The claim
Under Regulation E (12 CFR § 1005.16), an automated teller machine operator that imposes a fee on a consumer for initiating an electronic fund transfer or a balance inquiry must provide a notice that a fee will be imposed and that discloses the amount of the fee. The notice has to be shown on the screen of the machine or provided on paper, before the consumer is committed to paying the fee. Under § 1005.16(d), the operator may impose the fee only if the consumer is provided the notice and then elects to continue the transaction or inquiry. The regulation defines the operator as a person that operates the machine and does not hold the account to or from which the transfer is made, or about which the inquiry is made.
The receipt
(a) Definition. “Automated teller machine operator” means any person that operates an automated teller machine at which a consumer initiates an electronic fund transfer or a balance inquiry and that does not hold the account to or from which the transfer is made, or about which an inquiry is made. (b) General. An automated teller machine operator that imposes a fee on a consumer for initiating an electronic fund transfer or a balance inquiry must provide a notice that a fee will be imposed for providing electronic fund transfer services or a balance inquiry that discloses the amount of the fee.
An automated teller machine operator must provide the notice required by paragraph (b) of this section either by showing it on the screen of the automated teller machine or by providing it on paper, before the consumer is committed to paying a fee.
An automated teller machine operator may impose a fee on a consumer for initiating an electronic fund transfer or a balance inquiry only if: (1) The consumer is provided the notice required under paragraph (c) of this section, and (2) The consumer elects to continue the transaction or inquiry after receiving such notice.
The notice required under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) with respect to any fee described in such subparagraph shall appear on the screen of the automated teller machine, or on a paper notice issued from such machine, after the transaction is initiated and before the consumer is irrevocably committed to completing the transaction.
What the rule doesn't cover
Section 1005.16 is a notice rule. It requires that the fee and its amount be disclosed before the consumer is committed; it does not itself set a maximum amount for the fee. The definition in paragraph (a) covers an operator that does not hold the account, so this page does not address fees or terms of the bank that holds the account. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act text words the timing differently from the regulation ("after the transaction is initiated and before the consumer is irrevocably committed to completing the transaction"), and the two are quoted above as written.
State laws and card-network rules on ATM fees are not covered here.
What you can do
The screen or paper notice is the document to look for. Section 1005.16(b) says it must state the amount of the fee, and § 1005.16(d) ties the fee to the consumer having been provided the notice and having elected to continue. Those two points are what an ATM screen can be read against.
Sources: 12 CFR § 1005.16 (Regulation E, on eCFR) · 15 U.S.C. § 1693b (Office of the Law Revision Counsel)
Sources last checked: October 8, 2026.
Everything here is consumer information — not financial or legal advice. It covers what a rule says and where to find it; the decisions stay yours.