# Dispute reasons Submit valid and accurate disputes for each reason type. Each dispute reason has different evidence requirements. The strongest disputes have complete, clear, and descriptive documentation. ## Canceled This type of dispute applies when your cardholder canceled a purchase or returned merchandise, but the business didn’t process a refund. > If the cardholder wasn’t refunded for a canceled purchase, but didn’t receive the merchandise, use the **Not received** reason for the dispute. Only use **Canceled** when the cardholder receives merchandise despite canceling, and they must prove that they returned or attempted to return the merchandise. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Product type (Required) | A selection of whether the purchase is merchandise or service. | | Product description (Required) | A detailed description of the purchase. | | Expected at (Required) | The date the cardholder expected the purchase to arrive or date of scheduled service. | | Cancellation policy provided (Required) | A Boolean indicating whether the business provided a cancellation policy. | | Canceled at (Required) | The date the cardholder canceled the purchase. Card networks automatically reject any disputes submitted within 15 days of the cancellation date. In these cases, wait 15 days after the cancellation date for the cardholder to receive a refund before submitting a dispute. | | Cancellation reason (Required) | The cardholder’s rationale for canceling the purchase. If the business provides a cancellation policy, explain how the cancellation is in line with the policy. The dispute is invalid if the cancellation isn’t in line with the policy. | | Returned at | The date the cardholder initiated return of the purchase. Stripe validates that this date comes after the “Received at” date. Required if the product type is “merchandise”. | | Return status | The outcome of the return. The dispute is only valid if the cardholder attempted to return anything they received. Required if the product type is “merchandise”. | | Explanation | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | Additional guidance: - This reason only applies when the cardholder cancels. If a business cancels a purchase, file the dispute as ‘Not received’ instead. - If the cardholder returned a purchase because of the quality of goods or services and expects a refund, dispute as ‘Not as described’ instead. - If the cardholder attempted to return purchased merchandise and the business refused to accept it, the cardholder must provide the full and complete street address of the goods’ current location. ## Duplicate This type of dispute applies to processing errors, including ‘duplicate transaction’, ‘incorrect amount’, and ‘paid by other means.’ | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Cash receipt | Receipt of the cash transaction. | | Check image | Image of the front and back of the check. | | Original transaction | The original transaction’s ID that paid for the purchase. The original transaction date and amount should match the disputed transaction’s. | | Card statement | Card statement containing the transaction. | | Explanation | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. You can use this field to provide an additional explanation that’s not captured anywhere else. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | You must provide exactly one of the four types of dispute evidence. For ‘Incorrect Amount’ disputes, you must provide a transaction receipt or other record with the correct transaction amount. Additional guidance: - For ‘Duplicate’ and ‘Paid by other means’ transactions, only the duplicate transaction should be disputed. Don’t file a dispute on both transactions. - For ‘Incorrect Amount’ disputes, dispute only the partial amount that’s incorrect. Disputes submitted for the entire transaction amount are invalid. - If the duplicate transaction happened on a different card or alternative payment method, provide an image of the card statement, check image, or cash receipt. ## Fraudulent The cardholder didn’t participate in or authorize the transaction. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Explanation | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. The cardholder must confirm they didn’t participate in the transaction and it wasn’t made by someone known to them. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. Encouraging cardholders to keep their billing address up to date is a key component in the assessment of fraudulent disputes. | Additional guidance: Before filing a fraud dispute: 1. Confirm with the cardholder that they didn’t make the transaction in error, and that it wasn’t made by someone known to them. Transactions made by a friend or family member, for example, don’t constitute fraud for dispute purposes. 2. Cancel the affected card if submitting a dispute using the API. Filing a dispute automatically cancels the card if done in the Stripe Dashboard. In certain situations, you can lose fraud dispute rights for a transaction: - **For card-present transactions**: A card network might automatically reject a fraud dispute because liability defaults to the issuer. - **For card-not-present transactions**: A card network might automatically reject a fraud dispute if the cardholder was authenticated during the transaction. That often happens when *3D Secure* (3D Secure (3DS) provides an additional layer of authentication for credit card transactions that protects businesses from liability for fraudulent card payments) was requested or a secured payment method like Apple Pay was used. ## No valid authorization The business processed a transaction without a valid authorization. For example, if an overcapture occurred or an authorization was obtained but expired before the transaction was captured. > Only the API includes this reason. In the Dashboard, use the **Other** reason and specify in the explanation field that you’re filing a ‘no authorization’ dispute. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Explanation (Required) | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | Additional guidance: - Authorization disputes are distinct from fraud disputes: - File a fraud dispute when the cardholder didn’t participate in the transaction. - File an authorization dispute when the business didn’t obtain a valid authorization for the transaction. - For overcapture disputes, the dispute amount must match only the amount that exceeded the authorization. > Some Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) allow overcaptures of certain amounts or disallow authorization disputes. For details, refer to the current card network rules for your region. ## Merchandise not as described The cardholder received the merchandise, but it didn’t match what was presented at time of purchase, or it was damaged or defective. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Received at (Required) | The date the cardholder received the merchandise. | | Return status (Required) | The outcome of the return. The dispute is only valid if the cardholder attempted to return anything they received. | | Returned at (Required) | The date the cardholder initiated return of merchandise. Stripe validates that this date comes after the “Received at” date. | | Return description (Required) | A description of how the cardholder returned the merchandise. Name the shipping carrier and provide the tracking number where possible. | | Explanation (Required) | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking, plus images or documentation showing how the merchandise received differs from the description. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | Additional guidance: - Relevant documents such as return information or images and documentation showing how the merchandise received differs from expectation greatly benefit your claim. - You can only dispute the unused or returned amount of the purchase. The cardholder must confirm when and how they attempted to cancel or return the purchase. - If the cardholder attempted to return purchased merchandise and the business refused to accept it, the cardholder must provide the full and complete address of the goods’ current location. - In the Dashboard, ‘Merchandise not as described’ and ‘Service not as described’ are consolidated under ‘Not as described.’ ## Service not as described The cardholder received the service, but it didn’t match what was presented at time of purchase. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Received at (Required) | The date the cardholder received the service or digital product. | | Canceled at (Required) | The date the cardholder canceled the service or digital product. Card networks automatically reject any disputes submitted within 15 days of the cancellation date. In these cases, wait 15 days after the cancellation date for the cardholder to receive a refund before submitting a dispute. | | Cancellation reason (Required) | The cardholder’s rationale for canceling the service or digital product. | | Explanation (Required) | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or cancellation confirmation, plus images or documentation showing how the service received differs from the description. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | Additional guidance: - Relevant documents such as return information or images and documentation showing how the service received differs from expectation greatly benefit your claim. - Cardholders can only dispute the portion of the service that wasn’t used. - In the Dashboard, ‘Merchandise not as described’ and ‘Service not as described’ are consolidated under ‘Not as described.’ ## Not received The cardholder participated in the transaction but didn’t receive the merchandise or service. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Product type (Required) | A selection of whether the purchase is merchandise, a service, or digital product. | | Product description (Required) | A detailed description of the purchase. | | Expected at (Required) | The date the cardholder expected the purchase to arrive or date of scheduled service. | | Explanation | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. You can also use this field to provide additional explanation not captured anywhere else. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | Additional guidance: - ‘Not received’ applies to merchandise or services that weren’t received. If a dispute is about a refund that hasn’t been given, file the dispute as ‘Canceled’ instead. ## Other A dispute scenario that doesn’t clearly qualify as any other dispute reason. Stripe manually recategorizes disputes submitted under this reason. Include the dispute reason in the evidence explanation when filing these disputes. | Evidence | Description | | --- | --- | | Product type (Required) | A selection of whether the purchase is merchandise, a service, or digital product. | | Product description (Required) | A detailed description of the purchase. | | Explanation (Required) | A description of the transaction and why the cardholder is disputing it. | | Additional documentation | Relevant documents such as card statements or return shipping tracking. See [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence) for file format requirements. | Additional guidance: - Be as descriptive and detailed as possible in your explanation of why the cardholder disputes the transaction. - Stripe processes disputes according to card network rules. The disputed situation must fit within one of the approved disputable reasons depending on the card network. For the complete details, refer to the [Visa](https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/download/about-visa/visa-rules-public.pdf) and [Mastercard](https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/business/overview/support/rules.html) rulebooks. ## Detailed purchase descriptions Most consumer disputes require cardholders to provide a detailed description of the exact purchase. Card networks advise that these descriptions must include details above and beyond information that can be gathered in the clearing record. For example: - A purchased flight itinerary for May 4th–10th from Miami to San Francisco (not “airline ticket”). - A train ticket from New York to Washington D.C. (not “train ticket”). - A hotel room with a double bed for a stay in Boston (not “hotel room”). - A mid-sized car rental for a trip in Los Angeles from September 1st–5th (not “car rental”). - A pair of tennis shoes, a blue jacket, and jeans (not “clothes”). Failure to provide this information might result in an unfavorable ruling for the cardholder. ## Before submitting any dispute - Review the information and evidence thoroughly before you submit, because you can’t modify dispute information after submitting. - Don’t dispute the entire amount of the transaction if a partial refund was issued. - Before submitting any consumer type dispute (such as ‘Not received’, ‘Not as described’, or ‘Canceled’), ensure the cardholder has already reached out to the business and attempted to resolve the issue. - Follow the correct evidence file format and limitations outlined in [Evidence](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/how-to-submit.md#evidence). - You can only withdraw a dispute within the first 24 hours after it’s submitted. ## Improving your success rate Successful disputes provide as much detail and information as possible. Both parties in the dispute process must clearly understand what the cardholder disputes and why. Some key components for successful disputes are: - Always include a [detailed description](https://docs.stripe.com/issuing/purchases/disputes/dispute-reasons.md#detailed-purchase-descriptions) of what was purchased for consumer disputes. - Provide as much external evidence as possible. - Provide a clear explanation of why the dispute is occurring. - Exclude any partial refunds from the dispute amount.