Do Gift Cards Expire? What Parents Should Know About the Ones in the Drawer

By Jenna Hale · Last checked November 2, 2026

Short answer

Mostly no, at least not quickly. Under the federal gift card rule, the money on a store gift card or a bank-branded gift card cannot expire until at least five years after the card was issued or last loaded, and an inactivity fee is only allowed after a full year with no use. The plastic itself can carry an earlier date, but the issuer has to replace it for free if the money is still good. Promotional and reward cards are the main exception, and some states give more time than the federal rule.

Most gift cards do not expire quickly. The federal gift card rule, part of Regulation E at 12 CFR 1005.20, says the money on a covered card has to stay usable for at least five years, and it limits when a card can start charging fees for sitting unused.

That matters in a house with teenagers, because gift cards are a common present and an equally common thing to find in a drawer a year or two later. This page covers what the federal rule says, which cards it leaves out, and what to do with an old one.

Which cards the rule covers

The regulation defines three kinds of card, all bought for personal, family or household use:

Gift certificates. A fixed amount that cannot be reloaded, usable at one merchant or an affiliated group of merchants.
Store gift cards. Usable at one merchant or an affiliated group, whether or not money can be added later.
General-use prepaid cards. Usable at many unrelated merchants or at cash machines. This is the bank-branded kind sold on racks in supermarkets.

Each definition says “card, code, or other device”, so a gift code sent by email is treated the same way as plastic.

What the five-year rule actually says

A covered card can only be sold with an expiration date if the money on it lasts until the later of two dates: five years after the card was issued, or after money was last loaded onto it, or the expiration date printed on the card.

The card and the money can therefore expire at different times. When that can happen, the card has to say so, with equal prominence next to the card’s own date, and say that you can contact the issuer for a replacement. It also has to list a toll-free number for that. No fee can be charged for the replacement, or for getting the remaining balance some other way, before the money expires, unless the card was lost or stolen.

There is one narrow exception to the disclosure: a card that cannot be reloaded and carries an expiration date at least seven years from when it was made does not need that statement.

The rule applies to cards sold on or after 22 August 2010, which covers anything a teenager is likely to have been given.

The rules on inactivity fees

A card can lose value without expiring, through fees. The regulation limits three kinds: dormancy fees, inactivity fees and service fees, meaning periodic charges for holding or using the card. One of these can only be charged when all of the following are true:

There has been no activity on the card in the year before the fee.
The card itself states the fee amount, how often it can be charged, and that it can be charged for inactivity.
No more than one such fee is charged in any calendar month.

“Activity” in the regulation means anything that adds money to the card or takes money off it, other than a fee or a correction. In practice, a card that is used even once a year cannot be charged these fees.

The fees and expiry terms have to be disclosed before purchase, and the regulation says the terms disclosed before purchase cannot be changed afterwards.

Cards the rule leaves out

The protections above do not apply to a card that is:

a loyalty, award or promotional card, such as one handed out free with a purchase or as a reward
reloadable and not marketed or labelled as a gift card
usable only for telephone services
not marketed to the general public
issued in paper form only
usable only for admission to a particular event or venue, or for goods bought there

Promotional cards are the one most likely to turn up at home. The regulation still requires them to state on the front that they are promotional and to show the expiration date there, so the date is not hidden. It can just be much sooner than five years.

General prepaid cards that are not gift cards follow different terms. The CFPB says that if one of those expires with money on it, you may be able to request a replacement or ask for the balance by check, possibly for a fee, and that the cardholder agreement sets the details.

What to do with the cards in the drawer

I would treat this as a ten-minute job with your teenager rather than something to do for them.

Gather them and read the backs. The card has to show whether the money expires, any inactivity fee, and a phone number or website for fee information.
Check each balance with the issuer. Use the number or website printed on the card, not a site found through a search result.
Use the promotional ones first. They are the cards with the shortest dates.
Ask for a replacement if the plastic has expired but the money has not. Use the number on the card, and note that the replacement should be free.
Spend a little from any card you plan to keep. One purchase counts as activity and resets the one-year clock for inactivity fees.

If a card seems to have lost value in a way that does not match what is printed on it, the federal rule is the place to start, and your state may give more protection. The CFPB notes that some state laws give more time than the federal minimum.

Common questions

My teen found a gift card from three birthdays ago. Is the money gone?

Probably not, if it is an ordinary store or bank-branded gift card. Federal rules say the money cannot expire until at least five years after the card was issued or last had money loaded onto it. Check the balance with the issuer before assuming anything, because an inactivity fee may have reduced it if the card went more than a year unused and the card disclosed that fee.

The date printed on the card has passed. Can they still use it?

The card can expire before the money does. When that is possible, the card has to say so and give a toll-free number for a replacement. The regulation says no fee can be charged for that replacement before the money expires, unless the card was lost or stolen.

What about the free card a shop gave us with a purchase?

That is likely a promotional card, and the five-year rule does not cover it. The regulation requires a promotional card to say on its front that it is promotional and to show its expiration date there. Those dates can be much shorter, so use those first.

Are e-gift cards covered?

The federal definitions cover a “card, code, or other device”, so a gift code sent by email or text is within the rule in the same way as a plastic card, subject to the same exclusions.

Does my state have its own rules?

Some do. The CFPB notes that some state laws give you more time than the federal minimum. This page covers the federal rule only, so check your state attorney general or consumer protection office if a card seems to have lost value.