Mastercard · Chargeback reason codes
Mastercard 4808 chargeback: Authorization-related Chargeback explained
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Mastercard reason code 4808, Authorization-related Chargeback, means a required authorization was not obtained, had expired, or the transaction cleared too late, for example an offline approval cleared more than 7 days after the transaction. The issuer has 90 days from the Central Site Business Date to file and must try to honor the transaction first. Answer with the authorization date and approval code showing it was valid; no documents are required.
- Category
- Authorization-related
- Time limit for the bank to file
- 90 days from the Central Site Business Date
- Time limit to respond
- Your processor's deadline (on Stripe usually 7–21 days); Mastercard gives the acquirer 45 days from the chargeback for a second presentment
- Typical evidence
- Authorization date and approval code within the protection period
- Can it be prevented?
- Yes: authorize every charge and capture within the approval's life
- Who usually wins
- The merchant with a valid authorization
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC authorizes every card payment through the processor at checkout and on every subscription renewal, so each order carries its own authorization and approval. PlatformDTC answers this kind of dispute with its standard evidence pack built from the order: customer name, email, IP address, billing and shipping address, items bought, carrier, tracking and ship date, the refund policy, and any refund already issued. With "Answer a chargeback automatically" switched on, it sends the response to the bank for you before the deadline.
What it means
The issuer says the transaction lacked a valid authorization: none was obtained, the protection period had ended (30 days for preauthorizations, 7 days for final and undefined ones), an offline approval cleared after 7 days, or a refund cleared after 5 days.
Mastercard requires the issuer to attempt to honor the transaction before charging it back.
Why customers file it
Capturing a payment long after it was authorized, splitting or raising amounts above the approval, or completing a sale after a decline.
Evidence that wins
Any second presentment can also show that a refund was already issued, or that the chargeback was invalid (late, a duplicate, or missing the required documents).
- The authorization date and approval code, within the protection period
- For one authorization with several clearing records: proof the total did not exceed the approved amount
How to prevent it
- Capture within the authorization's validity
- Re-authorize when the amount grows
- Never complete a declined sale
For developers
On Stripe the dispute object arrives with reason "general" and the card network's own code in payment_method_details.card.network_reason_code; listen for charge.dispute.created and read evidence_details.due_by for the deadline.
The acquirer answers with a second presentment within 45 days; the Central Site Business Date of the chargeback counts as day zero. For cardholder disputes the issuer may then file pre-arbitration within 30 days, and the acquirer has 30 days to accept or reject it.
For 4808 pre-arbitration is optional; arbitration must be filed within 45 days of the second presentment.
Frequently asked questions
- What happened to 4807 and 4812?
- Mastercard's current guide mentions them only as codes that will eventually be eliminated; authorization claims use 4808.
- Do I need documents to answer a 4808?
- No. Mastercard asks for the authorization date and approval code in the message; no documents are required.
Sources
Related
- 4834 — A processing error at the point of sale: charged twice, wrong amount, currency conversion or surcharge.
- 4837 — The cardholder says they did not authorize the purchase. Mastercard's main fraud chargeback.
- 4870 — A counterfeit copy of a chip card was used at a terminal that did not read the chip.
- 4871 — A lost, stolen or never-received PIN chip card was used at a terminal that could not take a PIN.
- 4849 — Mastercard listed the merchant in its Questionable Merchant Audit Program or confirmed coercion.
- 4999 — A domestic chargeback allowed by local rules in Europe that fits no other code.
- 4855 — Legacy "goods or services not provided" code; the claim now sits under 4853 Cardholder Dispute.