Your bank branch is closing: what happens to your accounts

What the law requires

A bank normally can't close a branch overnight. Under section 42 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, a bank that plans to close a branch must:

• Mail its customers a notice at least 90 days before the closing, either with a regular account statement or in a separate letter.
• Post a notice in the branch where customers can see it, for at least the last 30 days before the closing.
• Tell its federal regulator at least 90 days ahead, with its reasons.

The law has limits. It covers banks and savings associations, the institutions whose deposits the FDIC insures (that's the law's definition), so it doesn't cover credit unions. It also doesn't apply to a cash machine, to a branch that moves or merges with another in the immediate neighborhood without changing who it serves, or to a branch closed when a failing bank is taken over with the FDIC's help. In those cases the 90-day notice isn't required.

So if your bank branch is closing, you'll normally have about three months to sort things out. That's enough time to do this calmly.

What a closing changes, and what it doesn't

A branch closing doesn't close your accounts. Your accounts are with the bank, not with the building. Ask which branch will serve you next, and ask the bank to confirm that your account numbers, checks and debit card stay the same. Usually they do.

What does change is everything you do in person: where you deposit checks, get cash, open your safe deposit box, have papers notarized, or ask for a cashier's check.

How to tell if this affects you

Look for a notice with your statement, a separate letter, or a sign in the branch. If you're not sure a letter is real, ask at the branch or call the number printed on your statement or on the back of your card.

What to do, step by step

1. Read the notice and write the closing date on your calendar.
2. Safe deposit box first. If you rent one at that branch, ask what happens to it, where it's moving, and by what date you need to act. This is the one item with a hard deadline that's easy to miss.
3. Ask where you'll deposit checks. Options usually include another branch, a cash machine that takes deposits, or a bank app on a phone. If you get a benefit by check, our guide to paper benefit checks explains direct deposit.
4. Find your nearest cash machine in the bank's own network, so you don't pay another bank's fees.
5. Ask where the services you use are moving: notary, cashier's checks, coin counting, a banker you trust.
6. Decide whether to stay. If the next branch is far away, a local credit union or another bank may serve you better. MyCreditUnion.gov, from the National Credit Union Administration, explains how credit union accounts work.
7. If you switch banks, overlap. Open the new account first. Move your direct deposits and automatic payments one at a time. Keep the old account open until a full month passes with nothing new arriving in it.

If the closing leaves your area without a bank

The same law has a provision for some closings in low- and moderate-income areas by banks that operate in more than one state. In those cases, the bank's notice must include the address of its federal regulator and say that you may send comments about the closing. If your notice includes that, you can write. The regulator then decides whether to meet with community leaders about other ways to keep banking available.

What it costs

The closing itself costs you nothing. The costs to watch are indirect: fees for using other banks' cash machines, fees for check-cashing shops, and the time and fuel to reach a branch further away. Ask the bank about free options before you assume you'll be paying.

Scams that ride along with this change

A closing notice is just the kind of news scammers like to copy.

• Texts or emails saying "Your branch is closing. Verify your account." Your bank doesn't need you to click a link to keep your account. The FTC's guide to recognizing phishing describes this exact pattern. Don't click. Contact the bank using the number on your card or statement.
• "Move your money to a safe account." Anyone who says your money is at risk and must be moved to protect it is a scammer. The FTC has a warning titled "Did someone tell you to move or transfer your money? It could be a scam." Real banks don't ask this.
• A stranger outside the closing branch offering to help with your deposit or your safe deposit box. Do your banking only with staff, inside a branch.