How Long Does a Deposit Stay Pending: Timelines and Hold Limits

Most deposits stay pending for one to two business days. Cash handed to a teller and wire transfers usually clear the same or next business day, direct deposits and ACH transfers land within one to two, and paper checks can sit for up to five business days depending on the type of check and where it was drawn. Federal law caps how long your bank can hold the money, and the first $275 of any check deposit has to be available by the next business day.¹ Anything longer than that generally means the bank has invoked a specific exception.

Timelines by Deposit Type

Cash

Cash deposited in person at a branch or at an ATM your bank owns must be available no later than the next business day.² Cash deposited at another bank’s ATM can take up to five business days to become available.

Wire Transfers

Wires typically land in your account the same business day the bank receives them. They move through the Federal Reserve’s settlement system rather than a clearinghouse batch, so they skip the multi-day pending window that checks and ACH transfers go through.

Direct Deposit, ACH, and Payment Apps

Direct deposits from an employer or government agency and other electronic transfers routed through the Automated Clearing House network generally become available within one to two business days. Federal rules require electronic payments to be available no later than the business day after the bank receives them.²

Standard (free) transfers from peer-to-peer apps like Venmo and Cash App run through ACH and typically arrive in one to three business days. Most apps also offer an instant or same-day transfer for a fee, which bypasses the ACH batch entirely.

Mobile and ATM Check Deposits

Mobile check deposits don’t qualify for the fastest next-day rules, because Regulation CC ties those schedules to deposits made in person to a bank employee.³ Your bank sets its own policy for remote deposits. In practice, many release some of the money within one business day and the rest within two to three, with longer holds common on large amounts or new accounts.

Checks deposited at an ATM your own bank owns generally follow the same schedule as branch deposits. Checks deposited at a nonproprietary ATM can be held for up to five business days.⁴

Cashier’s, Certified, Teller’s, and Government Checks

These are treated as lower risk and qualify for next-business-day availability when deposited in person at your bank. Government checks such as tax refunds and Social Security payments fall into the same category.⁵ Payroll checks arriving through direct deposit follow the electronic payment timeline and are generally available the next business day.⁶

Personal Checks

Personal checks face the longest standard holds. Local checks (drawn on a bank in the same geographic processing region as yours) have to be available by the second business day after deposit. Nonlocal checks can be held for up to five business days.⁴ A check drawn on the same bank where you deposit it often clears faster, because the bank can verify the funds internally.

International Checks

Checks drawn on banks outside the United States fall outside the federal hold-time rules entirely. Regulation CC only applies to checks payable through or at a U.S. bank office.³ Your bank sets its own policy, and holds of two to four weeks are not unusual because the bank has to collect payment across international clearing networks.

The Federal Ceilings on Hold Times

The Expedited Funds Availability Act, implemented through Regulation CC (12 CFR Part 229), sets the maximum time a bank can hold your deposits before making them spendable.³ These are ceilings, not targets. Many banks release funds faster, but no bank can hold a standard deposit longer than the regulation allows without invoking an exception.

The key thresholds, adjusted for inflation effective July 1, 2025, are:¹

First $275 of a check deposit: available by the next business day, regardless of check type.
Local checks: remaining balance available by the second business day after deposit.
Nonlocal checks: remaining balance available by the fifth business day after deposit.
Cash and electronic payments: available by the next business day.

When a Hold Gets Extended

Banks are allowed to hold your deposit longer than the standard schedule in specific situations. Whenever they do, they have to send you written notice stating the amount held, the reason, and the date the funds will be released.³

Large Deposits

When the total amount of checks you deposit in a single day exceeds $6,725, the bank can place an extended hold on the portion above that threshold.¹ That adds up to five extra business days for local checks and up to six extra business days for nonlocal checks on top of the standard hold.⁷ A large nonlocal check deposit can be held up to eleven business days in total.

New Accounts

An account open for fewer than 30 calendar days is considered new.³ Cash and electronic deposits still follow the standard next-day schedule, but checks are treated differently. The first $6,725 in qualifying check types on any single day follows the normal next-day rules; anything above that amount can be held up to nine business days.¹ If you had another account at the same bank for at least 30 days before opening the new one, this exception doesn’t apply.

Overdraft History

Banks can extend holds if your account was negative on six or more banking days in the last six months, or negative by $6,725 or more on at least two banking days in the same period.⁷ Once either condition is met, the bank can apply extended holds for six months after the last overdraft.

Doubts About the Check Itself

If the bank has specific reasons to think a check won’t clear, such as evidence it has been altered or that the paying account lacks funds, it can extend the hold. The written notice has to spell out the specific reason.³

How Weekends, Holidays, and Cutoff Times Shift the Clock

Hold periods are counted in business days, meaning Monday through Friday and excluding federal holidays.⁸ A check deposited Friday afternoon doesn’t start the clock until Monday, assuming Monday isn’t a holiday. Deposit on the Wednesday before a three-day weekend and you effectively lose three calendar days.

Banks also set daily cutoff times. Deposits made after the cutoff count as received the next banking day. If your bank’s cutoff is 2:00 p.m. and you deposit a check at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, the hold period starts running from Tuesday.⁹ Most banks post their cutoff in the deposit agreement and in the app.

What to Do if a Hold Seems Too Long

If you think a hold violates the federal rules, ask the bank to explain it in writing. The law already requires written notice whenever the bank invokes an exception, and that notice has to state the specific reason and the release date.³ Compare the hold length against the federal maximums above. A hold that exceeds those limits without a valid exception is a Regulation CC violation.

If the bank doesn’t resolve it, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.¹⁰ The CFPB forwards the complaint to the bank and requires a response. Depending on the type of institution, oversight may also fall under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, or the National Credit Union Administration.

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments
2
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 Subpart B – Availability of Funds and Disclosure of Funds Availability Policies
3
eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC)
4
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.12 – Availability Schedule
5
National Credit Union Administration. Expedited Funds Availability Act (Regulation CC)
6
HelpWithMyBank.gov. Can the Bank Place a Hold on a Payroll Check
7
eCFR. 12 CFR 229.13 – Exceptions
8
Federal Reserve. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance
9
Federal Reserve. Applying Funds Availability Rules
10
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint