First Notice Day, often shortened to FND, is the first day on which a holder of a physically delivered futures contract may receive notice that delivery has been assigned under the exchange’s rules.
It is an important date in commodity futures because traders who do not want to become involved in physical delivery often close or roll their positions before it arrives.
For gold and silver investors, First Notice Day becomes especially interesting when a delivery month still has substantial open interest as the contract approaches the delivery period.
But FND should not be confused with expiration.
A futures contract can continue trading after First Notice Day, depending on the contract specifications.
The key distinction is that the delivery process can begin once First Notice Day is reached.
How First Notice Day Works
Physically delivered futures contracts have a series of important dates surrounding the delivery month.
First Notice Day marks the point at which delivery notices can begin to be assigned according to exchange procedures.
In simplified form, the process works like this:
1. A trader holds a short futures position into the delivery period.
If the position is eligible for delivery, the short side can initiate the delivery process under the exchange rules.
2. A delivery notice is submitted through the clearing system.
The notice indicates that the short intends to fulfill the futures obligation through delivery.
3. A long position is matched with that delivery obligation.
The long side becomes responsible for taking delivery according to the contract rules.
4. The delivery instrument changes hands.
For precious metals, this can involve ownership of a warehouse warrant or another approved delivery instrument rather than bars immediately leaving a vault.
This distinction matters.
Physical delivery does not necessarily mean gold or silver is loaded onto a truck on First Notice Day.
The initial change can be a transfer of ownership within the exchange-approved warehouse system.
The exact First Notice Day and delivery procedures depend on the specific futures contract, so they should not be assumed to be identical across every commodity or contract month.
Why Traders Close or Roll Before First Notice Day
Many futures traders have no intention of taking or making physical delivery.
They may be using futures for:
- speculation,
- hedging,
- portfolio exposure,
- spread trading,
- short-term risk management,
- or other financial purposes.
As First Notice Day approaches, these traders often close the expiring contract or roll their exposure into a later month.
Suppose a trader is long 10 silver futures contracts but wants only price exposure.
Instead of remaining in the contract as the delivery period begins, the trader can sell those contracts and purchase a later-dated contract.
The market exposure continues.
The delivery-month exposure disappears.
This rolling process can cause open interest in the expiring contract to fall sharply before First Notice Day while activity increases in the next active contract month.
That does not necessarily mean investors are abandoning silver.
It may simply show that futures exposure is moving from one contract month to another.
This is why changes in COT positioning and total open interest need to be separated from the open interest remaining in one specific delivery month.
First Notice Day and COMEX Gold and Silver Delivery
First Notice Day matters particularly in COMEX gold and silver because both benchmark futures markets include physical-delivery mechanisms.
A standard COMEX silver futures contract represents 5,000 troy ounces of silver, while the benchmark gold contract represents 100 troy ounces of gold.
Holding a futures contract does not mean that physical metal has already been assigned to that position.
Most contracts are closed or rolled without reaching physical delivery.
For positions that do remain in the delivery process, warehouse status becomes important.
COMEX registered silver consists of qualifying metal with an active warehouse warrant, placing it within the exchange delivery system.
COMEX eligible silver also meets the relevant specifications and is stored in an approved depository, but it does not currently have an active warrant.
The distinction helps explain why the amount of metal physically stored in COMEX warehouses is not the same thing as the amount currently positioned for delivery.
It also explains why a delivery does not necessarily reduce warehouse stocks.
Ownership of registered metal can change while the bars remain inside the same depository.
First Notice Day, Open Interest and Inventories
One of the most useful things to watch around First Notice Day is the amount of open interest that remains in the delivery contract.
Imagine a silver contract approaches FND with:
- 20,000 contracts of open interest
- each contract representing 5,000 ounces
That represents 100 million ounces of futures exposure.
But it does not mean 100 million ounces will be demanded for physical delivery.
Many positions may still be closed, offset or otherwise resolved according to exchange procedures.
What matters more is how open interest behaves as the delivery period develops.
Questions worth asking include:
- How much open interest remains after the normal roll?
- How many delivery notices are actually issued?
- Is delivery activity unusually large relative to previous months?
- Are registered inventories rising or falling?
- Is total warehouse inventory changing?
- Are the same conditions appearing in other physical markets?
The relationship becomes more informative when delivery activity is compared with COMEX, London and Shanghai inventories.
If registered inventory falls because metal is merely reclassified as eligible, total warehouse stocks may remain unchanged.
If total stocks are also declining while delivery demand remains elevated, the physical movement is more significant.
This is why open interest is potential futures exposure, while actual delivery notices show how much of that exposure is moving into the delivery process.
The two numbers should not be treated as interchangeable.
What First Notice Day Does — and Does Not — Tell You
First Notice Day is an important futures-market date, but it is easy to overinterpret.
FND does not mean every open futures contract will take delivery.
Many traders close or roll positions before or during the delivery period.
It is not the same as the last trading day.
A contract may continue trading after First Notice Day according to its specifications.
A large amount of open interest before FND does not automatically imply a physical shortage.
The number shows outstanding futures exposure, not confirmed delivery demand.
Delivery does not necessarily mean metal leaves the warehouse.
Ownership of a warehouse warrant can change while the physical bars remain in the same vault.
A decline in registered inventory does not automatically mean metal has left COMEX.
Registered metal can be reclassified as eligible without changing total warehouse inventory.
First Notice Day does not predict the gold or silver price.
Price remains influenced by physical demand, investment flows, futures positioning, currencies, interest rates and many other factors.
It is also important not to confuse normal exchange delivery with an Exchange for Physical (EFP), which is a separate mechanism for exchanging futures exposure for a related physical or cash-market position.
Both connect futures and physical markets, but they operate differently.
How to Analyze First Notice Day in Practice
First Notice Day becomes most useful when it is treated as the beginning of a process rather than as a single dramatic event.
I would focus on several measurements together.
Open interest before FND
Shows how much futures exposure remains as the contract approaches the delivery period.
Open interest after the normal roll
Helps show how many positions remain after traders who do not want delivery have moved elsewhere.
Delivery notices
Show how many contracts are actually entering the delivery process.
Registered inventory
Shows metal currently positioned within the exchange delivery system.
Eligible inventory
Provides context on additional qualifying metal held in approved warehouses.
Total warehouse inventory
Helps distinguish reclassification from actual deposits and withdrawals.
Historical delivery activity
Shows whether the current month is unusual relative to previous delivery periods.
The combination matters more than any one number.
A delivery month with elevated notices but abundant and rising warehouse stocks describes a different market from one where deliveries are unusually strong while registered and total inventories are falling.
This is why periods such as a surge in physical silver deliveries on COMEX become more significant when delivery activity and warehouse conditions reinforce one another.
The key principle is simple:
First Notice Day does not tell you how much metal will ultimately be delivered. It marks the point at which the delivery process can begin.
What happens afterward is what matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is First Notice Day?
First Notice Day is the first day on which delivery notices can begin to be assigned under the rules of a physically delivered futures contract.
It marks the beginning of the delivery process rather than the expiration of the contract.
Is First Notice Day the Same as Expiration?
No.
First Notice Day and the last trading day are separate contract dates.
A futures contract may continue trading after FND depending on its specifications.
Do I Have to Take Delivery If I Hold Futures on First Notice Day?
A trader holding a position into the delivery period may become subject to the contract’s delivery procedures.
Traders who do not want physical delivery generally close or roll positions beforehand.
The exact requirements depend on the contract and broker.
Why Does Open Interest Fall Before First Notice Day?
Many traders move exposure from the expiring contract into a later contract month because they want continued price exposure without entering the physical-delivery process.
This can cause open interest in the expiring month to decline sharply.
Does High Open Interest at First Notice Day Mean There Is a Shortage?
No.
Open interest measures outstanding futures contracts, not confirmed physical-delivery demand.
The signal becomes more meaningful only when combined with actual delivery notices, inventories and broader physical-market conditions.
Does COMEX Delivery Mean Silver Leaves the Warehouse?
Not necessarily.
Ownership of registered metal can change through the delivery process while the physical bars remain inside the same approved depository.
Why Is First Notice Day Important for Silver Investors?
It helps investors distinguish ordinary futures rolling from positions that remain into the delivery period.
When combined with delivery notices, open interest and warehouse inventories, it can provide useful information about how actively the physical-delivery mechanism is being used.