What is Regulation CC?

When a customer deposits a check, they rarely think about what happens next. The funds appear available — sometimes immediately, sometimes after a day or two — and life goes on. But behind that availability is a federal regulation that governs precisely when banks must make deposited funds accessible, how long they can hold them, and what they must tell customers when they do. That regulation is Regulation CC.

What Regulation CC Is

Regulation CC — formally known as the Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks — is a Federal Reserve regulation implementing the Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFAA) of 1987. It establishes the maximum time periods banks may hold deposited funds before making them available for withdrawal, and sets disclosure requirements banks must meet when placing holds.

Reg CC applies to all depository institutions in the United States — commercial banks, savings institutions, and credit unions — for transaction accounts (checking accounts). It does not apply to savings accounts or money market accounts.

The Three Types of Holds

Reg CC defines several categories of holds banks may place on deposited funds, each with different maximum hold periods:

1. Next-day availability (mandatory)

Certain deposits must be made available by the next business day after the banking day of deposit — no exceptions:

• Cash deposits made in person
• Electronic payments (wire transfers, ACH credits)
• US Treasury checks
• Federal Reserve Bank and Federal Home Loan Bank checks
• US Postal Service money orders
• State and local government checks (deposited in person at a branch in the same state)
• Cashier's, certified, and teller's checks (deposited in person)
• The first $225 of any other check deposit

2. Standard hold — 2 business days

For checks drawn on local banks (same Federal Reserve check processing region), banks may hold funds for up to 2 business days after the banking day of deposit. In practice most banks make local checks available faster than this.

3. Extended hold — up to 7 business days

Banks may extend holds beyond the standard period under specific exception circumstances:

• Large deposits — the amount exceeding $5,525 in a single day's deposits
• Redeposited checks — checks that were previously returned unpaid
• Repeated overdrafts — accounts that have been overdrawn six or more times in the preceding six months
• Reasonable doubt of collectibility — the bank has reason to believe the check will not be paid
• New accounts — accounts open for 30 days or fewer
• Emergency conditions — war, natural disaster, communication failure

Hold Periods at a Glance

The 2018 Amendment — Check 21 and Same-Day ACH

Reg CC was significantly amended in 2018 to account for the shift to electronic check clearing. Under the original 1987 rules, holds differed based on whether a check was "local" or "non-local" — a distinction based on physical Federal Reserve check processing regions that made sense when paper checks traveled physically between banks.

The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21), enacted in 2003, enabled electronic check presentment — banks could create digital images of checks and transmit them electronically, dramatically speeding up collection. By 2018, essentially all checks in the US cleared electronically.

The 2018 Reg CC amendment eliminated the local/non-local distinction and replaced it with a single standard hold schedule — recognizing that in an electronic clearing environment, geography is no longer relevant to collection speed. It also updated the large deposit threshold and the $200 next-day availability amount (raised to $225).

How the Check Collection Process Works

Disclosure Requirements

Reg CC imposes specific disclosure obligations on banks:

General policy disclosure

Banks must provide customers with a written funds availability policy at account opening and upon request. The policy must describe the bank's hold schedules, the types of deposits subject to holds, and the customer's rights.

At-the-time-of-deposit notice

When a bank decides to place a hold at the time of deposit (at a teller or ATM), it must provide the customer with written notice specifying the amount held, the reason for the hold, and the date the funds will be available.

Exception hold notices

When placing an exception hold (large deposit, reasonable doubt, repeated overdrafts), the bank must provide written notice by the close of business on the banking day after the deposit — either at the time of deposit or mailed the following business day for ATM and mail deposits.

Case-by-case hold notices

If a bank chooses to extend holds on a case-by-case basis beyond its standard policy, it must provide notice at the time of deposit or mail it the same day.

The $225 Next-Day Rule

Regardless of any hold placed on a check deposit, banks must make the first $225 available by the next business day. This threshold was updated in the 2018 amendment from the original $200.

This rule ensures customers always have access to some funds from a deposited check — preventing situations where a customer's entire deposit is held and they have no access to any funds at all.

Same-Day Availability for ATM Deposits

The 2018 amendment also added a new requirement: banks that operate proprietary ATMs must make funds from deposits at those ATMs available no later than the business day after the banking day of deposit — the same as teller deposits. Previously, ATM deposits could be held an extra day.

Reg CC and Fraud

Check fraud intersects with Reg CC in an important way. Banks are required to make funds available within Reg CC's hold windows — but checks can bounce days after funds have been made available. This creates a window for fraud:

• A fraudster deposits a counterfeit or altered check
• The bank makes funds available within Reg CC's timeframe
• The fraudster withdraws the funds
• Days later, the check is returned unpaid
• The bank is left with a loss — and the customer may be liable if they withdrew the funds

Key Reg CC Numbers to Know

The Bottom Line

Regulation CC is the federal framework that governs when banks must make deposited funds available and what they must tell customers when they don't. It balances two competing interests: the customer's right to timely access to their own money, and the bank's legitimate need to manage the risk that a deposited check might not clear. For anyone working in retail banking operations, branch management, or compliance, understanding Reg CC's hold schedules, exception criteria, and disclosure requirements is foundational — violations carry both regulatory exposure and customer liability risk.