Assuming it is not the last trading day, the buyer may sell a futures contract and retender the commodity, but he must assume ownership of the commodity for at least one to three business days, depending on settlement procedure, and he will incur all costs involved in such ownership. That is, sellers have the option of making delivery to buyers at any time during the delivery period, but buyers cannot demand delivery from sellers. Every commodity exchange designates the first day on which a seller may tender a notice to a buyer, and this is called First Notice Day. For most com- modities, first notice day is one to three days before the first business day of the delivery month. In order to be sure that you avoid taking delivery, you must be out of your long by the close of the day prior to First Notice Day.
Delivery can take place commencing with first notice day.
In some contracts, first notice day occurs after last trading day. This means longs can carry their position right up to the expiration of the contract. The last day of the delivery period on which sellers may tender a delivery notice to buyers is called the Last Notice Day. In most cases, last notice day is from two to seven business days prior to the last business day of the month. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule which are reflected on the delivery schedule.