Delivery Date

Delivery date

Date by which a seller must fulfill the obligations of a forward or futures contract.

---

Delivery Date

The date on which the underlying asset of a futures contract or forward contract is delivered to the contract holder. A contract holder may offset the contract by taking an opposite position before it matures, but any investor holding such a contract on the expiration date must take delivery on the delivery date. See also: Notice day.

---

Delivery date. The delivery date, also known as the settlement date, is the day on which a stock, option, or bond trade must be settled, or finalized.

For stocks, the delivery date is three business days after the trade date, or T + 3. For listed options and government securities, it's one day after the trade date, or T + 1.

If you're the seller, your brokerage firm must turn over the security by the delivery date or transfer the record of ownership to the account of another of its clients who has purchased the security. That process is called netting.

If you're the buyer, you must provide payment by the delivery date so that the transaction can be finalized. You may pay through a margin or money market account with the brokerage firm, by check or electronic transfer, or by instructing your broker to sell other investments.