Consumer · Gift Cards
Can a Gift Card Expire in Tennessee?
Whether a store gift card can expire in Tennessee, plus the cash-back rule, the fee limits, the exceptions for bank and promotional cards, and how the state compares to the federal five-year floor. Cited to the statute.
The rules and exceptions in Tennessee
What the law requires, when it does not apply, and how the state sits against the federal floor.
| The rule in this state | What it means |
|---|---|
| Two-year state minimum, five in practice | A gift certificate may not expire less than two years after issuance, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-127(a), but the federal five-year floor controls for covered cards. A card with no date is valid until redeemed. |
| No fee to buy a gift certificate | No one may charge a fee for the issuance of a gift certificate, an outright ban on the purchase fee that federal law does not impose. |
| No balance-reducing fees for two years | Service, dormancy, latency, and administrative fees that reduce the redeemable amount are barred for the first two years, under § 47-18-127(b). After that federal fee rules govern. |
| No cash-back right | Tennessee sets no dollar threshold at which a holder may demand the remaining balance in cash. |
| When it is different | What it means |
|---|---|
| Employer and recognition cards | A card given to an employee for use limited to the employer's business, or in recognition of services, is exempt, under § 47-18-127(d). |
| Loyalty and charity cards | Promotional cards with nothing given in exchange, and fundraising cards sold below face value, are exempt. |
| Open-loop and telecom cards | A prepaid calling card, and a card usable at multiple unaffiliated merchants or ATMs, are excluded, under § 47-18-127(e). |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps if a gift-card balance is dishonored in Tennessee. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Count on five years, not two
Tennessee's two-year floor is shorter than the federal five-year minimum, which controls for covered cards. Do not accept a shorter date on a covered card.
- Refuse a fee just to buy a card
Tennessee bans any fee for the issuance of a gift certificate, so a purchase or activation fee that reduces the redeemable amount is not allowed.
- Refuse balance-reducing fees for two years
No dormancy, latency, or administrative fee may reduce the balance for the first two years after issuance.
- Complain if a card is dishonored
A violation falls under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. File a complaint with the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs.
If a retailer voids a balance or charges an improper fee, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the gift-card rules.
→ Tennessee Attorney General · Consumer ResourcesThis is general consumer information, not legal advice. Card terms and exceptions vary, so check your card and the statute, and use the complaint route if a balance is wrongly dishonored.
What Tennessee gift-card holders get wrong
Tennessee is one of the few states that bans the purchase fee outright: under Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-127(a), no one may charge a fee for the issuance of a gift certificate, so you cannot be charged for the privilege of buying one. Its expiration floor, two years, is shorter than the federal five, so for covered cards the federal CARD Act controls the expiration question. Within the first two years, service, dormancy, latency, and administrative fees that reduce the redeemable amount are all barred, and after that the federal fee rules govern. A card sold with no expiration date is valid until redeemed or replaced. Tennessee's exemption list is unusually employer-focused: employee-recognition cards and cards good only at the boss's own business fall outside the rules entirely, along with the usual promotional, fundraising, prepaid-calling, and open-loop carve-outs. Because the section sits inside the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, a violation carries the Act's private right of action. This page was read from an official Tennessee Treasury publication of the section, because the consolidated code is behind a paywall.
Common questions
Can a Tennessee store charge me 3.95 dollars to buy a gift card?
No. Tennessee bans any fee for the issuance of a gift certificate under § 47-18-127(a), so a purchase fee that reduces the redeemable amount is not allowed.
Tennessee says two years but I heard five. Which applies?
Five for a covered card. Tennessee's two-year floor is shorter than the federal five-year minimum, which controls for federally covered cards.
Do dormancy fees start again after two years in Tennessee?
Possibly. Tennessee's fee ban lapses at two years, after which the federal one-fee-per-month rule governs covered cards.
My employer gave me a store card for good work. Do the Tennessee rules protect it?
No. An employee-recognition card, or one usable only at the employer's business, is exempt under § 47-18-127(d).
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.