In this article, you’ll learn more what a payment hold is, why it happens, and how to resolve it.

What does it mean when funds are unavailable, or on hold?
PayPal may place a payment hold - for usually 21 days or less - in case there’s an issue with your order. When a payment hold is placed on your account, the money still belongs to you and once we get confirmation your buyer received the item they ordered in the condition promised, the funds will be available for withdrawal.

Why could your funds be temporarily unavailable?
We may place reserves, limitations, and other holds on your account (you can read more about them in our User Agreement), but here are some of the reasons why we might place a hold on your account.

You’re a first-time seller. When you’re a new PayPal seller, it takes time to build up enough history to demonstrate a pattern of positive buyer-seller transactions. The good news is you can usually move out of this status by confirming your identity and building up a history of positive selling activity.
You haven't sold in a while. When your selling activity has been dormant for a long time, it will also take time to rebuild a history of positive buyer-seller transactions.
Multiple customers filed for a refund, dispute or chargeback. If multiple customers file for a refund, dispute, or chargeback, it can delay the availability of your funds. The best way to resolve this is to work directly with your customers to prevent, or solve, disputes and chargebacks. Sometimes it’s possible that your customer filed for a refund, dispute or chargeback because someone illegally used their PayPal account to buy something. We ask that you hold off on shipping any items when this happens.
Your selling pattern appears unusual or changed. An unusual sales activity includes: a recent spike in sales or a change in your average selling price, business platform or type of item being sold.
You’re selling higher risk items. Higher risk items can include tickets, gift cards, consumer electronics, computers, and travel packages.

You can also read our User Agreement for more information on other holds and reserves we may place on your account.

How long PayPal holds your funds for.
By default, your funds will be held for 21 days. However, there are several things you can do to expedite this timeline.

What you can do to access your money sooner.
Assuming there are no issues with the order, you may be able to expedite the release of temporarily unavailable funds sooner than the scheduled 21 days by taking any of these actions from your PayPal account:

Action	Time to release	What you need to do
Print a USPS or UPS shipping label	3 days after delivery	Print a USPS or UPS shipping label from your PayPal account. This will automatically update your tracking information and delivery confirmation.
Add tracking information	3 days after delivery with supported carriers. See chart below for supported carriers.	Upload a supported carriers’ tracking number. PayPal will release the payment within three days of the carrier confirming delivery.
Add tracking information	7 days with other carriers after you mark the item as shipped; 14 days for international goods	If you're not using one of our supported carriers, you can mark the item as “shipped” in your transaction details page.
Mark the order as processed for intangible goods or services	7 days after you mark the order as processed; 14 days for international goods	Your business may be selling an intangible, instead of a physical, good or service. In that case, simply mark the item as processed in your transaction details page and your funds will become available in 7 – 14 days.
Notify your buyer to confirm the order	3 days after a buyer’s confirmation	After you upload a tracking number, print a shipping label, or mark the order as processed, we’ll send a notification e-mail to your buyers and they’ll have the option to confirm that they received the item.

PayPal Supported Carriers:

Country	Shipping Carriers
Canada	Canada Post, UPS
France	DHL, GLS, UPS
Germany	Deutsche Post, DHL Express, DHL Packet, DPD, Hermes, UPS
Italy	DHL, Post Italiano, UPS
Spain	Correos, DHL, GLS
United Kingdom	Collect+, DHL Express, FedEx, Parcel Force, Royal Mail, UPS, Yodel
United States	DHL Express, DHL Global Mail, UPS, USPS

How can you prevent the delay of available funds?
There are four things you can do to help prevent a delay of available funds in the future:

1. Review the email we send and the alert in your account overview.

2. If a buyer pays you and the payment isn’t immediately available, we’ll notify you via an email titled “An important message about your PayPal balance” or via an alert in your Account Overview page. This email or alert will be the best source of information about why your payment isn’t available and what you may be able to do to prevent the delay of available funds in the future.

3. Prevent refunds, disputes, and chargebacks by:

Setting yourself up for success by posting actual photos and detailed, accurate descriptions of items so buyers know exactly what they’re getting.
Being clear about shipping and handling time, costs, and methods; process orders promptly to avoid delays.
Packing items carefully with appropriate, quality packing material, so customers receive the items in good condition.
Uploading tracking information of our supported carriers or printing a USPS/UPS shipping label through PayPal.
Clearly defining your return policy upfront to avoid problems later.

4. Communicate and work with your customers.

When customers contact you, do your best to be responsive and helpful. Working with customers early on can prevent a minor issue from ballooning into a much larger problem, and following the guidelines listed previously will help to reduce the number of buyer disputes, claims, and chargebacks. If you are involved in a buyer dispute, start working to resolve it right away. Frequent, honest, and open communication with the buyer via the Resolution Center can help clear up any misunderstanding.

5. Set up a customer service message.

Also, setting up a customer service message in the Resolution Center may help to prevent disputes. For example, if shipments will be delayed because of a hurricane in your region, letting the buyer know may answer their question and make a dispute unnecessary.

Selling on eBay.
If you sell on eBay, take a look at these eBay-specific tips for managing your seller performance rating.