Chargeback time limits: how long cardholders and merchants have

Cardholders usually have 120 days from the payment to file a chargeback. That is the standard limit at Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. When goods or services were expected later, Visa counts the 120 days from the expected delivery date instead, up to 540 days after the payment. Merchants have much less time: depending on the network and the provider, you get roughly 7 to 40 days to respond once a chargeback opens, and a missed deadline loses the case.

The two clocks are very different, so this guide takes them one at a time: how long the customer has to dispute, how long you have to answer, and how long the whole process takes. For the bank’s side of the process, see how banks investigate a card dispute.

This guide is written from primary sources: the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (edition of 24 October 2026, chapter 11), Visa’s Dispute Management Guide for Merchants (October 2026), Adyen’s dispute timeframes, Stripe (how disputes work, responding to disputes) and the CFPB’s text of Regulation Z (§ 1026.13) and Regulation E (§ 1005.11). All accessed 13 November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

How long does a cardholder have to file a chargeback?

The usual answer is 120 calendar days from the transaction processing date. Stripe sums it up: card networks “typically allow cardholders to initiate disputes within 120 days of the original payment, but their rules allow more time in some situations.” Adyen’s timeframe table lists 120 days for Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, with “some cases” at Visa and Mastercard allowing 540 days.

At Visa, each dispute condition has its own time limit. For the conditions a subscription business sees most:

Visa dispute condition	Time limit for the issuer
10.4 Other Fraud – Card-Absent Environment	120 calendar days from the Transaction Processing Date
13.2 Cancelled Recurring Transaction	120 calendar days from the Transaction Processing Date
13.1 Merchandise/Services Not Received	120 days from the processing date, or 120 days from the last date the cardholder expected to receive the goods or services, not to exceed 540 days from the processing date
13.5 Misrepresentation	Up to 540 calendar days from the processing date in some cases
13.6 Credit Not Processed	Up to 540 calendar days from the processing date in some cases

Source: Visa Core Rules, tables 11-30, 11-100, 11-93, 11-120 and 11-126 (24 October 2026). The 540-day cases depend on the exact condition; your acquirer can tell you which applies.

Two details matter for subscriptions:

• Each renewal is its own transaction. Visa’s rules say an issuer “must dispute each Transaction separately”. With a 120-day window, a customer who never used a monthly plan can dispute the last three or four renewals at once.
• Waiting periods can come first. For “not received” disputes, Visa generally asks the issuer to wait 15 calendar days (from the transaction date when no delivery date was given, or from a return or cancellation) before raising the dispute, unless that would push it past the time limit.

Local payment methods are different: Stripe notes that they “typically allow customers up to 180 days to file a dispute”. Bank debits have their own rules; see GoCardless chargebacks and indemnity claims.

How does US law change the cardholder’s deadline?

US law adds a second, separate clock. It concerns what the cardholder must tell their bank, not the card network’s limit:

• Credit cards (Regulation Z, § 1026.13): the cardholder sends a billing error notice “no later than 60 days after the creditor transmitted the first periodic statement” showing the charge. The bank must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve it “within 2 complete billing cycles (but in no event later than 90 days)”.
• Debit cards (Regulation E, § 1005.11): the cardholder reports the error within 60 days after the bank sends the statement. The bank has 10 business days to investigate, or up to 45 days with a provisional credit (90 days for point-of-sale debit card transactions).

So a US cardholder who misses the 60-day legal window can often still ask for a chargeback under network rules, as long as the 120 days have not passed. The details for debit cards are in can you dispute a debit card charge?.

How long does a merchant have to respond to a chargeback?

Much less. At Visa, the rules give the acquirer (your payment provider’s bank) 30 calendar days from the dispute processing date to send a dispute response for processing errors and consumer disputes (categories 12 and 13), and 30 days to make a pre-arbitration attempt on fraud and authorization disputes (categories 10 and 11). Your provider needs part of that time, so the window it gives you is shorter.

Adyen publishes the windows it gives merchants, counted from the notification of chargeback:

Network	Time to respond to a chargeback (Adyen)	Time to answer a request for information
Visa	9 days for US and Canada payments since 21 July 2025, 18 days otherwise	Not used
Mastercard	40 days	Not used
American Express	14 days	14 days
Discover	25 days	18 days

Stripe gives a range: “usually 7 to 21 days, depending on the card network”, with the exact due date shown on each dispute. Braintree, Checkout.com, Mollie and others show the date in their dashboard or API too. If you bill with Chargebee, Recurly or Zuora, the dispute still lives at the gateway behind them, so check the deadline there.

What happens if you miss it? Stripe is direct: “If you don’t respond before the deadline, you automatically lose the dispute and can’t retrieve the disputed funds.” Visa’s merchant guide says the same: “If you or your acquirer misses the response window, the case may be automatically lost even if your evidence is strong.”

You also get one shot. Stripe says “You’ve only one opportunity to submit your response”, and Visa’s rules say an acquirer must not “Respond more than once to the original Dispute”.

What about inquiries and requests for information?

Before a chargeback, some issuers send an inquiry or a request for information (RFI). No money moves yet, but the deadline still counts. Stripe says American Express and Discover use this stage most often, “while Mastercard and Visa no longer use it”. It warns that “Inquiries for Discover cards can turn into unchallengeable disputes if you don’t submit evidence for the inquiry”, and that an inquiry left open for 120 days without escalation closes.

How long does the whole chargeback process take?

Stripe says the issuer decision usually takes “60-75 days, depending on the card network” after you submit evidence, and that “The full dispute lifecycle, from initiation to the final decision, can take 2-3 months to complete.”

Adyen’s table gives the time to a final decision, counted from the date you defended:

Network	Final decision (Adyen)
Visa	60 days (collaboration flow), 45 days (allocation flow)
Mastercard	70 days
American Express	50 days
Discover	80 days

If the issuer rejects your evidence, the case can go to pre-arbitration and arbitration. At Visa, each of these steps also has a deadline, usually 30 calendar days, then 10 days to file for arbitration. See pre-arbitration chargebacks.

The full timeline at a glance

Step	Who acts	Typical limit	Source
File the dispute	Cardholder and issuer	120 days from the payment (up to 540 in some Visa cases)	Visa Core Rules, Adyen, Stripe
US legal notice	Cardholder to bank	60 days after the statement	Regulation Z, Regulation E
Respond to an inquiry	Merchant	14 days (Amex), 18 days (Discover)	Adyen
Respond to the chargeback	Merchant	7 to 21 days at Stripe; 9 to 40 days at Adyen	Stripe, Adyen
Acquirer response to the network	Acquirer	30 days (Visa)	Visa Core Rules
Issuer decision	Issuer	45 to 80 days after the defense	Adyen, Stripe
Pre-arbitration	Issuer or acquirer	30 days per step (Visa)	Visa Core Rules
Arbitration filing	Issuer or acquirer	10 days after the pre-arbitration response (Visa)	Visa Core Rules

How do you never miss a chargeback deadline?

1. Get alerted the day a dispute opens. Listen to your provider’s webhooks (for example charge.dispute.created on Stripe) rather than checking the dashboard.
2. Keep evidence ready before disputes happen: sign-up records, terms accepted, usage, renewal reminders, cancel flow answers, support conversations. See the chargeback evidence checklist and Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0.
3. Decide quickly whether to fight. Some disputes are cheaper to accept; see refund or fight a chargeback.
4. Answer the inquiry, not only the chargeback, on Amex and Discover.
5. Check older renewals. When one renewal is disputed, look for disputes on the others within the 120 days.

The best deadline is the one that never starts: a recognizable billing descriptor, renewal reminders and an easy way to cancel stop many disputes. See how to prevent subscription chargebacks.

FAQ

How far back can you dispute a credit card charge?

Usually 120 days from the payment under card network rules. For goods or services expected later, Visa counts from the expected date, up to 540 days after the payment. In the US, also notify your bank in writing within 60 days of the statement to keep your Regulation Z rights.

Can you dispute a charge after 120 days?

Sometimes. Visa allows more time for some conditions, such as services not received or credits not processed, up to 540 days from the processing date. Outside those cases, the issuer usually cannot raise a chargeback after the limit.

How long does a merchant have to dispute a chargeback?

It depends on the network and the provider: usually 7 to 21 days at Stripe, and 9 to 40 days at Adyen depending on the network. The exact due date is on each dispute. Missing it means losing the dispute.

How long does a credit card dispute take?

Stripe says the full process usually takes 2 to 3 months, with the issuer deciding 60 to 75 days after evidence is submitted. Pre-arbitration and arbitration add more time.

Is each subscription renewal a separate chargeback?

Yes. Visa’s rules say each transaction is disputed separately, so several renewals can be disputed at the same time, each with its own fee and its own response.

Do chargeback deadlines use calendar days or business days?

Card network rules count calendar days. US consumer law mixes both: Regulation E uses business days for the bank’s first investigation window.

How NoChurn helps

NoChurn watches disputes as soon as they open on Stripe or Braintree, so a deadline never passes unnoticed. It gathers the evidence automatically (cancel flow answers, reminders sent, usage you send by API, help desk conversations read only) and drafts a reply with AI that a person on your team reviews before it is sent. On Stripe, early fraud warnings come with a one-click refund, before a chargeback opens.

It connects to Stripe in one click and works with Chargebee, Recurly, Braintree, Paddle, Mollie and others, or with any billing through the API. Pricing depends only on MRR, free up to $300 of MRR and with no commission (a custom sending domain needs a paid plan, from $9). See chargebacks and look up any code in the chargeback reason codes tool.