When Can a Hold Be Placed on a Cashier's Check?

Assuming that your question refers to holds under Regulation CC, a hold may be placed on funds deposited in the form of a cashier's check into an account of a payee of the check, if the amount of the check (and any other "next day" checks being deposited) exceed $5,000. The "large deposit item hold" would only affect the amount of such checks deposited in excess of $5,000, and, as an exception hold, it would provide for the held funds to be made available by the 7th business day following the banking day of deposit.

A hold could be placed on the FULL amount of a cashier's check if the depositor meets the definition of a frequent overdrafter.

If the cashier's check is part of a deposit to a new account, the amount in excess of $5,000 of such a check (and any other next-day checks deposited by the same depositor that business day) could be held until the 9th business day following the banking day of deposit.

Technically, a "reasonable doubt of collectibility" hold could be placed on a cashier's check, but only if there were a concern about the endorsement(s) on the check (in which case, the hold won't provide protection from anything close to the period during which the endorsement could be challenged) or if you had concerns about the validity of the check due to reports of counterfeiting or actions of the depositor (in which case you should not accept the check for deposit in the first place). The issuing bank's refusal to verify its cashier's checks would not be a legitimate excuse for a hold.

NOTE: The amounts in this response were correct when it was written. The $5,000 dollar amount has subsequently been increased to $5,525.