PayPal payment on hold: the 21-day hold

OFFICIAL Risk-based holds on a payment generally stay in place for up to 21 days from when the payment was received.

OFFICIAL PayPal may release a hold earlier at its own discretion, for example if you uploaded shipment tracking for the transaction.

OFFICIAL If the payment is challenged as one that should be reversed, the hold can last longer, but no longer than 180 days.

OFFICIAL PayPal may hold a balance for up to 180 days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability, or on a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy.

OFFICIAL The hold may stay longer than 180 days under a court order, regulation or another legal process.

OFFICIAL If a marketplace or other third party gave the hold, you need to contact that party directly.

OFFICIAL To ask about a limitation, hold or reserve, visit the Resolution Center or follow the instructions in the email notice.

OFFICIAL PayPal decisions may be based on confidential criteria.

OFFICIAL You have to start a pending withdrawal again once the limitation or hold has been lifted.

OFFICIAL For a dispute or claim on a business account: "Needs your attention", then the Case ID, then Respond, then Submit evidence, then upload (PayPal developer page).

OFFICIAL The Resolution Center address is paypal.com/disputes/. It shows a sign-in screen when you are not logged in, so we could not see what the screen looks like inside.