referencesource/gift-card-consumer-protections-by-state

Gift card expiration, fee and cash-redemption rules by state

Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/gift-card-consumer-protections-by-state/ Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/gift-card-consumer-protections-by-state/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.

• —Last verified: 2026-08-18
• —Stale after: 2027-08-18 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy — it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
• —Records: 18

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.

Provenance — what every record carries

Every record carries source (the URL the value was read from) and source_quote (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one; these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on the canonical site at its url.

Licence position

Facts from state statutes and the U.S. Code; statutory rules are not copyrightable

Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.

Sources

• —https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1749.5
• —https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-6-consumer-and-commercial-affairs/co-rev-st-sect-6-1-722/
• —https://codes.findlaw.com/ct/title-42-business-selling-trading-and-collection-practices/ct-gen-st-sect-42-460/
• —http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?Appmode=DisplayStatute&URL=0500-0599/0501/Sections/0501.95.html
• —https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=081505050K2SS
• —https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter200A/Section5D
• —https://codes.findlaw.com/mi/chapter-445-trade-and-commerce/mi-comp-laws-445-903g/
• —https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/325G.53
• —https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/title0300/chapter0140/part0010/section0080/0300-0140-0010-0080.html
• —https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XXXI/358-A/358-A-2.htm
• —https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-56/section-56-8-110/
• —https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/general-business-law/gbs-sect-396-i/
• —https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1349.61
• —http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE6/6-13/6-13-12.htm
• —https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/business-and-commerce-code/bus-com-sect-604-101/
• —https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1693l-1&num=0&edition=prelim
• —https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/section59.1-531/
• —https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.240.020

Fields

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