Stripe disputes and chargebacks: the complete guide

A dispute (the wider payments industry calls this a chargeback) starts when a customer contacts their card issuer, not you, to say a charge was wrong. The issuer debits Stripe, Stripe debits you, and you get a window to respond with evidence before the issuer makes a final call.

This is different from a refund. A refund is something you initiate directly with a customer. A dispute is initiated by the customer's bank, and once it's open, a normal refund doesn't resolve it, you have to work through Stripe's dispute process instead.

Before a dispute ever forms, some card networks send an inquiry instead, a heads up that a customer doesn't recognize a charge, giving you a chance to resolve it before it escalates. Responding to an inquiry can prevent a formal dispute from ever being filed, so it's worth treating with the same urgency.

1. A customer disputes a charge with their bank. You don't get a say in whether this happens.
2. Stripe debits the disputed amount plus the dispute received fee from your balance, and notifies you by dashboard, email, webhook, and API.
3. You have a response window, set by the card network and shown on the dispute in Stripe, commonly around 20 days, to decide whether to accept the dispute or counter it with evidence. Always act from the exact deadline Stripe shows.
4. If you counter, you submit evidence and the dispute status moves to under review. This is also when the dispute countered fee applies.
5. The issuing bank decides. Stripe reports the outcome when it is available; no issuer decision time or total process duration is promised.
6. The outcome is won or lost. Win, and the disputed amount and the countered fee come back to you; the received fee is never returned. Lose, and the refund to the customer is final, though a customer can still withdraw a dispute even after losing it, which can occasionally flip a loss back to a win.

Read the full breakdown: How the Stripe dispute process works

Every dispute arrives with a reason code attached, Stripe's category for why the customer says the charge was wrong. Eight are directly in scope for how Recovra handles disputes today:

A ninth category, noncompliant, exists on Visa and Mastercard for network rule violations and carries its own separate fee structure. It's outside what's covered here for now.

Which codes you actually see depends on what you sell: Stripe disputes for e-commerce sellers and Stripe disputes for SaaS companies cover the two patterns in depth.

Stripe accepts specific evidence fields for each reason code, not a general make your case free for all. The strongest evidence shares three traits: it's specific rather than vague, timestamped rather than undated, and verifiable by someone other than you rather than self reported. A tracking number alone is weak. A tracking number showing delivery to the exact billing address, before the date the customer claims they never received anything, is strong.

Read the full guide: The complete guide to dispute evidence

Two fees apply, not one. You pay a dispute received fee the moment any dispute is filed, whether you respond or not, and it's never refunded. If you choose to respond with evidence, a second dispute countered fee applies, and that one is refunded if you win. Lose after countering, and you've paid both. A partial win does not return either fee. Both amounts vary by country and currency; trust the numbers Stripe shows on the dispute itself.

Miss your response window entirely, and the dispute is decided against you automatically. Act from the exact deadline Stripe shows on the dispute, and treat it as final.

Read the full breakdown: Stripe dispute deadlines and the dispute fee

Not every dispute is preventable, but a meaningful share are, and they're worth catching before they cost you a fee either way. A clear billing descriptor, a visible refund policy, and proactive communication before a renewal or a shipment all reduce disputes at the source.

Read the full guide: Preventing Stripe disputes

Stripe runs its own automated response tool, Smart Disputes. When it's enabled on your account and you don't act, it compiles evidence from your transaction and customer data and submits it automatically before your deadline. It waives the countered fee. On a win it charges a 30 percent success fee on the recovered amount; on a loss you pay nothing beyond the dispute received fee.

That's a real, useful safety net for cases you'd otherwise miss entirely. It's not a substitute for a considered decision on cases worth real attention.

Read the full comparison: Stripe Smart Disputes explained

Every term used across this guide is defined in the complete glossary, linked inline the first time it appears on any page.

Full list: Glossary of Stripe dispute terms

A handful of the most common questions sit below; the complete FAQ covers the rest.

Full list: Stripe disputes: frequently asked questions