A maturity date is the date when the principal amount of a bond, note or other debt instrument is typically repaid to the investor along with the final interest payment.

Why does this matter?
Because a bond's maturity is actually a risk factor, as well as a factor in determining the interest a bond pays. Maturity dates can range from one day to many decades. The longer a bond takes to mature, the longer your money is tied up (this is called holding-period risk). And you are exposed to interest rate risk, the risk that the value of your bond will decrease if interest rates rise. You are generally compensated for the risk of buying a bond with a longer maturity with a higher rate of return, all other things being equal.

Not all bonds reach maturity.

Bonds can have call options that allow the issuer to retire a bond before it matures, even if you'd prefer to keep holding it. It's always a good idea to check whether your bond has a call provision. You can do this by looking up the bond's price quotation using FINRA's Market Data Center.