How to Close a Fidelity Account in 2024 (2024)

How to close a Fidelity account online, on the app, or by calling in. Fee to delete a Fidelity account in 2024.

How to Delete a Fidelity Account

If you need to close an account at Fidelity, you have come to the right place. Because the brokerage firm has different policies for different account types, it’s important to adhere to the following guidelines closely:

First, Eliminate the Holdings

If you have a brokerage or cash-management account (CMA) at Fidelity Investments, it’s really easy to close it. The first step is to liquidate all positions of securities if you have any. An account cannot be closed if it has any securities or cryptocurrencies in it.

Second, Get Rid of the Cash

Once the holdings have been eliminated, any remaining cash balance must be withdrawn or transferred. This is easy enough to do on the broker’s website or mobile app. Just perform an ACH transfer into a linked bank account. Alternatively, it’s possible to perform an internal transfer to another Fidelity account. Other possibilities include wire transfer and withdrawal by paper check.

Third, Close the Fidelity Account

Once the account has a $0.00 balance, it’s time to close it. The easiest way to do this is through Fidelity’s Virtual Assistant. This is an Artificial Intelligence that appears on both the website and mobile app. On the former platform, look for the green chat icon in the lower-right corner. There is also a link to the virtual chat bot at the very top of the site.

On the mobile app, there is a chat icon in the upper-right corner. Both platforms use the same chat service, which begins in AI mode. A human rep can be brought on board if needed.

To close any Fidelity account, just type “Please close my account” in the chat box. The automated system will give you a list of accounts eligible to be closed online. Click or tap on the want you want to close and confirm the closure. It’s that simple. Fidelity’s robot will automatically close that account.

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Note about Other Account Types

Not all account types can be closed through the automated chat service. Crypto accounts and managed accounts in either robo or full-service mode can only be closed over the phone. A self-directed securities account that’s linked to a cryptocurrency account can’t be closed online, either.

Any account that isn’t eligible to be closed online can be closed through a human agent over the phone. Fidelity can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (800) 343-3548.

Fidelity can be contacted in other ways as well. The investment firm has an internal messaging widget on its website. It’s also possible to bring a human associate into the chat system by typing ‘human’ into a message. Officially, Fidelity says that an account needs to be closed over the phone if the robo system won’t do it.

Closing Fidelity Account by Full ACAT Transfer

If the steps outlined above seem too convoluted to you, a second option is to close an account by full outgoing transfer through the ACAT network. We do emphasize ‘full’ in this case as a partial transfer won’t close the Fidelity account.

To perform a full outgoing ACAT transfer from Fidelity into another investment firm, you’ll need to contact the new firm. The incoming firm handles all ACAT transfers. Most brokerage houses today have online tools to request an ACAT transfer from another firm, and it’s really easy to fill out the digital transfer form. Once Fidelity receives the transfer request from the incoming firm, it will send all assets to the firm and close the outgoing account (be sure to select full transfer and not partial transfer in the online application). The whole process takes about a week and a half, which may be faster or slower than the method described above.

It’s possible to transfer a Fidelity account into another Fidelity account in a similar way. If everything is transferred, the outgoing account will be closed. To perform an internal transfer, go back to the robo chat and type “I want to transfer shares.” Follow the instructions to perform the internal transfer. If the outgoing account doesn’t close for any reason after the transfer is complete, reach out to a Fidelity associate (robo or human) to make sure it gets closed.

As an example, see How to Transfer Fidelity to Charles Schwab

Closing a Managed Fidelity Account

Opting to close by full ACAT transfer may be a good idea for an advisory account (either automated or traditional) as the virtual assistant cannot close one. Either a robo or full-service account can be moved out of Fidelity through the ACAT network. However, Fidelity will only transfer cash out of a robo account, which means that all securities will have to be liquidated first, and this will slow down the process somewhat.

If the ACAT transfer doesn’t work for you, Fidelity will close an investment-advisory account over the phone.

Remember Tax Implications

Before selling or transferring anything, you should consult with a tax advisor about potential implications with the IRS for such activities. Generally, selling assets in a taxable account or withdrawing (but not transferring) cash from a tax-deferred account will result in a tax form of some kind from the IRS during tax season.

Updated on 11/6/2023.

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