Is the shopper charged during an Authorize.Net 252 hold?

Not finally; the transaction waits for your approval or decline in the Merchant Interface. On PlatformDTC the hold is declined at once, so nothing is charged.

How is code 252 different from 253?

253 says the transaction was also authorized before the hold; 252 says it was accepted and held.

Authorize.Net · Decline codes

What does Authorize.Net 252 “Your order has been received (held for review)” mean?

Checked October 31, 2026

Authorize.Net response reason code 252 means the transaction was accepted but is being held for merchant review by a Fraud Detection Suite filter. The shopper sees "Your order has been received. Thank you for your business!", a message you can customise. Nothing is final until you approve or decline the transaction in the Merchant Interface.

Type: Held for review (not declined yet)
Who declined: Your Authorize.Net Fraud Detection Suite settings
Retry: No. Approve or decline it in the Merchant Interface.
Shopper action: Nothing yet; the store is reviewing the order.
Merchant action: Review the held transaction and approve or decline it.

What PlatformDTC does

When Authorize.Net answers "held for review", PlatformDTC immediately declines the held transaction through Authorize.Net's Approve or Decline Held Transaction request, so no authorization stays on the card and no order is placed. The shopper is told: "We couldn't confirm this payment, so you haven't been charged. Please try again or use a different card." A held subscription renewal is released the same way and tried once more later.

Why it happens

A filter set to "hold for review" rather than "decline" parks the transaction. Authorize.Net's note: "The transaction was accepted, but is being held for merchant review."

What the store can do

Check the suspicious transactions list in the Merchant Interface and act quickly so genuine shoppers are not left waiting.

Why PlatformDTC releases the hold

PlatformDTC creates an order only after Authorize.Net approves the payment, and it has no way to hear about a decision you make later in the Merchant Interface. If a held payment were approved there afterwards, the shopper would be charged for an order that does not exist. Declining the hold straight away keeps "no order" and "no charge" true together, and the shopper can simply pay again.

For developers

transactionResponse.responseCode is "4" (Held for Review) with reason code 252. Code 253 is the same hold after the card was already authorized.

Frequently asked questions

Is the shopper charged during an Authorize.Net 252 hold?: Not finally; the transaction waits for your approval or decline in the Merchant Interface. On PlatformDTC the hold is declined at once, so nothing is charged.
How is code 252 different from 253?: 253 says the transaction was also authorized before the hold; 252 says it was accepted and held.

Sources

Authorize.Net Response Code Tool (response reason codes) — Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net response codes (JSON list behind the Response Code Tool) — Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net API reference: createTransactionResponse fields — Authorize.Net