Gift card expiration, fee and cash-redemption rules by state
State gift card / gift certificate consumer protections compared against the federal CARD Act floor (15 U.S.C. 1693l-1: no expiry under 5 years, dormancy fees only after 12 months of inactivity). Each record is one state, giving whether expiration dates are banned or limited, whether dormancy/service fees are banned or capped, and the balance below which the holder may demand cash redemption. Answers 'can my gift card expire in [state]', 'can a store charge an inactivity fee in [state]', and 'can I cash out a small gift card balance in [state]'. The federal 5-year rule is what assistants answer with, and it is wrong wherever a state bans expiry outright (California, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington and others) or grants cash redemption (California under $15, Colorado under $5, and more). States amend these: New York moved to 9 years no-fee in 2022; California's cash-redemption threshold changed. Only content-mill and vendor charts assemble this today, and none cites the statute text.
Records7
Sources7
Verified
Review by
LicenceFacts from state statutes and the U.S. Code; statutory rules are not copyrightable
The data
| State | Expiration rule | Dormancy/service fee rule | Cash redemption threshold | Covered instruments | Statute citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | unlawful for any person or entity to sell a gift certificate to a purchaser that contains any of the following: (1) An expiration date | (2) A service fee, including, but not limited to, a service fee for dormancy, except as provided in subdivision (f) | less than fifteen dollars ($15) | distributed by the issuer to a consumer pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without any money or other thing of value being given in exchange for the gift certificate by the consumer | Cal. Civ. Code § 1749.5 |
| Florida | may not have an expiration date, expiration period | any type of postsale charge or fee imposed on the gift certificate or credit memo, including, but not limited to, service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, or cash-out fees | none | a gift certificate may have an expiration date if it is provided to the recipient, or to a purchaser for transfer to the recipient, as part of a loyalty or promotional program when the recipient does not pay a separate identifiable charge for the certificate | Fla. Stat. § 501.95(2)(a) |
| Illinois | no person shall sell a gift certificate that is subject to: (1) an expiration date earlier than 5 years after the date of issuance | no person shall sell a gift certificate that is subject to: (1) an expiration date earlier than 5 years after the date of issuance; or (2) a post-purchase fee | none | The face value of a gift certificate issued on or after January 1, 2008 may not be reduced in value and the holder of a gift certificate issued after January 1, 2008 may not be penalized in any way for non-use or untimely redemption of the gift certificate | 815 ILCS 505/2SS(b) |
| Minnesota | unlawful for any person or entity to sell a gift certificate that is subject to an expiration date | a service fee of any kind, including, but not limited to, a service fee for dormancy | none | shall not apply to gift certificates: (1) distributed to a consumer for loyalty, promotional, award, incentive, rebate, or other similar purposes without any money or other tangible thing of value being given by the consumer in exchange for the gift certificate or gift card; (2) that are sold below face value or at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes | Minn. Stat. § 325G.53 |
| United States (federal floor) | unlawful for any person to sell or issue a gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card that is subject to an expiration date. (2) Exceptions A gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card may contain an expiration date if- (A) the expiration date is not earlier than 5 years after the date on which the gift certificate was issued | unlawful for any person to impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity charge or fee, or a service fee with respect to a gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card. (2) Exceptions A dormancy fee, inactivity charge or fee, or service fee may be charged with respect to a gift certificate, store gift card, or general-use prepaid card, if- (A) there has been no activity with respect to the certificate or card in the 12-month period ending on the date on which the charge or fee is imposed | none | The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not apply to any gift certificate- (A) that is distributed pursuant to an award, loyalty, or promotional program | 15 U.S.C. § 1693l-1 |
| Virginia | Each gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth that has an expiration date shall include either (i) a statement of the expiration date of the certificate or (ii) a telephone number or Internet address where the holder of the certificate may obtain information regarding the expiration date of the certificate | No gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth shall impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity charge or fee, or a service fee | none | unless the gift certificate is distributed pursuant to an award, loyalty, or promotional program, and with respect to which there is no other money or value exchanged | Va. Code § 59.1-531 |
| Washington | unlawful for any person or entity to issue, or to enforce against a bearer, a gift certificate that contains: (a) An expiration date | (b) Any fee, including a service fee; or (c) A dormancy or inactivity charge | less than five dollars | If a gift certificate is issued with the sale of tangible personal property or services, the gift certificate is subject to subsection (1) of this section | RCW 19.240.020 |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 7 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- leginfo.legislature.ca.govhttps://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1749.5
- leg.state.fl.ushttp://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0501/Sections/0501.95.html
- ilga.govhttps://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=081505050K2SS
- revisor.mn.govhttps://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/325G.53
- uscode.house.govhttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1693l-1&num=0&edition=prelim
- law.lis.virginia.govhttps://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/section59.1-531/
- app.leg.wa.govhttps://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.240.020
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.