PayPal · Decline codes
What does the PayPal AGREEMENT_ALREADY_CANCELLED error mean?
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PayPal's AGREEMENT_ALREADY_CANCELLED error means the billing agreement the merchant tried to charge has already been cancelled, so PayPal won't take the payment. PayPal's description says only that the agreement is already canceled. No retry can work; the customer must set up a new payment method or agreement if they want to keep the subscription.
- PayPal description
- The requested agreement is already canceled.
- Type
- Hard decline
- Who declined
- PayPal (agreement cancelled)
- Retry
- No; the customer must approve a new agreement
- Shopper action
- Set up payment again to keep the subscription
- Merchant action
- Don't retry; ask the customer to re-subscribe
- PlatformDTC renewal (Smart retry)
- Never retried; cancelled at once as a revoked agreement
What PlatformDTC does
PlatformDTC treats AGREEMENT_ALREADY_CANCELLED as always terminal: whatever the retry setting, the subscription is cancelled at once and never retried. It is recorded as the customer revoking the agreement, not as a failed card, so churn reports count it as the customer's choice. The customer gets the subscription-ended email with a one-click link to restart.
Why it happens
The automatic-payment agreement between the buyer and the merchant no longer exists in PayPal.
What the shopper can do
To keep receiving the subscription, restart it from the store's link and approve PayPal (or a card) again.
What the store can do
Don't retry. Invite the customer to restart with a fresh approval.
For developers
On Orders v2 the reason arrives in details[0].issue of the error body.
Frequently asked questions
- Did the customer cancel on purpose?
- Often yes: buyers can switch off automatic payments in PayPal. PlatformDTC records it as a revoked agreement for that reason.
- Can I reactivate the agreement?
- No. The customer has to approve a new one.
Sources
- Orders v2 API errors — PayPal
Related
- PAYER_ACCOUNT_LOCKED_OR_CLOSED — Payer account locked or closed: the buyer's PayPal account can't be used.
- COMPLIANCE_VIOLATION — Compliance violation: PayPal declined the payment on compliance grounds.
- INSTRUMENT_DECLINED — Instrument declined: the card or bank in the buyer's PayPal was refused.
- REDIRECT_PAYER_FOR_ALTERNATE_FUNDING — Redirect for alternate funding: send the buyer back to pick another funding source.
- TRANSACTION_BLOCKED_BY_PAYEE — Blocked by payee: the merchant's own PayPal fraud settings blocked the payment.
- PAYEE_BLOCKED_TRANSACTION — Payee blocked transaction: the merchant's PayPal fraud tool declined it.
- TRANSACTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED — Transaction limit exceeded: the total is over a PayPal transaction limit.
- PAYMENT_DENIED — Payment denied: PayPal declined to process the transaction.