Any expiration-date digits on your electronically printed customer receipt break FACTA, the federal receipt-truncation law, and can support a lawsuit. An expiration date alone rarely leads to payment because appeals courts dismiss bare receipt violations without concrete identity-theft risk. That gap between violation and compensation decides whether to keep the receipt or seek review. The sections below show where courts draw the line and what makes a claim stronger.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Cornell — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official guidance from Cornell — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
Table of Contents
- What the receipt rule bans
- Why expiration-only claims often fail
- When a claim is stronger
- What to keep and check next
What the receipt rule bans
Card-accepting businesses face a strict receipt rule. They may print no more than the last five digits of your card number. They may print no expiration-date digits at all, according to Cornell Legal Information Institute in the current text of 15 U.S.C. §1681c(g).
Under that same law, the ban covers only electronically printed receipts given to you at sale. It does not cover a transaction recorded only by handwriting, imprinting, or copying the card. A receipt showing Exp 09/27 violates even if the card number is masked. A receipt showing only ****1234 with no date fits the rule on those points.
Why expiration-only claims often fail
The Second Circuit, as published by FindLaw in the 2017 expiration-date decision, affirmed dismissal of an expiration-date-only case. The court held a bare procedural violation is not injury without a material risk of identity theft. No concrete risk meant no federal standing.
The Third Circuit, as published by FindLaw in the 2019 six-plus-four digit decision, reached the same result for a receipt showing the first six and last four digits. It held alleged heightened future risk without concrete harm was too speculative. For readers, the lesson is direct. Printing an expiration date can violate the statute yet still lose before damages are reached.
When a claim is stronger
A cardholder who gets a violating receipt may sue for damages. Cornell Legal Information Institute explains in the current text of 15 U.S.C. §1681n(a) that negligent violations allow actual damages. Willful violations allow actual damages or $100 to $1,000 in statutory damages, plus punitive damages, fees, and costs. Stronger cases combine three elements.
They show six or more card digits exposed, not only a date. They show knowing or reckless noncompliance after clear notice. They tie the receipt to concrete misuse, attempted misuse, or a demonstrable theft risk. A register that prints full expiration dates across many customers looks more willful than one isolated error. A receipt paired with fraudulent charges looks more concrete than fear alone.
What to keep and check next
Keep the original customer receipt and do not alter it. Note the store, date, register, and what digits appear.
Ask a consumer attorney whether your digits, willfulness proof, and harm meet current standing rules. Bring the original receipt to that review rather than a photo alone.
- Keep the full receipt showing date digits and card digits
- Record where and when you received it
- Save any fraud alerts, charges, or credit-monitoring notices
- Note repeat violations or staff statements about the system