates entirely or requiring merchants to cash out small remaining balances. The full picture of gift card expiration date rules is a federal minimum with state law layered on top.

The Five-Year Federal Minimum

No one can sell or issue a gift card with an expiration date earlier than five years from the date it was first issued.¹ For reloadable cards, the clock restarts each time you add funds, measured from the most recent load.² Receive a $50 store card, add another $25 two years later, and the five-year window begins again from that reload.

The expiration date and any fee terms must be clearly printed on the card and disclosed before purchase. Those terms are locked in at the point of sale, so the issuer cannot change them afterward.² The rule covers physical plastic cards, digital codes emailed to you, and bar codes redeemable in-store or online. If a product meets the federal definition of a gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card, it is covered regardless of format.³

When the Card Expires but the Money Doesn’t

This distinction trips up a lot of cardholders. A plastic gift card can carry an expiration date, but that date doesn’t mean your money disappears. Federal regulations draw a sharp line between the card (the physical or electronic device) and the underlying funds. The funds must last at least five years, and the card cannot expire before the funds do unless the issuer provides a free replacement.²

When a card expires before the money runs out, the issuer must print a toll-free phone number on it, and a website if one exists, so you can request a replacement. The card must also carry a statement, near the expiration date and equally visible, explaining that the card expires but the funds remain available.² The issuer cannot charge you for that replacement. The only exception is a lost or stolen card, where a replacement fee is permitted.³

Inactivity and Service Fees

Even when a card doesn’t technically expire, inactivity fees can quietly eat into the balance. Federal law prohibits dormancy, inactivity, or service fees unless the card has gone completely unused for at least twelve consecutive months.¹ Even after that, the issuer can charge only one fee per calendar month.²

Before any fee applies, three pieces of information must be printed on the card itself: the amount of the fee, how often it can be charged, and the fact that it applies for inactivity. Missing any of these disclosures makes the fee unenforceable.² In practice, inactivity fees on bank-issued gift cards tend to run $2 to $5 per month. On a $25 card that sits in a drawer for two years, those fees can wipe out the entire balance within months of the dormancy period beginning.

What Counts as Activity

The definition of “activity” that resets the twelve-month dormancy clock is narrower than most people assume. Activity means any action that increases or decreases the funds on the card, other than a fee or an error correction.³ Buying something, loading more money, and the initial purchase and activation all count.

What doesn’t count: checking your balance, replacing an expired or lost card, a failed transaction due to a technical glitch, or a refund for returned merchandise. A call to the 800 number to ask how much is left on the card doesn’t reset the clock.³ To prevent inactivity fees, make a small purchase with the card rather than just checking the balance.

State Laws That Go Further

The federal five-year minimum is a floor, not a ceiling. Several states prohibit gift card expiration dates entirely, treating the card as cash the merchant must honor indefinitely. Others ban not only expiration dates but also dormancy and service fees, removing the slow-drain problem altogether. A handful of states extend these protections to credit memos and merchandise return cards issued in lieu of cash refunds, so the store credit you receive after a return carries the same no-expiration protection as a purchased gift card. Rules vary by jurisdiction, so your state attorney general’s office or consumer protection division is the best source for the specifics where you live.

Cash Back for Small Remaining Balances

Roughly a dozen states require merchants to pay out small remaining gift card balances in cash on request. Thresholds range from under $1 to under $15 depending on the state. The most common cutoff is $5: if your card has less than $5 left after a purchase, you can ask for the balance in cash. A few states set the threshold at $1 or $2.50, and at least one has moved it up to $15 as of 2026.

These cash-back laws generally require in-person redemption at a physical store and usually apply only after you’ve used the card for at least one purchase. Promotional cards issued for free and network-branded cards from Visa or Mastercard are commonly excluded. If your state has no cash-back requirement, no federal law fills that gap.

Cards Not Covered

Not every card qualifies for the five-year minimum and the fee restrictions. Federal regulations carve out several categories:

Loyalty, award, and promotional cards given to you for free. Because you didn’t pay for the value, the issuer can set any expiration date it chooses.
Paper-only gift certificates. A certificate issued solely in paper form is excluded, though a bar code or certificate number that you can print doesn’t qualify for this exclusion; the original format must be paper.³
Prepaid phone cards usable solely for telephone services.
General-purpose reloadable cards that are not labeled or marketed as gift cards.
Cards redeemable only for admission to a specific event or venue, or for goods and services at that location.
Cards not marketed to the general public, such as bulk corporate incentive cards sold only to businesses.

These exclusions appear in 12 C.F.R. § 1005.20(b).² The critical question is whether you paid money for the card’s value. If you did, it is almost certainly protected. If the value came as a promotion or reward, check the fine print for an expiration date; it may be far shorter than five years.

If the Retailer Goes Bankrupt

Federal expiration and fee rules mean nothing if the company behind the card no longer exists. When a retailer files for bankruptcy, your gift card balance becomes a debt the company owes you, and you are an unsecured creditor behind banks, landlords, and other secured lenders in line for payment.⁴

In a Chapter 11 reorganization, the retailer may ask the bankruptcy court for permission to keep honoring gift cards, often as part of a motion to maintain customer loyalty during restructuring. There is no guarantee the court will approve it, and the retailer isn’t required to ask. If the retailer doesn’t seek permission, or the court denies it, your card becomes essentially worthless unless you file a formal proof of claim with the bankruptcy court, and even then recovery is often pennies on the dollar or nothing.⁴ If you hear a retailer is in financial trouble, use your gift cards immediately.

How to Report a Violation

If an issuer charges you an illegal fee, ignores the five-year expiration minimum, or refuses to replace an expired card when the funds are still valid, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB oversees federal gift card regulations and accepts complaints about prepaid cards, including unexpected fees, deceptive disclosures, and unauthorized charges.⁵

You can submit a complaint online at consumerfinance.gov/complaint, which takes about ten minutes, or by phone at (855) 411-2372 on weekdays. The CFPB forwards your complaint to the company and requires a response. Your state attorney general’s office and state consumer protection agency may also have jurisdiction, particularly if your state’s gift card laws are stricter than the federal minimum. Keep the card, any receipts, and screenshots of the terms you were shown at the time of purchase. Those are the most useful pieces of evidence when filing.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693l-1 – General-Use Prepaid Cards, Gift Certificates, and Store Gift Cards
2
eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.20 – Requirements for Gift Cards and Gift Certificates
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1005.20 Requirements for Gift Cards and Gift Certificates
4
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Gift Card Value When Issuers Go Bankrupt
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint