How to request a refund from a freelancer or agency

How do I request a refund directly from a freelancer?

1. Go to Manage Work > All contracts and select the contract
2. In the (…) options menu, select Request a refund
3. Complete the request form that appears and select Send Request

How do I request a refund from an agency?

If you have hired an agency and would like a refund, please contact us.

How do freelancer-approved refunds work?

Based on your request, your freelancer or agency can choose to issue a full refund, a partial refund, or no refund at all. Even without a formal request, they can proactively initiate a refund through Upwork on any contract, active or ended, as long as:

• The refund is within 180 days of the payment
• The refund amount is not more than what they earned on the contract

What happens if the freelancer approves a refund?

If the refund is approved by the freelancer or agency, it's automatically credited back to your billing method.

Note: If your original payments came from multiple billing methods, we’ll automatically apply a single credit to your Upwork account that can be used to cover future invoices. Alternatively, you can contact our customer support to request that we issue split credits to all the original billing methods that you used rather than to your Upwork account balance. Funds billed to one method cannot be refunded to another.

What happens if the freelancer refuses to give me a refund?

Hourly contracts

Refund approval is at the freelancer’s discretion. If they decline your refund request, the process ends. We are not able to offer support in this case.

Fixed-price contracts

If you requested a refund for fixed-price payment that was already released and the freelancer refused or didn’t respond, you may be able to request mediation assistance.

Mediation assistance is available from Upwork Customer Support for fixed-price contracts if:

• The last payment on the contract was within the previous 30 days

OR

• Funds are still being held on a fixed-price contract

How long do I have to request a refund directly from a freelancer?

You can request a refund from a freelancer within 180 days of the payment. It is up to the freelancer or agency’s discretion to issue a refund.

Where does my refund go?

It depends. In most cases, if the refund is approved by the freelancer or agency, the funds are automatically credited back to your original billing method. This usually takes about three to five business days to appear.

In some cases, though, the refund may be added as a credit to your Upwork account instead of going back to your billing method. This might happen when:

• You used multiple billing methods for the refunded payment
• The original funds were already withdrawn by the freelancer

If you receive an account credit, you can use it to cover future invoices or payments on Upwork.

Can a freelancer send me a refund outside of Upwork?

No, issuing refunds outside of Upwork is against our Terms of Service. We ask that any refunds stay on Upwork because it helps prevent fraud and scams that harm you.

If a freelancer refunds my contract payment, will you also refund my Contract Initiation Fee?

No, the once-per-contract fee will not be refunded after you have made a payment to a freelancer, even if the freelancer issues you a refund.