Do E-Gift Cards Expire?
In the US, federal law generally stops the funds expiring inside five years. In the UK, there is no statutory minimum at all. Germany quietly gives you almost four. Here are the rules by country, and what to do if yours has lapsed.
Around $21-23 billion in US gift card value goes unredeemed every year, and roughly 48% of people are holding at least one card they haven't spent. Expiry is only part of that story - but it's the part with actual law attached, and the part most people get wrong in both directions: writing off cards that are still valid, and assuming cards are protected when they aren't.
The short answer
US: mostly no, not within five years - federal law sets a floor. UK: yes, freely - there is no statutory minimum, and 12 to 24 months is standard. EU: depends on the country, with no harmonised rule. Germany is generous by accident of its limitation law; France sets a low floor that many retailers exceed.
The rules, by jurisdiction
| Where | Minimum validity | Inactivity fees |
|---|---|---|
| United States (federal) | 5 years minimum | Restricted |
| US state law (varies) | Often stronger | Often banned outright |
| United Kingdom | No statutory minimum | No specific statutory rule |
| European Union | No EU-wide rule | Varies by member state |
| Germany | Effectively 3 years | Restricted by unfair-terms law |
| France | Commonly 1 year minimum | Varies |
United States (federal)
Under the Credit CARD Act 2009, funds cannot expire less than five years from the date of issue or the date money was last loaded. No dormancy, inactivity or service fee may be charged unless the card has been unused for at least twelve consecutive months, and after that no more than one fee per month. Expiry dates and all fees must be clearly disclosed before purchase.
US state law (varies)
States can go further than federal law, and many do. California, for example, generally prohibits expiration dates and dormancy fees on store gift certificates and gift cards, with limited exceptions. Always check the rule in the state of purchase - the stronger protection is the one that applies.
United Kingdom
UK law sets no minimum or maximum validity period, so retailers set their own - most land between 12 and 24 months. Protection comes indirectly: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 prohibits unfair contract terms, and the CMA has signalled that very short expiry windows may be unenforceable. The expiry must be communicated clearly at the point of purchase. Once a voucher has expired, the trader is not obliged to accept it.
European Union
There is no harmonised minimum or maximum at EU level, so validity is a national matter and differs considerably between member states. The period is normally shown on the card or in the terms of sale.
Germany
The standard three-year limitation period under BGB §195 applies, and crucially it runs from the END of the year the voucher was issued - so a voucher issued on 1 April 2025 stays valid until 31 December 2028. Shorter periods are only permissible where objectively justified and not unreasonably disadvantageous, which is sometimes accepted for service vouchers such as treatments.
France
A minimum validity of around one year is the general expectation, and many retailers offer considerably more - two years is common, and some large brands run to three or even ten. The applicable period is stated on the card or in the general conditions of sale.
This is general information about how these rules work, not legal advice, and the detail changes with the type of card - promotional cards, loyalty credit and open-loop prepaid cards are often treated differently from a straightforward store gift card. For a specific dispute, check the terms you were given and, in the UK, Citizens Advice.
The two mistakes people make in opposite directions
Writing off a valid card
In the US, the five-year floor attaches to the funds, not to the printed date on the card. In Germany, the three years run from 31 December of the year of issue, not from the issue date - which people routinely miscount by up to eleven months. Check the balance before you bin it.
Assuming protection that isn't there
UK consumers often assume something like the US five-year rule exists. It doesn't. A 12-month expiry is lawful, and once it passes the retailer is under no obligation to honour it. If you're given a UK card, treat the date as real.
Why the money actually goes unspent
Expiry gets the blame, but it's rarely the main mechanism. These six are, roughly in order of how much value they account for.
A balance that doesn't match a price
A $40 card at a shop where nothing costs $40 leaves an awkward remainder or a top-up. Both create friction, and friction is what kills redemption.
A retailer they don't shop at
The most common cause. A card is only spending power at one place, and the wrong place makes it worth nothing to them.
Small residual amounts
$3.20 left on a card isn't worth a journey, so it sits there permanently. This residue is a meaningful slice of the unredeemed total.
A code in an inbox has no physical presence
A plastic card in a wallet nags at you. A code in an email is invisible by design, and inboxes are where things go to be forgotten.
Wrong-country storefront
Most e-gift cards are locked to one country's site. Sent across a border, the card may be unusable from the moment it arrives.
Nobody wants to admit they lost it
Recipients rarely tell the giver a card went unused, so the giver never learns, and does it again next year.
What to do with an expired e-gift card
1. Check whether it has actually expired
In the US, if the card was issued under federal rules the funds themselves usually can't expire inside five years, even where a printed date suggests otherwise - the plastic and the money are legally different things. Check the balance before assuming it's gone.
2. Ask anyway, politely
Many retailers will reissue or honour a recently expired card as a goodwill gesture, particularly if the value is small relative to keeping a customer. This works far more often than people expect. Ask once, be pleasant, accept the answer.
3. Look for dormancy fees you shouldn't have been charged
In the US, a fee is only permitted after twelve consecutive months of non-use, and then only once a month. If fees were taken sooner or more often, raise it with the issuer and cite the rule.
4. In the UK, check what you were told at purchase
The expiry must have been communicated clearly at the point of purchase, and unfair terms are not enforceable under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If a very short window was buried in the terms, that is worth challenging with the retailer and, if needed, Citizens Advice.
5. In Germany, count from the end of the issue year
People routinely write off vouchers that are still valid, because they count three years from the issue date rather than from 31 December of that year. That mistake can cost you the best part of a year.
6. If it's genuinely gone, don't tell the giver
Unless they ask directly. Nothing is recovered by it and it converts their gift into a small guilt. This is the one piece of advice here that isn't legal.
If you're the one giving: six ways to stop this happening
| Do this | Because |
|---|---|
| Buy from a retailer they actually use | The single biggest predictor of redemption. Their corner bookshop beats a giant marketplace they never visit. |
| Buy on their country's storefront | Not yours. This alone eliminates the most avoidable form of total loss. |
| Tell them the expiry date in your message | One line - use it by March. It costs nothing and removes the main failure mode. |
| Pick an amount that maps to a real purchase | Enough to buy the thing outright, not 80% of it. A shortfall is a reason to postpone forever. |
| Use a bank transfer for large sums | For weddings especially, a transfer or contribution page has no retailer restriction and no expiry at all. |
| Or give something that can't expire | A keepsake has no balance, no storefront and no date on which it stops working. |
The last row, in practice
Vellum is a private archive of a relationship - chapters they walk through, with letters and messages that stay sealed until dates you choose. There's no balance to redeem, no storefront to be locked out of, and no date on which it stops working. It runs the other way, in fact: the sealed chapters mean parts of it only start working in a year's time. Walk the demo archive - $12 a chapter, $29 the archive, paid once, no subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Do e-gift cards expire?
It depends entirely on where they were issued. In the US, the Credit CARD Act 2009 means funds generally cannot expire less than five years from the date of issue or last load, and some states such as California go further and largely prohibit expiry on store cards. In the UK there is no statutory minimum at all, so retailers set their own terms - typically 12 to 24 months. Germany effectively gives three years counted from the end of the year of issue, while France commonly sets a minimum of about one year.
How long is a gift card valid in the US?
At least five years from the date it was issued, or from the date funds were last loaded onto it, under the Credit CARD Act 2009. That five-year floor applies to the funds rather than the physical card, so a card showing an earlier printed date may still hold usable value. State law can be stronger - California generally prohibits expiration dates and dormancy fees on store gift cards, with limited exceptions.
Can a UK gift card expire after 12 months?
Yes. UK law imposes no minimum validity period, so a 12-month expiry is lawful and common, and once a voucher has expired the trader is not obliged to accept it. The protections are indirect: the expiry has to be communicated clearly at the point of purchase, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 prohibits unfair contract terms - the Competition and Markets Authority has indicated that very short windows may be unenforceable on that basis.
Can gift cards charge inactivity fees?
In the US, only after the card has gone completely unused for at least twelve consecutive months, and then no more than one fee per month - and every fee must have been clearly disclosed before purchase. Some states restrict fees further or ban them altogether. If you have been charged sooner or more frequently, raise it with the issuer.
Why does so much gift card value go unspent?
Roughly $21-23 billion of US gift card value goes unredeemed every year, with about 48% of consumers holding at least one unused card. The usual causes are a balance that doesn't map onto a real purchase, a retailer the recipient doesn't shop at, small residual amounts not worth a trip, a code sitting invisibly in an inbox, and cards locked to the wrong country's storefront.
What can I do with an expired gift card?
First check whether it has genuinely expired - in the US the funds often outlive the printed date. Then ask the retailer directly, since many will reissue or honour a recently lapsed card as goodwill. Check for dormancy fees charged earlier or more often than the rules allow. In Germany, recount the three years from 31 December of the year of issue rather than from the issue date itself, as that mistake alone writes off a lot of still-valid vouchers.
Which gifts don't expire at all?
Anything without a redeemable balance. Keepsakes - a letter, a photo book, an archive of a relationship - have no storefront, no balance and no date on which they stop working, so they cannot join the unredeemed pile. Prepaid bookings are also safe once the date is fixed, and for large sums a bank transfer carries neither retailer restriction nor expiry.
Related reading
E-gift card etiquette covers how much to give in US and UK amounts, and e-gift card vs digital gift looks at when to send a card at all. If you're sending across a border, digital gifts for long-distance couples explains the storefront trap in detail. And the full 42 e-gift ideas list is mostly made of things that can't expire.
Sources
- US five-year rule, dormancy fees and disclosure: Federal Reserve Consumer Compliance Outlook on the CARD Act, Federal Reserve press release, November 2009
- State variation, including California: Nolo on gift certificate and gift card laws
- UK position, Consumer Rights Act 2015 and CMA: Sprintlaw UK on gift voucher expiry, gift cards and consumer rights
- Germany (BGB §195, counted from year end) and France: European Consumer Centre on gift cards in Europe
- Unredeemed value and holding rates: Capital One Shopping, CardCash
Give something with no expiry date
An archive of the two of you - letters, photographs, and chapters that stay sealed until the mornings you choose. No balance, no storefront, nothing to redeem before March.
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