Your Bank’s 10-Business-Day Deadline: How Provisional Credit Works

When money disappears from your account and you report it, federal law puts your bank on a clock. This article explains the deadlines in Regulation E's error-resolution rule, what provisional credit is, when a bank can skip it or take longer, what the bank owes you if it reverses a credit, and why a simple date-stamped log may be the most useful thing you keep.

The Clock Starts With Your Notice

Under 12 C.F.R. § 1005.11, an "error" includes "An unauthorized electronic fund transfer." The bank must follow the error-resolution procedures for "any oral or written notice of error" that it receives no later than 60 days after it sends the periodic statement on which the error first appears, that lets it identify your name and account number, and that indicates why you believe there is an error, including to the extent possible the type, date, and amount.

You do not need a special form. Notice may be oral or written. The commentary adds that the procedures apply when you report a lost or stolen access device and also allege possible unauthorized use, and that they apply "even if the account has been closed."

Ten Business Days: Decide, or Provisionally Credit

The core rule is 12 C.F.R. § 1005.11(c)(1): the bank "shall investigate promptly and, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (c), shall determine whether an error occurred within 10 business days of receiving a notice of error." It must report the results to you within three business days after completing its investigation and correct an error within one business day after finding one.

If the bank needs more time, § 1005.11(c)(2) allows up to 45 days from receipt of your notice, but only if it does the following:

• Provisionally credits your account in the amount of the alleged error, including interest where applicable, within 10 business days of receiving your notice. In some unauthorized-transfer cases it may withhold up to $50.
• Tells you within two business days after crediting the amount and date of the provisional credit, and gives you full use of the funds during the investigation.
• Corrects the error, if any, within one business day after determining that one occurred.
• Reports the results within three business days after completing the investigation, including, if applicable, notice that the provisional credit has been made final.

The statute contains a parallel rule. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1693f(c), "During the pendency of the investigation, the consumer shall have full use of the funds provisionally recredited."

The bank also cannot stall the start. The commentary states that a bank "must begin its investigation promptly upon receipt of an oral notice. It may not delay until it has received a written confirmation." A bank may ask for a written, signed statement, but "it may not delay initiating or completing an investigation pending receipt of the statement." The CFPB's published Regulation E FAQs, which are compliance aids last updated January 2025 rather than binding regulations, add that a bank may not require a police report or other documentation as a condition of starting an investigation. And if an error occurred, the commentary bars charges "related to any aspect of the error-resolution process."

The Written-Confirmation Exception

For an ordinary consumer bank account, the exception that matters is written confirmation. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1005.11(b)(2), "A financial institution may require the consumer to give written confirmation of an error within 10 business days of an oral notice." If the bank requires it and does not receive it within 10 business days, it need not provisionally credit your account.

The same rule puts an obligation on the bank: "An institution that requires written confirmation shall inform the consumer of the requirement and provide the address where confirmation must be sent when the consumer gives the oral notification." In other words, the bank must tell you at the time of the call. Even when written confirmation is required, the bank must still investigate.

The practical takeaway: report by phone right away and, as a precaution, follow up in writing promptly, ideally so the bank receives it within 10 business days of your call, whether or not anyone mentioned it. A written follow-up can help remove any question about confirmation; it does not relieve the bank of its duty to tell you about a confirmation requirement when you call. Keep a copy and proof of when you sent it and when it arrived.

When the Bank Can Take Longer

The longer periods in § 1005.11(c)(3) apply only in the listed situations:

• 20 business days instead of 10, if the notice involves a transfer to or from the account within 30 days after the first deposit to the account was made.
• 90 days instead of 45 to complete the investigation, if the transfer was not initiated within a state, resulted from a point-of-sale debit card transaction, or occurred within 30 days after the first deposit to the account.

Outside those situations, the periods are 10 business days and 45 days.

If the Bank Takes the Provisional Credit Back

A bank that concludes there was no error may reverse a provisional credit, but 12 C.F.R. § 1005.11(d)(2) requires it to notify you of the date and amount of the debit. It must also tell you that for five business days after the notice it will honor checks and similar items payable to third parties, and preauthorized transfers, without an overdraft charge to you as a result. It need honor only items it would have paid if the provisional credit had not been debited.

The bank's report of its findings must also include "a written explanation of the institution's findings" and must note your right to request the documents it relied on. Under § 1005.11(d)(1), "Upon request, the institution shall promptly provide copies of the documents." If your denial says your login or device was used, our article on what to do when the bank says you authorized the transfer explains why that is not the end of the question. If the denial reads like a template, see whether a form-letter denial is an investigation.

When Treble Damages Come Into Play

The EFTA has a remedy aimed at this exact process. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1693f(e), if a court finds that the bank:

• did not provisionally recredit the account within the ten-day period and either did not make a good faith investigation or did not have a reasonable basis for believing the account was not in error; or
• "knowingly and willfully concluded that the consumer's account was not in error when such conclusion could not reasonably have been drawn from the evidence available" to it at the time of its investigation,

then the consumer "shall be entitled to treble damages," meaning three times actual damages. Separately, 15 U.S.C. § 1693m(a) provides for actual damages, statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 in an individual case, and costs and a reasonable attorney's fee in a successful action. The statute also gives banks defenses, including a bona fide error defense, and an EFTA action must be brought "within one year from the date of the occurrence of the violation."

Keep a Date-Stamped Log

Every one of these rules turns on dates. A simple log can help you prove them:

• The date and time you first reported, the number you called, and the name or ID of each person you spoke with.
• Whether anyone told you written confirmation was required, and the address you were given.
• The date you sent written confirmation, how you sent it, and a copy.
• The date any provisional credit posted, the amount, and the date of the bank's notice about it.
• The date of any reversal and every letter or message from the bank, saved as received.

Count business days where the rule says business days; the 45-day and 90-day periods are stated in days, not business days. For the full picture of your rights after a phone theft, read our stolen-phone and drained-account guide, our article on thieves moving savings into checking, and our unauthorized bank debits practice page.