Ask "how long do I have to dispute a charge" and you'll hear two numbers: 60 days and 120 days. The 120-day figure comes from card-network policy. The 60-day figure comes from federal law — and for US cardholders, it's usually the one that actually decides your deadline. Here's exactly what it is and how to satisfy it.
The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA, 15 USC §1666) is a US federal law covering credit cards and billing errors. It says: if you spot a billing error, you have 60 days after the statement containing the error was sent to you to notify the creditor in writing.
During the investigation, the law gives you real power: you may withhold payment on the disputed amount (you still owe the rest of the bill), and the issuer generally can't report the disputed amount as delinquent or close your account over it. But these protections only switch on if you meet the 60-day written-notice requirement.
This is the detail most people get wrong. The 60 days are counted from the date the statement was sent, not the date of the purchase.
Example: you buy something on the 3rd; your statement covering that charge is sent on the 28th. Your 60 days run from the 28th — meaning the federal window can end later than a simple "60 days from purchase" guess. Conversely, if you don't check your statements for two months, the clock has been running without you. The practical lesson: know your statement dates, and review statements promptly.
The FCBA's protection is triggered by written notice. Calling your bank is a good first step — it gets the process moving and creates a record — but the federal 60-day protection technically requires writing. At most major banks, a secure message sent through the app or website counts as writing. A plain email might not, and a phone call alone generally doesn't.
The safest habit, every time:
Enter your statement date — we'll compute the federal deadline alongside your network deadline and highlight the binding one.
For a US-issued credit card, both clocks run simultaneously:
Your real deadline is the earlier of the two. In practice, the 60-day federal window is usually tighter — a charge from early in a billing cycle can easily have its federal deadline land weeks before the network one. The strategy that satisfies both: file early, file in writing, and treat the earlier date as your deadline.
Debit cards have their own federal rule: the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Reg E, 15 USC §1693f). It uses a similar structure — roughly 60 days from the statement date, with written notice. Two practical differences: the money is already gone from your account (so provisional credit matters more), and banks tend to apply debit disputes more strictly. If anything, the "file early and in writing" advice matters more for debit.
The US Fair Credit Billing Act gives credit cardholders 60 days from the date a statement was sent to dispute a billing error in writing. It's federal law — separate from the card networks' ~120-day windows.
The statement date. The 60 days run from when the statement containing the charge was sent to you — so know your statement dates and review statements promptly.
Yes. The FCBA protection is triggered by written notice. A secure message through your bank's app or website usually counts; a phone call alone may not. Always follow up calls in writing.
Both clocks run at once for US credit cards, so the earlier of the two binds you. The 60-day federal window is usually tighter — treat it as your real deadline and file in writing.
Yes — Reg E (15 USC §1693f) gives debit cardholders a similar 60-day-from-statement written-notice structure. Debit disputes are handled more strictly in practice, so file early.
