A deposit hold typically lasts one to two business days for most check deposits under federal rules: the first $275 must be available the next business day, and the rest by the second business day after you deposit it. How long a deposit hold lasts can stretch to seven business days or longer, though, when your bank invokes one of the specific exceptions written into Regulation CC. Cash, electronic transfers, and government checks generally clear the next business day with no meaningful hold at all.
The Standard Two-Day Timeline
For ordinary personal and business checks, Regulation CC uses a two-tier release. The first $275 of any check deposit must be available by the next business day. The remaining balance must be available by the second business day after deposit.1Federal Reserve. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance That $275 threshold was $225 before July 1, 2025, when the Federal Reserve adjusted it for inflation.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments
Business days exclude weekends and federal holidays. A $2,000 personal check deposited Monday means $275 available Tuesday and the remaining $1,725 available Wednesday. Deposit that same check Friday afternoon and the clock doesn’t really start until Monday.
Two things extend that clock before any exception even applies. Banks set a daily cutoff time, often around 2:00 p.m., and anything deposited after it counts as the next business day’s deposit. A holiday in the middle of the release window pushes each day out by one more calendar day.
Deposits Available the Next Business Day
Some deposit types are considered low enough risk that Regulation CC requires next-business-day availability when made in person to a bank employee:
- Cash deposited at a teller window.
- Direct deposits, ACH transfers, and wire transfers.
- U.S. Treasury checks, tax refund checks, Social Security payments, and state or local government checks.
- Cashier’s checks, certified checks, and teller’s checks.
- Checks drawn on the same bank where you’re depositing them.
These deposits either involve verified electronic transfers or checks backed by a government entity or the issuing bank itself, so there is little risk of non-payment.3eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) – Section 229.10
When Holds Last Longer
When one of the following exceptions applies, your bank can add up to five business days on top of the normal availability schedule. For most checks that means funds don’t have to be available until the seventh business day after deposit.4Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Are There Exceptions to the Funds Availability (Hold) Schedule? Any time a bank invokes one of these exceptions, it must give you written notice with the reason for the hold and the date your funds will be available.5eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) – Section 229.13
New Accounts
Any account open for 30 calendar days or less is a “new account” under Regulation CC, and check deposits into new accounts bypass the normal availability schedule entirely.6eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) – Section 229.13(a) Cash and electronic deposits still get next-day availability, but paper checks can sit longer while the bank verifies you.
Large Deposits
When your check deposits on a single day total more than $6,725, the first $6,725 follows the normal schedule and the bank can apply an extended hold to everything above that amount.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) Threshold Adjustments The threshold was $5,525 before July 2025.
Redeposited Checks
A check that already bounced once can carry an extended hold the second time around.7eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) – Section 229.13(c)
Repeatedly Overdrawn Accounts
If your account has been repeatedly overdrawn in the past six months, the bank can extend holds on every deposit during that period, not just the ones tied to the overdrafts.8eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) – Section 229.13(d) Getting your account back into good standing is the only way to reset the clock.
Reasonable Cause to Doubt Collectibility
Banks can extend a hold when they have specific, articulable reasons to believe a check won’t clear. The Federal Reserve’s compliance guide lists postdated checks, checks more than six months old, and checks the paying bank has said it won’t honor.1Federal Reserve. A Guide to Regulation CC Compliance The specific reason must appear in the hold notice you receive.
How Long a Seven-Day Hold Really Runs
Because business days exclude weekends and federal holidays, a seven-business-day hold placed on a Monday deposit doesn’t release until the following Wednesday at the earliest. A holiday in that window pushes it another day. A deposit made Friday before a three-day weekend can easily be tied up for nearly two full calendar weeks.
Mobile and ATM Deposits
Regulators have not definitively stated whether Regulation CC’s availability timelines apply to mobile deposits the same way they apply to in-person and ATM deposits. In practice, your bank’s mobile deposit agreement usually controls how long the hold lasts.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Can a Bank or Credit Union Hold Funds I Deposited? Many banks voluntarily follow the two-business-day schedule for mobile deposits, but they aren’t necessarily required to, and some cap mobile deposit amounts with anything over the cap subject to a longer hold or outright rejection.
ATMs have one hard federal rule worth knowing. A check deposited at an ATM your bank doesn’t own doesn’t have to be available until the fifth business day after deposit.10eCFR. 12 CFR Part 229 – Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks (Regulation CC) – Section 229.12(f) For a time-sensitive deposit, use your own bank’s ATM or walk into a branch.
Available Doesn’t Mean Cleared
A hold lifting does not mean the check has fully cleared. Banks release funds on Regulation CC’s schedule, but the actual collection process between banks can take longer, and if the check comes back unpaid your bank can reverse the deposit and pull the money out of your account even if you’ve already spent it.11Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. A Check I Deposited Bounced – Am I Liable for the Entire Amount?
This is where people get burned. You deposit a $5,000 check, the hold lifts after two days, you spend the money, and a week later the check bounces. Your account is $5,000 in the negative, you owe your bank that money, and returned-item fees pile on top. The bank released the funds because the law required it, not because it verified the check was good. For any check from a source you’re not sure about, wait well past the hold period before spending. Two weeks is a reasonable margin.
Ways to Shorten or Avoid Holds
- Deposit in person at a teller. In-person deposits get the clearest federal protections; ATM and mobile deposits may follow longer or less certain timelines.
- Ask for a cashier’s check or certified check for large payments. Deposited in person, these qualify for next-day availability.
- Ask senders to pay electronically. ACH direct deposits and wire transfers qualify for next-business-day availability, and real-time networks such as the FedNow Service and the RTP network deliver funds within seconds when both banks participate.12Federal Reserve Banks. FedNow Service Operating Procedures
- Keep your account in good standing. Overdraft history triggers extended holds on every deposit for six months.
- Deposit before the daily cutoff. Deposits made after it are treated as next-business-day deposits, pushing the whole release schedule back a day.
If a Hold Doesn’t Match the Rules
Ask the bank for the written notice Regulation CC requires whenever an exception is applied. That notice has to state the specific reason and the release date. If the bank can’t produce one, or the stated reason doesn’t match any recognized exception, the hold may violate federal law.
You can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau online or by phone. The CFPB forwards it to the bank, which generally must respond within 15 days.13Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Learn How the Complaint Process Works Regulation CC also creates a private right of action: a bank that violates the availability rules is liable for actual damages plus statutory damages between $125 and $1,350 for individual claims, plus attorney’s fees if you prevail.14eCFR. 12 CFR 229.21 – Civil Liability Most disputes get resolved long before that, but the exposure gives you leverage when you’re asking the bank to release funds it shouldn’t be holding.