Why Is There a Hold on My Check? Timelines, Limits, and Your Rights

A hold on a deposited check means your bank has credited the deposit to your account but is waiting for the check writer’s bank to confirm the funds and transfer them before letting you withdraw. Federal law, through the Expedited Funds Availability Act and its implementing rule Regulation CC, sets maximum timelines for how long that wait can last.¹ The length of the hold depends on the type of check, how you deposited it, and whether your bank has a reason to add extra time.

How Long the Hold Can Last

Regulation CC sorts deposits by risk, and each category has its own deadline.

Next Business Day

Low-risk deposits must be available for withdrawal by the next business day after the banking day you deposit them. This group covers electronic payments and wire transfers, U.S. Treasury checks such as tax refunds and Social Security checks, U.S. Postal Service money orders deposited in person, state and local government checks deposited in person at a bank in the same state, and cashier’s, certified, and teller’s checks deposited in person to a bank employee. For most of these, you generally have to deposit the check in person and into an account where you are the named payee.²

Second Business Day for Local Checks

A local check, meaning one drawn on a bank in the same Federal Reserve check-processing region as yours, must be available by the second business day after deposit. A local check deposited Monday typically clears by Wednesday.³

Fifth Business Day for Nonlocal Checks

A nonlocal check, drawn on a bank in a different check-processing region, can be held up to five business days. Deposited on Monday, it may not be fully available until the following Monday.³

The First $275 Must Be Available Next Day

Whatever category your check falls into, your bank must make at least the first $275 of your total daily check deposits available by the next business day.² The threshold was raised from $225 to $275 effective July 1, 2025, and stays there through 2030.⁴ The $275 minimum does not apply to deposits at ATMs your bank doesn’t own, or to deposits subject to certain exception holds.

Why the Deposit Method Changes the Wait

The same check can face different hold times depending on where you hand it over.

In person with a teller is the fastest option. Checks that qualify for next-day availability, like cashier’s checks and government checks, only get that treatment when deposited in person to a bank employee.
At your bank’s own ATM, checks that would have gotten next-day availability at a teller window instead have to be available by the second business day.⁵
At an ATM your bank doesn’t own, deposits can be held up to five business days regardless of check type, and the $275 next-day minimum does not apply.⁵
Mobile deposit isn’t specifically addressed in Regulation CC. In practice, most banks treat it like a non-in-person deposit, so a check that would have cleared next day at a teller window often faces a second-business-day or longer hold through the app. Your bank’s mobile deposit agreement spells out its own rules.

Cut-Off Times

The hold clock doesn’t start until the banking day your deposit is received, and every bank can set a daily cut-off. That cut-off can be no earlier than 2:00 p.m. for in-person deposits and no earlier than noon for ATM deposits.⁶ Deposits made after the cut-off count as received the next banking day. A check dropped off at 3:00 p.m. Friday, past a 2:00 p.m. cut-off, wouldn’t start its hold period until Monday. Federal holidays don’t count as business days.

When Your Bank Can Hold the Check Longer

Even beyond the standard schedule, your bank can apply an exception hold that adds business days. The situations that allow this are:

Large deposits. When your total check deposits for a single day exceed $6,725, the bank can apply the normal schedule to the first $6,725 and extend the hold on the rest. This threshold was also raised in 2025, up from $5,525.⁷⁴
Redeposited checks. If a check bounced the first time and you deposit it again, the bank can extend the hold.⁷
Repeated overdrafts. If your account has been repeatedly overdrawn in the past six months, the bank can apply longer holds to all your accounts during that period.⁷
Reasonable cause to doubt the check will clear. Examples include a postdated check, a check more than six months old, or a check the paying bank has said it won’t honor. The bank must explain its specific reason in the notice it gives you.⁵

The extra time depends on the check. For local checks, up to five additional business days, bringing the total to about seven. For nonlocal checks, up to six additional business days, bringing the total to about eleven.⁷

New Accounts

If your account is less than 30 calendar days old, the bank can apply even longer holds on most check types. Government checks and other items that qualify for next-day availability still follow their normal schedule for the first $6,725 deposited per day, but any amount above that can be held for up to nine business days.⁷

The Notice You Should Receive

When your bank applies an exception hold, it must give you written notice that includes your account number or an identifying code, the amount being delayed, the reason for the exception, and the date the funds will become available.⁷ This notice is required. If you didn’t get one explaining your hold, ask for it. The absence of proper notice matters if you later dispute the hold or file a complaint.

What You Keep During the Hold

If your account earns interest, the bank must begin accruing interest no later than the business day it receives provisional credit for your deposit, not the day the hold lifts.⁸ You don’t lose earnings because the money is on hold.

There is also fee protection when the bank extends a hold because it doubts a check will clear. It generally cannot charge overdraft or returned-item fees that only occurred because the funds were delayed, provided the check ultimately clears. If the bank failed to give you proper written notice at the time of deposit, this protection applies automatically. If it did give notice, it may still charge those fees but must refund them if you ask.⁹

“Available” Is Not the Same as “Cleared”

The hold ending doesn’t mean the check has permanently cleared. If the check writer’s bank ultimately rejects the check for insufficient funds, a closed account, or fraud, your bank can reverse the deposit and pull the money back out.¹⁰ If you’ve already spent the money, you owe the shortfall. The bank may also charge a returned-item fee.

This risk is especially real for check scams. Fraudulent checks can take weeks to be identified and returned. A scammer may ask you to deposit a check and wire part of it elsewhere; when the check eventually bounces, you owe the bank, not the scammer. The hold period exists partly to reduce this risk, but it cannot eliminate it, because some fraudulent checks take longer to detect than any standard hold covers.

What To Do If You Think the Hold Is Wrong

Start with the notice your bank gave you. It should explain the reason and the release date. If the hold looks incorrect, for instance a check that qualified for next-day availability but was held longer, bring the notice to a branch manager and request a review. Proof that the check has already cleared the sender’s account, such as confirmation from the check writer’s bank, can sometimes persuade your bank to release funds early. You can also ask for a partial release to cover urgent bills.

If the bank won’t resolve it, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which handles checking and savings account complaints. You can submit online or by phone at (855) 411-2372. Once filed, the CFPB forwards your complaint to the bank, which generally has 15 days to respond.¹¹

If a bank violates Regulation CC, you can sue for actual damages plus statutory damages of between $125 and $1,350 per individual action, along with attorney’s fees and court costs.¹² Documenting your interactions with the bank, including dates, names of employees, and copies of hold notices, strengthens any claim.

1
Federal Reserve Board. Regulation CC (Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks)
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
Federal Reserve Board. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance
6
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.19 – Miscellaneous
7
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.13 – Exceptions
8
FDIC.gov. VI-1 Expedited Funds Availability Act
9
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
10
HelpWithMyBank.gov. A Check I Deposited Bounced – Am I Liable for the Entire Amount?
11
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint
12
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.21 – Civil Liability