Giving or Getting a Gift Card? Know New NY Gift Card Laws

What New Gift Card Laws Are in Effect?

On December 10, 2022, it is no longer legal for gift card companies to charge fees and limit expiration dates in New York state. Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that protects consumers from "exploitative gift card practices".

According to Secretary Robert J. Rodriguez,

The law prohibits gift card fees and limits expiration dates, which ensures recipients can enjoy the full value of the gift they received.

Now gift cards and gift certificates can't expire within nine years. One frustrating part of hanging onto a gift card was that you could incur fees or your gift card would depreciate. With this new law, gift cards will not decline in value due to fees and you can redeem them for cash if the balance is less than five dollars.

What Are the Details?

The new law also forbids any "activation fees, retroactive fees, redemption fees, service fees, dormancy fees, latency fees, administrative fees, handling fees, access fees, periodic fees, renewal fees, re-loading fees, or any other fee of any kind.”

This holiday season feel more confident getting and giving gift cards because of this new law!