Shopify dispute statuses explained: what each one means and what to do next

You open your Shopify admin and see a dispute marked "submitted". Is that good? Is it over? Do you still need to do something? The word means less than it sounds like, and the next move depends on it.

A Shopify dispute status tells you where a chargeback sits right now. The four main ones are open, submitted, won and lost. Open means you can still add evidence. Submitted means your response is with the bank. Won and lost are the bank's decision, and neither can be changed once the deadline has passed.

This guide is for you if:

• You have a dispute in your Shopify admin and want to know exactly what its status means and what to do next.
• You are tired of guessing whether "submitted" means you are safe or still waiting.
• You want a simple tracker that records each dispute status and the dollars attached to it.

Last updated: 14 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 14 October 2026.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

• Shopify's four main dispute status labels are open, submitted, won and lost. Open is the only one where you can still add evidence.
• The response deadline is typically 7 to 21 days after the dispute is filed. If no time is shown, it is 11:59 PM on the date shown.
• Shopify submits the evidence you have saved on the due date. After that, the dispute cannot be changed.
• After you submit, the card review can take up to 75 days, and the dispute status stays "submitted" until the bank decides.
• A win returns the disputed amount and, in Australia, the A$25 fee. A loss leaves both gone.
• If the deadline has not passed on a chargeback you accepted, Shopify Support can un-accept it so you can add evidence.
• I could not verify every label Shopify shows for inquiries and edge cases, so I only describe the labels I could confirm.

Quick note The misunderstanding: "submitted" means you are waiting for good news. The correct version: submitted means your evidence is with the bank and nothing more can be added. The outcome is still open, and money stays tied up until it is decided.

The dispute statuses at a glance

Dispute status	What it means	Can you add evidence?	What happens to the money
Open	A dispute is in your admin and the deadline has not passed	Yes, until the deadline	The amount and fee have been taken from you
Submitted	Your evidence has gone to the bank	No	Still held while the bank reviews
Won	The bank decided in your favour	No	The amount and, in Australia, the A$25 fee come back
Lost	The bank decided against you	No	The amount and fee stay gone
Under review (after the deadline)	The deadline has passed and the case is with the bank	No	Held until a decision
Pre-arbitration	The cardholder disputes again after a loss	Respond before its own deadline	Another amount may be at stake

What does each Shopify dispute status mean?

Each dispute status tells you who holds the next move. Open means it is yours. Submitted and under review mean it is the bank's. Won and lost mean it is finished, for now. Reading the dispute status correctly stops you from wasting a deadline or from panicking when nothing seems to be happening.

Shopify's help centre lists the statuses a chargeback can have, and the table above matches what I could verify. It is worth saying what I could not confirm. Shopify may use extra labels for inquiries and for edge cases, and it changes its admin screens from time to time. If your screen shows a word that is not in this guide, trust your screen and use the guide's logic: work out whether the next move is yours or the bank's.

The rest of this guide takes each dispute status in turn, then shows how the statuses fit together on a timeline with dates and dollars.

What does the "open" dispute status mean?

Open means the dispute has been filed, the deadline has not passed and you can still add evidence. It is the only dispute status in which you can improve your case. The clock is running, and Shopify submits whatever you have saved on the due date.

Shopify says the response deadline is typically 7 to 21 days after the dispute is filed. If no time is shown beside the date, the deadline is 11:59 PM on the date shown. I could not verify which time zone applies, so do not leave it to the last hour.

What to do while a dispute is open:

1. Read the reason and the amount. They decide what evidence matters.
2. Note the due date and set your own cutoff two days earlier.
3. Gather the order, the proof, your messages and your policies.
4. Save your response in Shopify, and check it before the cutoff.
5. Decide whether to respond or accept the dispute.

Open is also the dispute status where the money has already moved. Shopify says the bank takes the disputed amount and a fee from you when a dispute is filed, so you are out of pocket while you work on it.

Can you accept a dispute while it is open?

Yes. If you decide not to fight, you can accept it. That ends the dispute and the money stays with the cardholder. Shopify says that if you accepted a chargeback and the deadline has not passed, you can contact Support to un-accept it so you can add evidence. That is a useful safety net, but do not rely on it, because it only works before the deadline.

What does the "submitted" dispute status mean?

Submitted means your response has gone to the bank and you cannot add more. The dispute status stays "submitted" while the card issuer reviews your evidence, which Shopify says can take up to 75 days after submission. Nothing is wrong when nothing seems to happen. The next change is the bank's decision.

Two things trigger submission. You can submit yourself, or Shopify submits what you have saved on the due date. That second route catches people out. If you saved a half-finished response and walked away, it goes out as it stands. Check the saved version before the deadline, not after.

While a dispute is submitted, keep the file open in your records. Note the submission date, add 75 days for the longest review, and diarise it. You do not need to do anything else, but you should know what you are waiting for.

If the dispute status is submitted	What to do
You just submitted	Record the date and the 75 day outer limit in your log
It has been weeks	Do nothing in Shopify, since you cannot add evidence, but keep your records
You realise you forgot something	You cannot add it, so note what was missing for next time
The customer messages you	Reply politely and factually, and keep the message with the record

What does the "won" dispute status mean?

Won means the bank decided in your favour. In Australia, Shopify's fee table lists the A$25 fee as refunded if you win, and the disputed amount returns to you. Winning ends the case, but it does not remove the dispute from your chargeback rate, according to Shopify.

That last point surprises people. A win is a good result for your cash, and a neutral one for your rate. If you want to keep your rate low, the fix is fewer disputes, not better responses. The readiness audit covers the prevention side.

After a win, do three things. Log the outcome and what evidence you sent. Note anything that made the case easy or hard. And check the money has returned in a payout, since I could not verify how long Shopify takes to refund after a win.

What does the "lost" dispute status mean?

Lost means the bank decided against you, or the deadline passed without a response that could succeed. The amount and the A$25 fee stay gone. A lost dispute cannot be changed once its deadline has passed, according to Shopify, so the only job left is to learn from it.

Shopify says that when a deadline has passed, the status may show as lost or under review, and that it cannot be changed. If the deadline has not passed and you accepted the chargeback, Support may be able to un-accept it. Beyond that, the door is closed.

What to do after a loss:

• Log the cause and the evidence you had. If a gap cost you the case, note it.
• Check whether a refund or replacement is still worth offering for goodwill, but check first whether it affects anything, because I could not verify how a refund interacts with a closed dispute.
• Look at your prevention points, since a loss is information about a weak spot.
• Check whether pre-arbitration applies, described below.

What is pre-arbitration?

Pre-arbitration is a second round. After you lose, the cardholder can dispute again, and Shopify says you respond the same way before its deadline. It is rare, but it can bring a new deadline and a new status, so treat it as a fresh dispute with its own clock.

I could not verify how often it happens or the exact rules for each card network, and I do not guess. What matters for your routine is simple: if a dispute you thought was finished comes back with a new due date, open it and handle it as you would any open dispute. Do not ignore it because you lost the first round.

Shopify also says issuer responses show only for chargebacks that escalate from inquiries and end lost. So if you see a message from the issuer on a lost dispute, read it, because it may explain why.

What does "under review" mean?

Under review is what Shopify may show when a deadline has passed and the case is with the bank. Shopify says that at that point the status may read lost or under review and cannot be changed. Treat it as the bank's turn. There is nothing more to add, and the next change is a decision.

This is the dispute status that confuses people most. It looks like a middle state, but for you it behaves like submitted: no more evidence, wait for the result. I could not verify every situation in which Shopify shows it, so if you see it on a case you did not expect, check the deadline date and the case notes.

How do the dispute statuses fit on a timeline?

They run in order: open, then submitted, then won or lost, with under review and pre-arbitration as side paths. A single dispute can take from a week or two to several months, depending on how long the bank takes, up to 75 days after submission by Shopify's account.

Here is one dispute on a calendar. It is an illustration, with made-up dates that follow the real weekdays.

Date	Dispute status	What happens
Mon 5 Oct 2026	Open	The dispute is filed. A$150 and the A$25 fee are taken.
Mon 5 Oct to Tue 20 Oct	Open	You gather evidence and save your response.
Tue 20 Oct 2026	Submitted	You submit two days before the cutoff.
Mon 26 Oct 2026	Submitted	The Shopify due date passes with a 21 day window. Nothing changes for you.
Sun 3 Jan 2027	Submitted	The longest review Shopify mentions, 75 days after submission, ends.
Any day before then	Won or lost	The bank decides, and the money moves.

The due date shown here is the 21 day end of Shopify's typical 7 to 21 day range. Yours may be shorter. The point is the sequence: you act while it is open, and then you wait.

What do the dispute statuses mean for your money?

The dispute status tells you where the cash is. Open and submitted mean it is held. Won means it returns, with the A$25 fee in Australia. Lost means it stays gone. If you track the statuses with dollars beside them, you always know how much of your balance is in limbo.

Illustration 1: one A$150 dispute through every status

Say a customer disputes an A$150 order. At filing, the bank takes A$150 and the A$25 fee, so A$175 leaves your balance. While the dispute status is open or submitted, A$175 is tied up. If you win, A$175 comes back. If you lose, A$175 stays gone, and your goods, postage and ad spend for the order are lost too.

Dispute status	Your balance effect	Money tied up
Open	A$175 taken	A$175
Submitted	No change	A$175
Won	A$175 returned	A$0
Lost	No change	A$0, but A$175 gone

Illustration 2: five disputes at different stages

Say you have five disputes, each on an A$120 order, so each ties up A$145. Two are open, two are submitted and one is won. Open and submitted together are four disputes, which is 4 multiplied by A$145, or A$580 held. The won dispute is back with you. If the two open ones are lost, you are A$290 down for good, and if all four are won you recover A$580.

A tracker with a dollar column makes this visible at a glance. It also shows how much of your cash depends on disputes you cannot influence any more, which is the submitted ones.

Illustration 3: what a payout looks like

Say a payout of A$1,000 is due and an A$150 dispute is filed. I could not verify exactly how Shopify takes the amount and fee, and Shopify says the disputed amount is deducted from your next payout. If the fee comes from the same payout, you would receive A$1,000 minus A$150 minus A$25, which is A$825. If you win later, A$175 comes back in a later payout. Check your own payout report to see how it was handled.

How do you track dispute statuses without losing a deadline?

Use a simple tracker with one row per dispute, and update it every time the dispute status changes. Include the due date, your internal cutoff, the amount and fee, and what you did. Check it weekly on a fixed day. A tracker takes minutes and prevents the one error you cannot fix later.

DISPUTE STATUS TRACKER (one row per dispute)

Dispute / order: ________   Reason: ______________   Amount: A$______  Fee: A$25
Date filed: ________   Due date and time: ________   My cutoff (due minus 2 days): ________
Status today: open / submitted / under review / won / lost / pre-arbitration
Evidence saved (Y / N): ____   Submitted on: ________   75 day outer date: ________
Outcome and date: ______________   Money returned (Y / N): ____
Cause and what I will change: ______________________

Here is a weekly routine you can start on Thursday 15 October 2026:

Day and date	What to do
Thu 15 Oct	List every dispute in your admin and enter its status, amount and due date in the tracker.
Fri 16 Oct	Set an internal cutoff two days before each due date.
Mon 19 Oct	Work on any dispute that is open and due within a week.
Thu 22 Oct	Weekly check: update every status and look for new disputes.
Thu 29 Oct	Weekly check again. Mark any that moved to won or lost.
Thu 5 Nov	Weekly check. Note any submitted dispute that is past 30 days.

For the full deadline routine, see the deadline guide.

What should you do at each dispute status?

Do one thing at each dispute status: open, work and save; submitted, wait and diarise; won, log and check the money; lost, learn and fix. Keeping each step small stops you from acting at the wrong time, such as trying to add evidence to a submitted dispute.

Dispute status	One action	One thing not to do
Open	Save a complete response before your cutoff	Leave it to the due date
Submitted	Record the date and the 75 day outer limit	Expect to add more evidence
Under review	Check the deadline date and notes	Assume nothing is happening
Won	Log the result and check the money returned	Assume it left your chargeback rate
Lost	Log the cause and fix one thing	Chase the bank with new evidence
Pre-arbitration	Treat it as a new open dispute with its own due date	Ignore it because you lost once

What should you tell the customer at each dispute status?

Say little, stay factual and keep every message. A customer who disputes a charge may still be reachable, and a calm message can sometimes settle the matter. But you should not promise outcomes or argue, and you should not contact a customer in a way that could look like pressure. The dispute status helps you decide what to say.

Dispute status	Should you contact the customer?	What to say
Open	Often yes, once and politely	Ask whether there is a problem you can fix, and give your contact details
Submitted	Only if they write to you	Reply factually and keep the message
Won	Usually no	No message is needed unless they ask
Lost	Optional	A goodwill refund or replacement may be worth considering, after you check it is safe to do

Here is a short message you can adapt for an open dispute. It is neutral on purpose, because the customer may have a genuine problem, and the message may be shown to the bank.

OPEN DISPUTE MESSAGE TO THE CUSTOMER

Subject: Your order [number] from [Store name]

Hi [Name],

I can see a payment for order [number] (A$[amount], placed on [date]) has been
queried with your card provider. If there is a problem with the order, I would
like to put it right. Could you reply with what went wrong, or confirm the order
is fine? My details are below.

If you do not recognise the charge, it may appear on your statement as
[descriptor]. The order was sent to [suburb, postcode] on [date] by [carrier],
tracking number [number].

Thanks,
[Name], [Store name], [email and phone]

Keep a copy with the dispute record. If the customer confirms the order is fine, ask them to tell their bank, and keep their reply. I could not verify how or whether a bank accepts a withdrawal at each dispute status, so do not tell a customer what the bank will do.

What does a healthy dispute pipeline look like?

A healthy pipeline has no dispute sitting in open past its cutoff, every submitted dispute has an outer date on the tracker, and every closed dispute has a logged cause. You can scan it in a minute and know what needs you today. The dispute status column is the heart of it.

Check your pipeline against these four questions each week:

1. Is any dispute open with a due date inside the next five days? If so, work on it today.
2. Does every submitted dispute have a submission date and a 75 day outer date recorded?
3. Has any dispute changed its dispute status since last week? Update the tracker.
4. Does every won or lost dispute have a cause and one fix noted?

If you can answer all four in a few minutes, you are running the dispute status process well. If you cannot, the gap is usually the tracker, not the disputes.

Illustration 4: a quiet month and a busy month

Say your store has two disputes in a quiet month. A weekly check takes about 10 minutes, or A$6.67 at A$40 an hour, four times, so A$26.67 for the month. In a busy month with eight disputes, the weekly check takes closer to 25 minutes, or A$16.67, four times, so A$66.67. If the check catches one dispute that would otherwise have gone out unfinished on an A$120 order, it saves up to A$145, the order value plus the A$25 fee. These are illustrations of the sums, not a forecast.

How does the dispute status connect to the response you send?

The dispute status decides when you can act, and the reason decides what you send. They work together. An open dispute with a fraud reason needs authorisation evidence, while an open dispute for product not received needs delivery proof. The status gives you the window, and the reason tells you how to use it.

So, in practice, read the dispute status first to see if you can still act, then read the reason to see what to send. If the dispute status is already submitted, there is no point building evidence. If it is open, build the response that fits the reason. The reasons are covered in separate guides, such as the product not received guide and the fraudulent chargeback guide.

What about inquiries?

An inquiry is a question from the bank before a chargeback, and it has its own flow. Shopify treats inquiries and chargebacks separately in its help centre, and I could not verify every label used for inquiries. Respond to an inquiry as you would a dispute, with evidence and before its deadline, because an unresolved one can escalate.

The practical rule is the same. Read the date, read the reason and respond in time. If an inquiry escalates to a chargeback, a new status flow starts, and the issuer's response may show if it ends lost. Do not assume an inquiry is harmless because there is no fee attached. I could not verify whether Shopify charges a fee on inquiries, so check the fee table for your account.

What's different for Australian merchants?

Australian merchants pay A$25 per chargeback on Shopify Payments, refunded if they win, and plan around Australian dates and time zones. The dispute statuses are the same as elsewhere, but the money effect and the calendar need local care.

Three Australian points:

• The fee is in A$. Most guides use a US$15 fee. Use A$25 and remember it returns on a win.
• Dates and time zones. I could not verify which time zone applies to the 11:59 PM default, or how public holidays affect due dates. Keep your cutoff two days early.
• Customers have a long window. Consumer bodies and one payments provider put customer time limits at roughly 45 to 120 days depending on the provider, so disputes can arrive well after an order. Keep your records for at least that long.

I could not verify how GST or BAS applies to a disputed or refunded sale, so the sums here exclude it. Ask your accountant.

Common mistakes

1. Reading "submitted" as "safe". It means the bank has your evidence, nothing more. The result is still open.
2. Trying to add evidence after submitting. You cannot. Add it while the dispute status is open.
3. Leaving a half-finished response saved. Shopify submits what is saved on the due date.
4. Treating a win as a clean slate. Shopify says winning does not remove the dispute from your chargeback rate.
5. Ignoring pre-arbitration. It brings a new deadline, and it needs a response.
6. Forgetting the money. Open and submitted disputes tie up the amount and the fee. Track the dollars.
7. Not checking the status weekly. A fixed weekly check catches a new dispute before its clock runs down.
8. Chasing the bank after a loss. Once the deadline has passed, the dispute cannot be changed. Learn from it instead.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Shopify dispute statuses?

The four main ones are open, submitted, won and lost. Open means you can still add evidence. Submitted means your response is with the bank. Won and lost are the bank's decision. Shopify may also show under review once a deadline has passed. I could not verify every label used for inquiries.

What does submitted mean on a Shopify dispute?

It means your evidence has gone to the bank and you cannot add more. Shopify says the card review can take up to 75 days after submission, and the status stays submitted until the bank decides. Nothing is wrong when nothing seems to happen. Record the date and wait.

Can I add evidence after submitting?

No. Evidence can be added only while the dispute status is open and the deadline has not passed. Shopify submits what you have saved on the due date, so check your saved response before then. If you accepted a chargeback before the deadline, Support may be able to un-accept it.

How long do I have to respond to a Shopify dispute?

Shopify says the response deadline is typically 7 to 21 days after the dispute is filed. If no time is shown, the deadline is 11:59 PM on the date shown. I could not verify the time zone or how public holidays affect it, so set your own cutoff two days early.

Do I get the A$25 fee back if I win?

Shopify's fee table lists Australia as a country where the A$25 fee is refunded if you win, and the disputed amount returns too. If you lose, both stay gone. I could not verify how long the refund takes, so check your next payout report after a win.

What does under review mean?

Shopify says that once a deadline has passed, the status may show as lost or under review, and it cannot be changed. Treat it like submitted: no more evidence, wait for the bank's decision. If it appears on a case you did not expect, check the deadline date and notes.

What is pre-arbitration?

It is a second round in which the cardholder disputes again after a loss. Shopify says you respond the same way, before its deadline. It brings a new due date, so treat it as a fresh open dispute. I could not verify how often it happens or the exact rules for each card network.

Does winning remove a dispute from my chargeback rate?

No. Shopify says winning does not remove the dispute from your chargeback rate, and a high rate can affect your Shopify Payments status and features such as the Shop app. I could not verify a rate threshold for Australia, so focus on preventing disputes rather than only winning them.

What should I do when a dispute is lost?

Log the cause and the evidence you had, and fix one thing. Once the deadline has passed, Shopify says the dispute cannot be changed. Check whether pre-arbitration brings a new deadline, and consider whether a goodwill refund helps, though I could not verify how a refund interacts with a closed dispute.

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Sources

• Shopify Help Center, "Chargebacks and inquiries" (statuses, fees, review time, rate)
• Shopify Help Center, "Responding to chargebacks and inquiries" (deadlines, pre-arbitration, un-accepting a chargeback)
• Shopify Help Center, "Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin"
• Shopify Help Center, "Preventing chargebacks and inquiries"
• Consumer Affairs Victoria and Wise AU on chargeback time limits (verified earlier in this project; add links at publish)
• Not verified in this pass: labels used for inquiries, time zone and public holiday treatment of due dates, how a refund interacts with an open dispute, and the exact payout handling of the amount and fee.
• Stripe, Dispute evidence best practices: further reading on how to format convincing evidence
• Adyen, Manage disputes: further reading on how another payment provider handles disputes