Chargeback Law: What Federal Rules Really Require

Chargeback law is two layers: card network rules and federal law. Here is what the Fair Credit Billing Act and Regulation Z actually require when you dispute a charge.

October 2026

A charge lands on your bill that you never agreed to. You call the shop and get nowhere. So you call your card company. What happens next is not a matter of good will. Federal chargeback law sets the steps your card issuer must follow, and the rights you keep while it does. This page walks through those rules in plain words.

What "chargeback law" actually means

There is no single law called the chargeback law. The word covers two layers that work side by side.

The first layer is the card networks. If you want to see how one network runs its process, read about how to dispute a Mastercard charge.

The second layer is federal law. When you dispute a charge on a credit card bill, a statute and a regulation do the real work. The Fair Credit Billing Act is the federal law on correcting billing errors. Section 1026.13 of Regulation Z is the federal rule on billing error resolution. Regulation Z is the set of rules the government wrote to carry that law out.

The two layers meet at your card issuer. The law tells the issuer what it owes you.

The two federal laws

Start with the statute. The Fair Credit Billing Act is the federal law on correcting billing errors. It gives you the right to dispute a charge, sets your deadline, and puts duties on the card issuer.

Regulation Z fills in the details. Section 1026.13 of Regulation Z is the federal rule on billing error resolution. It spells out what counts as an error, how you must send your notice, and how fast the issuer must act. When this page says "the law says," it means one of these two.

What legally counts as a billing error

Regulation Z lists the problems that count. Each one is a billing error under the law.

A charge not made by the cardholder or someone allowed to use the card is a billing error. That covers a stolen card number and a stranger's online purchase.

The Fair Credit Billing Act says a charge for the wrong amount is a billing error. So is a charge for goods or services not accepted or not delivered as agreed, under Regulation Z. A payment or credit the statement fails to show properly counts too. Even a math error the card issuer made on a statement is a billing error.

That list is shorter than many people expect. It is about the bill being wrong, not about the thing you bought being bad.

What the law does not cover

Here is the line that trips people up. Regulation Z does not treat a complaint about the quality of something the cardholder accepted as a billing error.

Say you accept a lamp and later decide it is poorly made. That is a quality complaint. The law does not count it as a billing error. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says defective goods or services may need a different dispute process.

If your problem is with what you bought rather than with the bill, a billing dispute through your card company is still worth asking about.

Your 60-day window

Regulation Z gives the cardholder 60 days to get a written notice to the card issuer. The clock starts early. Regulation Z starts the 60 days when the card issuer sends the first statement that shows the error.

Sixty days is not long. A statement can sit unopened for weeks. If you spot something odd, check the statement date, not the day you noticed it.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says to call the card company about a problem charge right away. But a call alone does not start your legal rights. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the cardholder must also send a written billing error notice to protect their rights.

How to send a valid written notice

The notice has to reach the right place. Regulation Z says the notice must reach the address the card issuer gives for billing errors. Check where your card issuer says to send billing error notices.

The notice also has to say enough. Regulation Z says the notice must let the card issuer identify the cardholder's name and account number. Regulation Z says the notice should give the error's type, date and amount, and why the cardholder thinks it is wrong.

Paper is not always needed. Regulation Z says a notice sent electronically counts as written, if the card issuer says it accepts notices that way.

Keep what you send. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says to keep copies and write down the dates of follow-up calls. And do not assume a paid bill closes the door. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says a charge already paid can still be disputed.

One more point on timing. You may have heard you must call the shop first. For one kind of error, the law says otherwise. Regulation Z says a cardholder need not contact the seller first about goods or services not delivered as agreed.

What the card issuer must do

Once your notice arrives, the clock moves to the issuer's side.

First, confirmation. Regulation Z gives the card issuer 30 days after it receives the notice to confirm it in writing.

Then, the fix. Regulation Z gives the card issuer 2 complete billing cycles after it receives the notice to resolve the error. There is a hard stop behind that. Regulation Z says the card issuer must resolve the error no later than 90 days after it receives the notice. The Fair Credit Billing Act also sets the limit at two complete billing cycles, and never later than ninety days.

Before it can say no, the issuer has to look. Regulation Z says a card issuer must do a reasonable investigation before it finds there was no error.

If it finds the error, it must act. Regulation Z says a card issuer that finds the error must fix it, credit the account and send a correction notice.

Your protections while the dispute is open

This part of the law covers you while the dispute is open.

You do not pay while you wait. Regulation Z says the cardholder need not pay the disputed amount or its related charges during the dispute.

The issuer cannot squeeze you either. Regulation Z bars the card issuer from trying to collect the disputed amount during the dispute, such as in court. It cannot report you as late over the unpaid amount. Regulation Z bars the card issuer from reporting the cardholder as late for not paying the disputed amount.

And it cannot punish you for speaking up. Regulation Z bars a card issuer from closing or limiting an account because the cardholder used these rights in good faith.

If the issuer finds no error

Sometimes the investigation ends against you. Regulation Z says a card issuer that finds no error must explain why in writing.

Silence is not an answer. Regulation Z says a card issuer that never explains in writing why there was no error generally must credit the disputed amount. So an issuer that skips the letter generally must credit the disputed amount.

If you are new to the whole process, start with how to dispute a credit card charge.

Debit cards follow a different rule

Everything above is for credit cards. A debit card runs on a different law.

Regulation Z says a creditor must follow Regulation E error resolution rules instead for certain electronic fund transfer transactions. Regulation E says an unauthorized electronic fund transfer counts as an error. So the same kind of strange charge is still covered. But the deadlines change.

Regulation E says your bank must get your error notice within 60 days after it sends the statement showing the error. That part matches. Then things speed up. Regulation E says your bank must decide if there was an error within 10 business days of getting your notice. Regulation E says your bank may take up to 45 days if it gives provisional credit within 10 business days. And one kind of case gets more room. Regulation E says your bank may take 90 days, not 45, for a debit card purchase at a store.

The fix is broader too. Regulation E says a financial institution that determines an error occurred must correct it, including crediting of interest and refunding fees the institution imposed.

The general shape of the process is the same across both. If you want that wider view, read about how to dispute a transaction.

When an issuer breaks the law

The law has teeth. Section 1666 says a creditor who fails to comply with its requirements forfeits the right to collect the disputed amount from the obligor.

Read that again. An issuer that skips its duties can lose its claim to the money at issue. That is the price the statute sets for ignoring your notice.

So keep your copy of the notice, the date you sent it, and the address you sent it to. Those three facts are what turn the law's promises into something you can point to.