CS2 trading and the Steam trade hold: the 15 day rule, the 7 day authenticator window, and what a cancelled trade costs
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:24 am
Quick summary
Steam's support page defines a trade hold as a period after a trade is accepted by both parties where the items traded are held by Steam before they are delivered, and it says trade holds last up to 15 days. A market hold is the same idea for a sell listing, where the items are held before they are available on the Community Market.
The page gives the reason: Steam accounts with items are attractive to thieves, and the hold gives an owner time to notice a transaction they did not make and cancel it before the items leave the account.
When the hold applies
Steam treats a cancelled held trade as a possible intercepted hijacking and applies a 7 day trading cooldown to prevent further unauthorised attempts to trade items away. The page states the cooldown is for your protection and cannot be removed by Steam Support.
If you cancelled a trade you did not make, change the account password as well. The hold bought you the time to catch it; the password change is what stops the next attempt.
The authenticator
The Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator is a feature of the Steam Mobile App. It generates a code that you enter when you log in, the code changes every 30 seconds, can be used only once, and is unguessable. You can confirm a sign in by scanning a QR code, approving a phone notification, or typing the code.
Valve also recommends adding a phone number to the account, which makes recovery easier if you lose access. The page warns that Steam Support will never ask for your codes and that you should not type them into a site that is not run by Valve.
FAQ
Q: How long is a CS2 trade hold?
A: Up to 15 days, counted from when both sides accept.
Q: How do I stop getting trade holds?
A: Enable the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator and keep it on the account for 7 days.
Q: Can Steam Support remove the 7 day cooldown?
A: No. The support page says it cannot be removed.
Q: Does a market hold work differently?
A: The trigger is the same. A market hold covers items from a sell listing rather than a trade.
Sources
Steam Support: Steam Trade and Market Holds
Steam Support: Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator
- Steam places a hold on items that leave an account when that account is not protected by the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator.
- A trade hold starts after both sides accept and lasts up to 15 days.
- The hold stops applying once the Mobile Authenticator has been on the account for 7 days.
- Cancelling a held trade gives you a 7 day trading cooldown that Steam Support cannot remove.
- The Community Market has its own hold with the same trigger.
Steam's support page defines a trade hold as a period after a trade is accepted by both parties where the items traded are held by Steam before they are delivered, and it says trade holds last up to 15 days. A market hold is the same idea for a sell listing, where the items are held before they are available on the Community Market.
The page gives the reason: Steam accounts with items are attractive to thieves, and the hold gives an owner time to notice a transaction they did not make and cancel it before the items leave the account.
When the hold applies
- If the account has not been protected by a Mobile Authenticator for at least the last 7 days, items leaving it are held by Steam for up to 15 days.
- If the authenticator has been enabled for 7 days or more, trade and market holds are no longer necessary.
- The trigger is account protection, not the game, so the hold covers whatever you trade on the account.
Steam treats a cancelled held trade as a possible intercepted hijacking and applies a 7 day trading cooldown to prevent further unauthorised attempts to trade items away. The page states the cooldown is for your protection and cannot be removed by Steam Support.
If you cancelled a trade you did not make, change the account password as well. The hold bought you the time to catch it; the password change is what stops the next attempt.
The authenticator
The Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator is a feature of the Steam Mobile App. It generates a code that you enter when you log in, the code changes every 30 seconds, can be used only once, and is unguessable. You can confirm a sign in by scanning a QR code, approving a phone notification, or typing the code.
Valve also recommends adding a phone number to the account, which makes recovery easier if you lose access. The page warns that Steam Support will never ask for your codes and that you should not type them into a site that is not run by Valve.
FAQ
Q: How long is a CS2 trade hold?
A: Up to 15 days, counted from when both sides accept.
Q: How do I stop getting trade holds?
A: Enable the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator and keep it on the account for 7 days.
Q: Can Steam Support remove the 7 day cooldown?
A: No. The support page says it cannot be removed.
Q: Does a market hold work differently?
A: The trigger is the same. A market hold covers items from a sell listing rather than a trade.
Sources
Steam Support: Steam Trade and Market Holds
Steam Support: Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator