Guide · Deadlines
Chargeback time limits: every deadline that decides your case
Most cardholders have 120 days from the purchase to file a chargeback, and up to 540 days for some services. You usually get only 7 to 21 days to respond, and the due date on your dispute notice is the one that counts. Miss it and you lose automatically.
Key takeaways
- Two clocks run on every chargeback. The cardholder’s clock to file is long. Your clock to respond is short.
- Your deadline is the date on your notice. Not the network’s 30 or 45 days. Your processor keeps part of that time.
- Late means lost. A missed deadline ends the dispute in the cardholder’s favor. No appeal, no late filing.
- Services stretch the window. For prepaid or future services, a dispute can arrive up to 540 days after the payment.
The two clocks on every chargeback
Every chargeback runs on two separate clocks, and merchants get burned by mixing them up.
- The filing window is how long the cardholder has to dispute the charge with their bank. It’s long: usually 120 days, sometimes much longer.
- The response window is how long you have to fight back once the dispute lands. It’s short: usually 7 to 21 days.
You can’t control the first clock. You can only be ready for it. The second clock is where cases are won and lost, often before anyone looks at the evidence.
How long does a customer have to file a chargeback?
For most disputes on Visa and Mastercard, the cardholder’s bank has 120 calendar days from the date the transaction was processed. Some situations change the start date or the length.
| Network | Most disputes | Exceptions to know |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | 120 days from the processing date | Goods or services not received: 120 days from the expected date, never more than 540 days after processing. Some authorization and processing-error disputes: 75 days. |
| Mastercard | 120 days from the settlement date | Services that stop or goods that never arrive: the clock can start when the cardholder learned of the problem, up to 540 days. |
| American Express | Generally up to 120 days | Not-received, cancelled and returned-goods disputes can follow different time frames. |
| Discover | Commonly 120 days | Discover’s own rules reach you through your processor. Follow your notice. |
Future services start the clock later. When a customer pays now for something that happens later (an event, a membership, a treatment plan), the window generally starts on the service date, not the payment date. A deposit paid in January for a procedure in June can be disputed well into the following autumn.
The 60-day rule is a different thing. US credit card holders must report a billing error to their bank within 60 days of the statement that shows it (Regulation Z). That rule governs the cardholder and their bank. It doesn’t shorten the network’s filing window, so don’t rely on it to block a chargeback.
How long do you have to respond?
Usually 7 to 21 days, and the exact date is the one printed on your dispute notice or shown in your processor’s dashboard. That date is your deadline. Nothing else is.
Why so short? The networks give the merchant’s bank (the acquirer) the response time, not you. Under Visa’s rules the acquirer has 30 calendar days from the dispute to respond. Under Mastercard’s, it has 45 days for its second presentment. Your processor needs part of that time to review and file what you send, so it gives you a shorter window.
| Stage | Who has the clock | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Visa dispute response | Your acquirer | 30 calendar days from the dispute |
| Mastercard second presentment | Your acquirer | 45 calendar days from the chargeback |
| Your response | You | The due date on your notice, typically 7 to 21 days |
Rule of thumb: treat the due date on the notice as two days earlier than it says. Uploads fail, portals time out, and a response that misses by an hour misses completely.
What happens if you miss the deadline
You lose. Automatically, and for good.
Visa’s rules say that when a party doesn’t act within the time limit, the dispute cycle is closed and that party carries the loss. Processors apply the same logic to you. Stripe, for example, tells merchants that if they don’t respond before the deadline, they automatically lose the dispute.
The money was already taken from your account when the chargeback arrived. A missed deadline means it never comes back, and you usually still pay the chargeback fee.
Round two: pre-arbitration deadlines
Winning the first round doesn’t always end it. If the cardholder’s bank disagrees with your response, it can push the case to pre-arbitration. Under Visa’s rules for consumer disputes and processing errors:
- The cardholder’s bank has 30 calendar days from your response to start pre-arbitration.
- Your acquirer then has 30 calendar days to accept the loss or decline and stand by your evidence.
- After that, the bank has 10 calendar days to take the case to Visa for arbitration, where Visa decides.
Mastercard works the same way in outline. Its pre-arbitration response window is 30 days, and a missed response can leave you with the loss. As in round one, your processor gives you less time than the network gives your bank. Round two is where a stronger, sharper answer to the bank’s new reason matters most.
How long does the whole chargeback process take?
Expect two to three months from the day the dispute lands to a final answer. Once you submit evidence, the cardholder’s bank usually takes 60 to 75 days to decide, depending on the network. Pre-arbitration and arbitration add more time, and arbitration is rare.
Deadlines that catch service businesses
Online stores mostly face disputes within a few weeks of shipping. Service businesses face a longer tail:
- Prepaid plans and deposits. Treatment plans, memberships, retainers and event deposits can be disputed long after the payment, because the clock can start on the service date. Keep signed agreements, attendance records and messages for at least 18 months after the service.
- No-show and late-cancellation fees. These are disputed soon after they’re charged, usually as “services not provided” or “cancelled.” Your proof is the policy the customer agreed to, and when they agreed to it.
- Patient financing has its own rules. Lender disputes through programs such as Sunbit or Affirm run on each lender’s own clock. Card-based financing is different: a CareCredit Mastercard dispute is a Mastercard chargeback, and store-card balances still fall under billing-error rules. Check the notice or lender portal for the date.
A deadline checklist for the day a dispute arrives
- Write down the due date from the notice or dashboard, and set a reminder two days before it.
- Read the reason the cardholder gave. Each reason needs different proof, and some disputes list more than one.
- Don’t refund now. A refund after a chargeback can mean paying twice. If you choose to accept the loss, accept it through your processor.
- Gather the records that answer each reason: agreement, receipt, proof of service or delivery, and customer messages.
- Submit once, completely. Most processors accept one response. Anything you forget stays forgotten.
Dispute Daddy keeps the due date from your notice in view, reminds you before it hits, and builds the response around the reasons the cardholder actually gave. See how the Dispute Daddy Method works.
