What First Notice Day Actually Is
Metals futures on COMEX and NYMEX are physically delivered contracts. Each contract month has a delivery period, and first notice day marks the point when the delivery machinery starts. From first notice onward, shorts who still hold positions can issue delivery notices, and the clearing house assigns those notices to longs. A long assigned delivery is obligated to pay full contract value — on a 100-ounce gold contract, that is the entire dollar value of the metal, not margin.
This is why brokers watch the calendar for you. A speculator carrying a long position into the notice period by accident faces a very large, very real bill, and most brokers will liquidate the position first rather than let that happen.
Key Dates by Contract
- Gold (GC). Active months include February, April, June, August, and December. First notice generally falls on the last business day of the prior month.
- Silver (SI). March, May, July, September, and December are the liquid months, with first notice on a similar schedule.
- Copper (HG) and platinum (PL). Also physically delivered with comparable notice timing.
Exact dates shift with weekends and holidays, so always confirm against the exchange calendar or with your broker rather than relying on memory. Last trading day comes later in the delivery month, but for practical purposes first notice is the deadline that matters to a speculator.
How to Handle It as a Trader
The standard practice is simple: if you are a speculator, exit or roll your position several sessions before first notice day. Rolling means closing the expiring contract and opening the same position in the next active month, ideally while liquidity in the old month is still decent. Liquidity migrates to the next month well before first notice, so waiting until the last moment means wider spreads and worse fills.
Many brokers set their own earlier deadlines and raise margins as first notice approaches. That is protection, not harassment. And if you ever genuinely want the metal, delivery is possible but involves vault logistics most individuals are not set up for. Producers and commercial hedgers handle deliveries as routine business; speculators should leave that machinery to them. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.