SecurityOct 9, 20265 min readCS2Sell

Steam trade bans, community bans and holds: what each means for CS2 traders

Trade bans, trade probation, community bans, account locks, trading cooldowns and holds: what each one is, what triggers it, how long it lasts and what Steam Support can and can't change.

When Steam won't let you trade, the message can come from very different places. Some blocks are bans applied by Steam staff and may never end, some are automatic cooldowns with a fixed end date, and some aren't blocks at all, only delays. Knowing which one you have tells you whether to wait it out or accept that an inventory is stuck.

The quick map

What it's called	Who applies it	What it stops	How long
Trade ban	A Steam employee	Steam Community features, including trading and the Market	Temporary or permanent; Valve says most are permanent
Trade probation	Automatic, after a temporary trade ban ends	Nothing; it warns other users	Valve doesn't publish a length
Community ban	Steam, for breaking its community rules	Community features, and can include trading and the Market	Varies; Valve doesn't publish lengths
Account lock	Steam Support or you	Purchases, trading, gifting and more	Until the account is secured; details in a red alert banner
Trade or Market restriction	Automatic	Trading and/or the Market	From 2 to 30 days, depending on the trigger
Trade or Market hold	Automatic	Nothing; items are delayed instead	Up to 15 days
VAC or game ban	Anti-cheat or Valve	CS2 trades, the CS2 store and drops	Permanent

Trade bans

Valve's trading FAQ defines a trade ban as a block on "using the Steam Community, including trading and using the Steam Market." Only a Steam employee can apply one, and they are "mainly associated with accounts that commit scams." The length depends on how serious the scams were and how many there were. Some scammers are banned permanently, and if a scammer runs several accounts, all of them may be banned.

Valve draws a clear line between a scam and a hijack. A scam is when someone deceives you into willingly trading, selling or gifting, then doesn't deliver what was promised. A hijack is when someone takes over an account without the owner's permission. Scammers get banned; hijacked accounts get locked until the rightful owner contacts Steam Support.

Scams aren't the only route. The Steam Subscriber Agreement lets Valve restrict or close accounts for illegal activity, cheats, automation or breaking the Steam Online Conduct rules. Those rules list commercial activity you mustn't engage in on Steam, including gambling and buying or selling Steam accounts.

Don't expect an explanation. Valve says Steam Support won't share why it banned or locked an account, because the data would help scammers avoid being caught next time.

What about "market bans"? Valve's help pages don't describe a separate market ban. A trade ban already covers the Market, and Market access is also lost through community bans and the automatic restrictions below. Valve's developer API reports an account's "economy ban" status separately from its community, VAC and game bans.

Trade probation

Most trade bans are permanent, but a temporary one ends automatically and puts the account into trade probation. Probation doesn't stop the account trading. It exists so other users can see that the account recently committed a trading offence and decide whether they still want to deal with it.

Community bans and account locks

A community ban shows up as the message "Your account has been blocked from participating in the Steam Community." Valve lists inappropriate avatars or artwork, spam, offensive language, harassment, reposting moderated content and bigoted content among the causes. The same message can also appear because a lock has been placed on the account. Valve's restrictions page lists a current trade or community ban among the reasons you may be unable to trade or use the Market.

The locks traders usually meet protect an account rather than punish it. Steam Support locks hijacked accounts, and you can lock your own through the link in Steam's security emails. Our guide to recovering a hijacked account explains both.

Bans come from Steam staff; most cooldowns follow changes to your own account

Restrictions with an end date

These are automatic, last a fixed time, and Valve says Steam Support "cannot modify" them "regardless of the circumstances." The ones CS2 traders meet most often:

Reversing trades: 30 days. Reversing your protected CS2 trades blocks trading and the Market for 30 days for the account that started the reversal. Its Market listings come back and its pending offers are cancelled. Trade partners aren't affected.
Password reset: 5 days. Resetting a forgotten password through the Steam help site or Steam Support blocks trading and the Market for five days, or 30 if the account was inactive for more than two months. Changing your password in the client's settings doesn't count.
Authenticator changes. Removing the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator costs 15 days; moving it to a new phone costs 2.
Cancelling a held trade: 7 days. Steam assumes you caught a hijacker and blocks further trading for a week.

New devices, recently enabled Steam Guard, unverified payment methods and missing purchase history can block you too. Our guide to Steam Guard and trade holds lists every one with its length.

Holds are delays, not bans

A hold doesn't stop you trading. Valve defines a trade hold as a period of up to 15 days after a trade is accepted during which Steam keeps the items before delivering them, and a Market hold as a delay before a new listing appears. They apply when an account hasn't had the Mobile Authenticator for the past seven days.

Holds began in December 2015. Valve said then that around 77,000 accounts were being hijacked and stripped every month, Ars Technica reported, and the first holds lasted up to three days. CS2 trades no longer have them: since July 2025, CS2 items move immediately and stay trade protected for seven days instead. Market listings can still be held.

Finding out what you have

Valve says the reason is "typically shown" when you try to trade or use the Market. Signed in to Steam Support, the "Why can't I trade?" page lists restrictions on your account. A locked account shows a red alert banner that explains the restriction and how long it lasts, and VAC and permanent game bans appear on your profile, as our guide to VAC and game bans explains.