Gift Card Rules: Expiration Dates, Fees and Scams

The federal rules in short

Two rules do most of the work. Both come from the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which added a gift card section to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693l-1), and from the regulation that carries it out, 12 CFR 1005.20 in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation E. They apply to cards sold to consumers on or after August 22, 2010.

• Expiration. The money on a covered card cannot expire earlier than 5 years after the card was issued or after money was last loaded onto it.
• Fees for not using the card. A dormancy, inactivity or service fee is allowed only after a full year without activity, only if the card states it, and at most once per calendar month.

The rule also sets out what has to be printed on the card and what the seller must tell you before you pay. This guide describes that federal floor as general information; state laws and the card's own terms can give you more.

Which cards the rules cover

The regulation names three kinds of cards. All three must be bought on a prepaid basis in a specified amount, primarily for personal, family or household purposes:

• Gift certificate: a fixed amount that cannot be reloaded, redeemable at one merchant or an affiliated group of merchants.
• Store gift card: the same, but the amount may or may not be reloadable. The CFPB describes these as cards that carry the brand of a single store, online merchant or group of stores and work only there.
• General-use prepaid card: redeemable at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or usable at ATMs. In CFPB terms these are network-branded gift cards, with a payment network's logo, that can be used widely.

The CFPB's official interpretations fill in the edges. A card does not have to be plastic: a code sent by email or a bar code on a phone counts. A voucher for a specific service, such as a spa treatment, is usually outside the rule because it is not issued in a specified amount, but one "redeemable for a spa treatment up to $50", or one stating "a $50 value", is covered. A card a business buys to hand out to consumers can still be covered, because the test is what the card is for, not who paid for it.

Cards the rules leave out

The regulation lists six exclusions. A card that falls under any one of them is generally outside the fee and expiration rules:

Three of these exclusions catch people out.

Reloadable cards. The CFPB warns that a reloadable prepaid card not sold as a gift card falls outside the gift card rules, so the issuer might start charging fees, like monthly service fees, right away. The exclusion is lost if anyone in the chain markets the card as a gift, for example with the word "gift" on the packaging, bows and ribbons in the design, or a single display under a big "Gift Cards" sign.

Promotional cards. A card you got for free as a reward, rebate or prize is not bound by the five-year or fee rules, but it must say what it is. The front has to state that it is issued for loyalty, award or promotional purposes (the word "Reward" or "Promotional" is enough) and give the expiration date of the funds. Any fees and their conditions must come on or with the card, along with a toll-free number for fee information if there are fees.

Paper. A certificate counts as paper-only only if paper is the sole form it was ever issued in. A code emailed to you and printed at home is not paper-only, so it stays covered.

The five-year rule for expiration dates

The rule separates two dates that can be different: the date the card expires and the date the money on it expires. The money has to last until the later of:

• 5 years after the gift certificate was issued, or after money was last loaded onto a store gift card or general-use prepaid card, or
• the expiration date of the card itself, if it has one.

A few details from the official interpretations decide how that works in practice:

• The clock starts at activation. A card is not issued or loaded until it is activated for use. A card that hung on a rack for months does not lose that time.
• Only loading money restarts it. Using the card does not extend the five years; a reload does. Getting a replacement card does not count as a load.
• An expired card is not lost money. If the card expires while the funds have not, the issuer must either send a replacement card or pay you the remaining balance in some other way, for example by check, and may not charge for it. The issuer chooses which, in line with state law. A lost or stolen card is different: the rule does not require it to be replaced, and a fee may apply.
• Moving the money ends the rule. Some cards are redeemed by moving the whole balance into an account with the merchant, for music, media or virtual goods. Once the full balance has moved, the five-year minimum no longer applies to it. If only part was moved, the rest on the card stays protected.

Working out the earliest expiration date

You need one date: the day the card was activated, or the last day money was added. The receipt usually shows the first. Put that date into the add or subtract days calculator, add 5 years, and you have the earliest date the money may expire under federal law. Then compare it with what the card says. The card's terms may give you longer, never shorter.

Three worked examples. All dates are example values, not any real card's terms:

The days between dates calculator turns that into a count: from December 20, 2025 to December 20, 2030 is 1,826 days, a leap day included. In example B, the reload pushed the earliest expiration 439 days later than in example A. For the day you hold the card, enter today and the funds date to see how much time is left.

Case C follows from the interpretations: a replacement card may carry a card date less than five years out, and issuing it does not count as loading money, so the funds date stays. A card that expires before its funds must say so next to the expiration date, for example "Funds do not expire. Call for new card after 09/2016", the sample wording in the interpretations. A non-reloadable card printed with a date at least seven years after manufacture can skip that sentence, but its funds still may not expire before the card does.

When an inactivity fee is allowed

The rule covers dormancy and inactivity fees, charged for not using the card, and service fees, any periodic fee for holding or using it, such as monthly maintenance, transaction, ATM, reload or balance inquiry fees. Any of them is allowed only if all three conditions hold:

1. There has been no activity on the card in the one-year period ending on the day of the fee.
2. The card itself states, clearly and conspicuously, the amount of the fee, how often it may be charged, and that it may be charged for inactivity.
3. No more than one dormancy, inactivity or service fee is charged in any calendar month.

"Activity" means anything that raises or lowers the money on the card, other than a fee. Buying and activating the card, paying with it and reloading it count. A balance inquiry, a fee, a replacement card, a purchase that failed for technical reasons, and an adjustment for an error or a return do not. So checking the balance does not reset the clock, but spending a dollar does.

One-time fees fall outside these conditions: a purchase or issuance fee, a cash-out fee, a supplemental card fee, or a fee to replace a lost or stolen card. They still have to be disclosed on or with the card, with the amount and when they apply.

Here is how the timing works, with example values: a card with $25.00 left was last used on February 14, 2026, and it states a fee of $2.50 a month after 12 months without use, the same form as the sample disclosure "$2.50/mo. after 12 mos." in the official interpretations. Each fee is 10% of the $25.00 (the percentage calculator does this for any amount).

The first fee can come one year after the last use, 365 days later. After that, the interpretations allow the next fee on the first day of the following calendar month at the earliest, while the card still sits unused. In this example the balance reaches zero on November 1, 2027. A single purchase stops the series, and the next fee then waits another full year.

Two things an issuer may not do. It cannot save up the fees for a quiet year and charge them at once: the interpretations give the example of a $2.00 monthly fee that may not be collected as one $24.00 charge a year after purchase. And the fees and expiration terms you were told before buying cannot be changed after you bought the card.

What the card has to say

Some disclosures must appear on the card itself. Terms in an accompanying document, on the packaging or on a sticker attached to the card do not count. For an electronic card, they must be on the electronic card or code you receive, such as the email with the code.

A card with no fees and no expiration needs none of these lines. Before you buy, the seller must also tell you the fees and expiration terms, in a store, online or by phone. Online, that has to happen during the purchase, not on a page you may never open.

State laws can go further

The federal rule is a floor. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act says a state law is not inconsistent with it if the law gives consumers greater protection, and the CFPB points out that some state laws give you more time than five years. Regulation E leaves it to the CFPB to decide whether a particular state rule on gift card fees or expiration dates is preempted.

State rules differ and change, so this guide does not list them. If a fee or date on your card looks wrong, check your own state's law.

If the store closes or files for bankruptcy

The fee and expiration rules do not protect a card's value if the company behind it fails. The FTC warned in its holiday tips that a retail card from a company that files for bankruptcy or goes out of business may be worth less than expected, and a closed local store can leave you without a place to use it. A bankrupt company may still honor its cards, or a competitor may accept them, so the FTC's advice is to call and ask. The CFPB tells givers to consider the issuer's financial health for the same reason.

When a retailer winds down, the FTC's advice in one such case was to use the cards as soon as possible and to expect purchases from a company going out of business to be final sales, so check the return policy before you buy.

Gift card scams

The FTC puts it in one line: no real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Anyone who asks you to buy gift cards and read them the numbers from the back is a scammer. The signs it lists:

• Urgency. You must pay right now, without time to think or to talk to someone you trust.
• Exact instructions. The caller names the store and the card brand, may send you to several stores so cashiers do not get suspicious, and may stay on the phone while you buy.
• A request for the numbers. The card number and PIN, or a photo of the card.

The stories change: a government agency demanding fines, tech support, a utility threatening to cut off service, a relative in an emergency, a prize with fees, an online love interest, or a buyer who overpaid by check. The message often starts as a text or email; the guide to checking a suspicious link covers what to look for before you tap.

If you already gave someone the numbers, the FTC's steps are:

1. Contact the company that issued the card right away, no matter how long ago it happened. Tell them the card was used in a scam and give them the details from the receipt or the numbers on the card. If you cannot find the company's contact details, the FTC suggests checking the card itself.
2. Ask for your money back. The FTC notes that some companies now flag and freeze stolen funds and may return money the scammer has not spent yet; the sooner you call, the better the chance.
3. Keep the card and the store receipt. The card number and receipt help the company handle your claim.
4. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

When you buy cards yourself, the FTC suggests stores you know rather than online auction sites, checking that the protective sticker is intact and the PIN is not exposed, and taking a photo of the card and receipt.

Giving, keeping and using a card

The CFPB's tips for both sides of a gift card:

• When you give one, check whether the card is displayed or labeled as a gift card, since other prepaid cards follow different rules, and hand over the terms and the receipt with it. If a gift exchange has its own gift card rule, the Secret Santa guide shows where to set it.
• When you get one, protect it like cash. Write down the card number, security code and customer service number, register the card if you can, and read what the terms say about a lost card.
• Keep the card until you are sure you will not return anything you bought with it, because some stores refund only to the card you paid with.

If a fee or an expiration date seems wrong, call the number on the card first. If that does not solve it, the CFPB accepts complaints about prepaid cards such as gift cards at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Scams go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• 12 CFR 1005.20, Requirements for gift cards and gift certificates (Regulation E): definitions, exclusions, disclosures, fee and expiration rules, compliance date August 22, 2010 (Cornell LII copy of the eCFR text)
• 12 CFR part 1005, Supplement I, Official interpretations, section 1005.20: comments on activity, the one-year period, one fee per month, no accumulation, service fees vs one-time fees, activation as issue date, replacement or payout, the seven-year safe harbor, full redemption into an account, marketed as a gift card
• 12 CFR 1005.12(b), Preemption of inconsistent state laws, including gift card fees and expiration dates
• 15 U.S.C. 1693l-1, General-use prepaid cards, gift certificates, and store gift cards (EFTA section 915, added by the Credit CARD Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-24, section 401)
• 15 U.S.C. 1693q, Relation to State laws: a state law is not inconsistent if it gives consumers greater protection
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Ask CFPB: If my prepaid card expires, do I lose my money? (gift card funds good for at least five years, some states give more time; inactivity fees only after 12 months)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Giving or receiving gift cards? Know the terms and avoid surprises (blog, December 21, 2012, archived): card types, reloadable cards, issuer bankruptcy and store closings
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Unwrapping gift cards (handout, 12/2020): store vs network-branded gift cards, tips for givers and recipients
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, CFPB begins accepting consumer complaints on prepaid cards and additional nonbank products (July 21, 2014): complaints about prepaid cards such as gift cards
• Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice: Avoiding and reporting gift card scams (July 2023)
• Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Alert: If you paid a scammer with a gift card, is your money gone? Maybe not (August 21, 2023)
• Federal Trade Commission, FTC has gift card tips for holiday buying (press release, November 24, 2010): bankruptcy and store closings, inspecting cards before buying
• Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Alert: Got Toys"R"Us gift cards? (going-out-of-business purchases are usually final sales)

General information based on the sources above, not tax, legal or financial advice.

Written by Tobias. Updated October 22, 2026.