CBOT Corn Futures Expiration and Delivery Explained

For a current-month ZC contract, no trades may be made after the business day before the 15th calendar day of that month. That defines a product-specific trading boundary for the named contract. It is not a generic “corn expiry” date that can be applied to every month, chart, or account without checking the exact contract and calendar.

Futures first notice day and last trading day explains broader lifecycle terms while preserving the exact product rule. Keep the ZC contract month and year with the last trading day instead of applying one remembered date to every listed month.

ZC physical delivery uses shipping certificates, not a generic retail corn shipment. The contract is based on No. 2 Yellow Corn at par, while specified grade and location differentials can apply. A shipping certificate establishes the rulebook delivery framework for the named contract; it does not state that every long account receives a truck, that every short grows or transports corn, or that a chart price includes a particular retail load.

What CBOT Corn futures are sets out the standard 5,000-bushel unit and cents-per-bushel quote. Cash-settled versus physically delivered futures separates certificate delivery from a cash-settlement design without turning either one into an individual account outcome.

After the last trading day, a remaining open ZC contract must be settled by delivery no later than the second business day following that day, with tender on the business day before delivery. The other rulebook path is liquidation by a bona fide Exchange of Futures for Related Position, or EFRP, no later than the business day following the last trading day. These are different time-bounded procedures, not interchangeable names for a single “expiry.”

Account eligibility, clearing arrangements, and broker procedures affect an actual position. A broker can set an earlier close, roll, or position-management deadline than the exchange rule, so a displayed last trade or delivery reference does not prove that a particular account may keep a position to the same step.

A current ZC month and a deferred delivery month are separate contracts with their own trading and delivery terms. Moving exposure from one to the other requires two distinct legs: offsetting the nearby contract and establishing the deferred contract. It is not an automatic extension of the original agreement.

Futures contract roll mechanics explains why a roll changes contracts rather than erasing the nearby month's delivery terms. A later contract's displayed price also does not replace the certificate-delivery rules that apply to the current month.

For the exact ZC month, record the product, delivery month-year, last trading day, tender timing, delivery deadline, EFRP deadline, grade and location terms, current rulebook source, and broker cutoff. How to read futures contract specifications provides a checklist for the product and final-process fields that belong with that record.

Futures contract month codes explains why the delivery month and year should remain with every calendar entry. What happens when a futures contract expires adds a broad lifecycle frame without replacing the current ZC rulebook, certificate-delivery procedure, or account-specific instructions.

Corn price limits can expand, revert, or reset under the rulebook. When a limit matters to a current month, record the current rule and session context rather than claiming a fixed permanent limit.

This guide describes standard CBOT Corn futures contract mechanics. It does not state a current deadline for a particular account, direct a delivery action, recommend a position, or determine a broker's handling of a contract. Current CBOT rules, delivery procedures, market calendars, and account documents govern the exact ZC month.