Understanding check deposit clearing

Understanding check deposit clearing

Clearing is the processing period after a check deposit is sent to the Federal Reserve (the Fed) for collection. Creating or approving a deposit does not start the clearing days count.

The clearing period is set up on the deposit product level and is measured in banking days, excluding weekends and banking holidays. The day the check is sent to the Fed is Day 0 and does not count toward the three clearing days.

Example

A check was created on Friday, October 2, 2026, and approved on Sunday, October 4, at 5:18 AM. Because check origination runs only on banking days, the earliest it could be sent to the Fed was Monday, October 5.

If it was sent on Monday, October 5, the count would be:

The actual date the check is sent to the Fed determines the timeline. If it is sent later, the clearing days shift accordingly.