How long does a check take to clear? Under the Federal Reserve's Regulation CC availability schedule, a bank must make funds from most local checks available no later than the second business day after the banking day of deposit, and certain checks (government, cashier's, certified, and same-bank checks deposited in person) by the next business day under 12 CFR 229.10. Those are maximum hold times, so many banks release money sooner, but exceptions for new accounts, large deposits and repeated overdrafts can stretch the wait.
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"Clearing" and "availability" are related but different. Availability is when the bank must let you withdraw the money. Clearing is when the check is actually paid by the bank it was drawn on. A bank can make funds available before a check finally clears, and if the check later bounces, the deposit can be reversed. This page walks through the federal rules as published in the eCFR, current as of October 1, 2026 per the eCFR display date, and what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tells consumers about holds.
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Check clearing is the process of presenting a deposited check to the paying bank and settling the money between the two institutions. Funds availability is a separate question: the federal rule that says when your own bank must let you spend the deposit. Banks often release funds before clearing finishes, which is why a check can be returned after the money already appears.
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Regulation CC, codified at 12 CFR Part 229, is the Federal Reserve rule that governs both topics. Subpart B covers funds availability: section 229.10 lists next-day items, section 229.12 sets the general schedule, and section 229.13 lists exceptions that allow longer holds.
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The CFPB summarizes it plainly: each bank sets its own policy, but federal law sets the maximum time a bank can make you wait. Your bank's funds availability disclosure tells you where inside those limits it actually operates.
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Lower-risk items get the fastest treatment. Checks issued by the U.S. Treasury, Postal Service money orders, and cashier's, certified or teller's checks generally qualify, along with checks drawn on another branch of your own bank. Most of these must be deposited in person to a bank employee to qualify for the fastest timeline.
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Under 12 CFR 229.10(c), the next-business-day list covers U.S. Treasury checks deposited into the payee's account; USPS money orders deposited in person; checks drawn on a Federal Reserve Bank or Federal Home Loan Bank; state and local government checks deposited in the issuing state; cashier's, certified and teller's checks deposited in person; and checks drawn on the same bank within the same state or check processing region.
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The same section also requires that the first $275 of other check deposits on a banking day be available the next business day, per 12 CFR 229.10(c)(1)(vii). If a qualifying government or cashier's check is deposited some other way than in person, for example through an ATM the bank owns, section 229.10(c)(2) allows the bank until the second business day.
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Cash and electronic payments follow similar rules. Cash handed to a teller and ACH or wire credits must be available by the next business day under 12 CFR 229.10(a) and (b), which is also why the CFPB lists direct deposits and wire transfers among next-day items.
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A personal check that does not qualify for next-day treatment falls under the general availability schedule. The bank must release a small portion quickly and the rest within the timeline the regulation sets, unless one of the listed exceptions applies. Deposits at another bank's ATM get a longer window.
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For a typical personal check, 12 CFR 229.12(b) requires availability no later than the second business day following the banking day of deposit. The rule still refers to "nonlocal checks" with a fifth business day limit in section 229.12(c), and deposits made at a nonproprietary ATM (one your bank does not own) can be held until the fifth business day under section 229.12(f).
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There is one more wrinkle for cash withdrawals. Section 229.12(d) lets a bank add one business day before you can take the money out as cash or a cashier's check, but it must still make $550 available for cash withdrawal by 5:00 p.m. on the normal availability day, on top of the $275 next-day amount.
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The clock also depends on when you deposit. The CFPB notes that a bank's cut-off time can be no earlier than 2:00 p.m. at physical locations and no earlier than noon at an ATM or elsewhere; deposits after the cut-off count as made the next business day.
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Regulation CC lists specific exceptions that let a bank go beyond the normal schedule. They cover new accounts, large deposits, redeposited checks, accounts that are repeatedly overdrawn, checks the bank has reasonable cause to doubt, and emergencies such as outages. Except for emergencies and new accounts, the bank must give written notice.
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The exceptions live in 12 CFR 229.13. The large deposit exception applies to the portion of check deposits above $6,725 on any one banking day, per section 229.13(b). The repeated overdraft exception can apply for six months after an account was negative on six or more banking days within the preceding six months, under section 229.13(d).
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The "reasonable cause" exception has guardrails. The bank needs facts that would give a reasonable person a well-grounded belief the check will not be paid, and section 229.13(e) says that belief cannot rest only on the type of check or the type of depositor. The bank must state its reason in the notice.
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When an exception applies, the bank may extend availability by a "reasonable period," which section 229.13(h) defines as up to one extra business day for same-bank checks, five for local checks, and six for nonlocal and nonproprietary ATM deposits. A longer extension can be reasonable, but the bank carries the burden of showing it.
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Use this quick decision tree to estimate your own wait:

New accounts get their own set of rules. During the first month, banks can hold most personal check deposits well beyond the normal schedule, though cash, electronic payments and lower-risk checks keep faster treatment up to a cap. An account stops being "new" once the first month passes.
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Under 12 CFR 229.13(a)(2), an account is new during the first 30 calendar days after it is opened, unless every customer on it already had another account at the same bank for at least 30 calendar days. In that window, next-day treatment for Treasury, cashier's and similar checks applies only to the first $6,725 deposited on a banking day, and the excess must be available by the ninth business day, per section 229.13(a)(1). Ordinary personal checks are not covered by the regular schedule at all during this period.
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The CFPB lists "the account has been open for less than 30 days" first among the reasons a bank may hold a deposit longer than one business day.
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The federal schedule is a ceiling, not a promise of speed, and it does not protect you if a check later turns out to be bad. Availability rules also do not cover every deposit channel the same way, and consumer guidance pages are not always updated in step with the regulation.

Mobile deposits are not made in person to a bank employee, so in-person-only next-day rules in 12 CFR 229.10(c) do not apply to them. Check your bank's funds availability policy for its mobile timeline and daily cut-off.
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Longer holds usually come from an exception: a new account, a deposit above $6,725, repeated overdrafts, or reasonable doubt about collection, all listed in 12 CFR 229.13. The bank's written notice must state the reason and the release date.
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No. Regulation CC counts business days, so Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays do not count. The CFPB also notes that deposits after your bank's cut-off time count as made on the next business day.
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Yes. Start with the bank, using the reason in its exception notice. If that fails, the CFPB accepts consumer complaints about bank accounts, and nationally chartered banks are also supervised by the OCC.
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Generally yes. A cashier's, certified or teller's check deposited in person into the payee's account must be available by the next business day under 12 CFR 229.10(c)(1)(v), while a personal check can be held until the second business day.
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Every rule on this page comes from the regulation text or federal consumer guidance fetched on October 5, 2026. Day counts and dollar thresholds come from the eCFR display current as of October 1, 2026; consumer framing comes from the CFPB.