Reg CC Check Funds Availability
How long the bank can legally hold a deposit under Federal Reserve Regulation CC.
These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
How the Reg CC Check Funds Availability works
The Reg CC Check Funds Availability calculator works out when a bank must make a check deposit available to you under Regulation CC, the Federal Reserve rule implementing the Expedited Funds Availability Act. For an ordinary check into an established account the default is the second business day after the banking day of deposit, so the calculator starts at two business days — but you set the count to match your situation: one business day for next-day items like cash, direct deposit, wires, and Treasury checks, and up to seven business days for a documented exception hold.
The counting uses Reg CC's own vocabulary. A business day is any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a federal holiday, so a deposit made just before a holiday weekend reaches its second business day noticeably later on the wall calendar than a mid-week deposit. Cutoff times matter too: a deposit made after the branch or ATM cutoff is treated as received the next banking day, so enter the banking day the bank actually credits, not necessarily the moment you handed the check over.
One thing this calculator computes and one thing it does not. It computes the availability date — the deadline by which the bank must let you withdraw. It does not tell you the check has finally cleared or is safe to spend, because availability and check collection are two separate clocks: a check made available can still be returned unpaid weeks later, and the money debited back out. Use the availability date as when you can reach the funds, never as proof the check is good.
Worked example
Deposit an ordinary check on Thursday, 2 July 2026, with Independence Day observed on Friday, 3 July. Under the standard two-business-day rule, the count skips the Friday holiday and the weekend: the first business day after deposit is Monday 6 July, the second is Tuesday 7 July. The funds must be available by Tuesday, 7 July — five calendar days after the deposit, even though it is only a "two-day" hold, purely because a holiday and a weekend fell inside the window.
Frequently asked questions
How long can a bank hold a normal check?
For a routine check into an established account, funds generally must be available by the second business day after the banking day of deposit. Some deposits get faster next-business-day availability, and the first $275 of a day's check deposits must be available the next business day. Documented exceptions — new accounts, large deposits, redeposited or suspect checks — can extend a hold to as long as seven business days with written notice.
What is the difference between a business day and a banking day?
A business day is any calendar day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday. A banking day is a business day on which the bank is open for substantially all of its business. The availability clock counts in business days, and deposits made after the bank's cutoff time are treated as received on the next banking day — which is why you should enter the banking day the bank credits the deposit, not the clock time you dropped it off.
Does "funds available" mean the check has cleared?
No — and this is the costliest misunderstanding in all of Reg CC. Availability is your bank's obligation to let you withdraw; it is not a guarantee the check is good. If the check is later returned unpaid, the bank debits the money back out of your account, even after it was made available and possibly spent. There is no fixed number of days after which a check is guaranteed final, so never send money against a check from someone you do not trust just because the funds show as available.