Teachable offers tools for school owners to manage refunds, including default refund windows and custom policy options. This guide walks through:
Teachable’s refund policy
How can I issue a refund for a student?
Limitations on refunds by gateway, time, and account balance
Steps for off-platform refunds
Teachable Support’s role in processing refunds
Creating, applying for, and implementing custom refund policies
FAQ
Overview: Teachable’s Refund Policy
What Is Teachable’s Default Refund Policy? (teachable:pay and Monthly Payment Gateway)
Under Teachable’s Terms of Use, students are eligible for a full refund within 14 days of their initial payment for course purchases.
Refunds for coaching, digital downloads, or bundles containing either are determined by the school owner’s policy.
These purchases can still be refunded manually by the school owner within 30 days.
Important: As of November 6th, 2025, the Teachable refund policy will be changing. As a result, and in line with industry standard, associated Stripe processing and platform transaction (plan related and BackOffice) fees will no longer be returned when processing a refund.
What are Refund Restrictions and Limitations?
Daily Refund Cap
A $10,000 USD daily refund limit per school applies to refunds processed through Teachable payment gateways.
Additional refunds can be processed the following day.
Refunds After 14 Days
Refunds after the 14-day window can still be processed if:
The school has unpaid earnings available, and
The account is not in a negative balance.
Schools with a negative balance must contact Teachable Support for assistance.
For details on how Teachable Support participates in refund processing, see When Does Teachable Support Assist With Refunds?
Understanding Transaction Fees on Teachable
There are three possible fees (outside of affiliate earnings) that can apply to any transaction on Teachable:
Types of Fees
Payment Processor Fees – Fees charged by Stripe (or other payment processors) to complete a transaction.
Plan Transaction Fees – Fees Teachable may charge depending on your plan.
BackOffice Fees – Fees associated with using Teachable’s optional BackOffice service.
How These Fees Work
Plan Fees: All Teachable plans have a 0% transaction fee, except for the Starter plan, which has a 7.5% transaction fee.
BackOffice Fees: If you’ve enabled BackOffice, there is an additional service fee on top of your plan’s transaction fee. This fee is optional and only applies if BackOffice is turned on.
Processor Fees: Regardless of your plan, Stripe (or another processor) charges processing fees on every transaction. These are external fees required to process the payment.
When a refund is issued, Stripe’s processing fees and any applicable plan or BackOffice fees are not returned.
In rare cases, this may result in a school having insufficient funds. If this occurs, please see the section on What If I Don’t Have Enough Balance for a Refund? for more information.
How Do I Issue a Refund Within 30 Days?
You can issue refunds directly in your Admin Dashboard within 30 days of the original purchase, provided your account balance covers the refund amount.
Steps to Issue a Refund
Go to Users > Students, then click the student’s name
Or go to Sales > Transactions, then skip to step 4
In the student profile, go to the Purchases tab
Click the specific transaction
Scroll to the Refund section and click Refund Transaction
Enter the refund amount and optional reason
Click Refund Transaction to confirm
A refund receipt is automatically emailed to the student. You can also resend the receipt or download it as a PDF for manual delivery.
Processing time for refunds:
Credit/debit card refunds can take 7–10 business days.
PayPal refunds are usually instant.
Refunds are issued to the original payment method.
Note: If you do not see the Refund Transaction button, it might be because the student has issued a chargeback on the transaction. Learn more about chargebacks. See Refund Restrictions and Limitations or Custom Payment Gateways.
How Do Partial Refunds Work?
To issue a partial refund, enter a custom amount when prompted during the refund process.
What If I Don’t Have Enough Balance for a Refund?
If your Teachable account balance is insufficient to cover the refund amount, you have two options:
Option 1 – Wait for Additional Unpaid Earnings
Monitor unpaid earnings in your Admin Dashboard.
Once earnings accumulate, issue the refund through Teachable.
This keeps all records within your admin system.
Option 2 – Process the Refund Off-Platform
Refund the student using an external method (e.g., PayPal or bank transfer).
Notify the student and keep proof of refund for your records.
Important Note: Refunds issued off-platform will not be reflected in Teachable’s admin system. Maintain detailed records of the transaction to ensure accountability and transparency.
Additional Considerations
When deciding between waiting for unpaid revenue and processing refunds off-platform, consider:
The urgency of the refund request and the potential impact on student satisfaction.
The timeline for earning sufficient unpaid revenue if opting to wait.
Administrative record-keeping requirements if refunding off-platform. By carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose the option that best fits your circumstances while maintaining a positive experience for your students.
Refund Date - If the refund was issued on a credit/debit card transaction, then it may take up to 7-10 business days to process with Stripe.
Refund Destination - Refunds are issued to the student’s original payment method. Make sure that your student is checking the correct account and/or bank statement.
Statement Details - If the original transaction was processed by teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway, then the refund will appear on the statement as Teachable. If the original transaction was processed by a custom payment gateway, then the name of your school will typically appear on the student’s statement.
Chargeback - If the student disputed the transaction with their credit/debit card company or PayPal, then the transaction is put on hold by their bank and a refund cannot be processed until the student withdraws their dispute.
When a refund is issued for a transaction processed through teachable:pay or the Monthly Payment Gateway, then all transaction and processing fees are returned to the school owner. If you enabled PayPal as a payment option for your students, and a student requests a refund on a PayPal payment, then the refund will be issued to their PayPal account immediately.
When Does Teachable Support Assist With Refunds?
Teachable Support can assist when:
It’s been more than 30 days since purchase (and the in-app option is unavailable).
The school’s account balance is negative.
A student refund request has gone unanswered for 3 business days.
To request a refund through Support, provide:
Student’s email address
Transaction ID or purchase details
Reason for the refund
Support will confirm eligibility and process it according to your refund policy.
How Can I Set a Custom Refund Policy?
To request a policy outside of Teachable’s Terms of Use, contact us. If approved, Teachable Support will email confirmation of your custom refund policy.
Application Process
To request a custom refund policy, follow these steps:
Contact Teachable Support with a written proposal describing your intended refund policy.
Wait for review and approval.
If denied, you may re-apply after 90 days with additional sales data.
Implementation Steps
Once your custom refund policy is approved by Teachable, it must be communicated clearly to your students. You can do this by updating your school's Terms of Use page. Here’s how:
Once approved:
Log in to your admin dashboard.
Go to Site › Pages › Terms of Use.
Click Edit and add the details of your custom refund policy.
Publish your changes.
Add details of your custom refund policy, such as whether refunds are prohibited or applicable only under certain condition
Implications of a Custom Policy
Using a custom refund policy shifts the responsibility for refund management from Teachable to your school. This means:
Students contact you directly for refund requests.
Disputes are resolved under your policy terms.
You may tailor policies for specific products (e.g., coaching or digital downloads).
What Happens With Custom Payment Gateways?
Student Refund Policy
Transactions processed through custom payment gateways are handled by a third-party processor. Therefore, Teachable’s refund policy does not apply.
Issuing a Refund
School owners can issue refunds to students through Teachable (as outlined above) or through their Stripe and/or PayPal accounts. For more information about issuing refunds, contact Stripe or PayPal support.
How Do I Handle Refund Issues or Missing Refunds?
Issue | Explanation | Action |
Processing time | Card refunds take 7–10 business days | Wait until the window closes |
Destination account | Refunds go to the original payment method | Ask the student to check that account |
Insufficient funds | Refund delayed due to pending payouts | Wait or contact Support |
Chargeback in progress | Refund paused until student withdraws dispute | Dispute must be solved |
These errors are typically resolved as payouts clear, but persistent issues should be escalated to support.
How Do Students Request Refunds?
As outlined in Section 14.2 of Teachable’s Terms of Use, each creator (school owner) is solely responsible for managing student access, enrollment, and the delivery of their courses and services. Teachable provides the platform that powers these online schools but does not own or operate the content offered by creators.
Because of that, Teachable doesn’t have the ability to issue refunds or make adjustments to payments made to creators. Any refund requests must be handled directly with the creator in accordance with their refund policy.
Step 1 – Contact the School Owner
Students should reach out to the school using the contact information provided on the school’s website or purchase receipt.
Step 2 – Wait for a Response
Allow at least 3 business days for the school owner to respond.
Step 3 – Escalate to Teachable Support (if needed)
If there’s no response after 3 business days:
Collect proof of initial contact (e.g., email screenshot with timestamp).
Submit a ticket to Teachable Support with:
The school name
The student’s contact attempt evidence
Teachable Support will contact the school on the student’s behalf.
Step 4 – Resolution
In most cases, once all steps are completed (including either a response from the school owner or additional follow-up by Teachable) the refund process will be concluded in accordance with the school's refund policy.
For details on how Teachable Support participates in refund processing, see When Does Teachable Support Assist With Refunds?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do student refunds work at Teachable?
Teachable gives you the flexibility to offer the refund policy that’s right for your business. The default refund policy is 14 days from purchase.
A school admin can always manually issue a student refund within 30 days of purchase regardless of your school’s refund policy length.
If a school admin would like to authorize a refund to a student after 30 days, they will need to log in and ask support to complete this request for them.
Refunds issued by Teachable Support at the student’s request
Teachable Support can issue refunds on your behalf at the request of students in accordance with your school’s refund policy under certain conditions.
In order to uphold our commitment to empowering creator ownership of their relationship with their students, Teachable Support will only issue student refunds when
(1) the student has attempted to contact the school directly to request a refund with no response,
(2) Teachable Support has reached out to the school directly to request a refund on behalf of the student with no response, and
(3) if the refund was requested within the school’s refund policy period.
Teachable Support can assist you with issuing a student refund after 30 days when the in-app refund option is no longer available. To request a refund on behalf of a student, contact us with the student email and transaction details.
Are Transaction Fees Refunded?
Stripe processing and platform fees will not be returned when a refund is processed.
Does refunding unenroll the student or stop future payment?
Refunds do not automatically unenroll students or cancel future subscription payments. To unenroll or cancel, visit the Enrollments tab on the student’s profile.
How Can I Confirm Whether I Have a Custom Refund Policy?
If approved, Teachable Support emails a confirmation to the school admin.
If you can’t find it, log in and contact Support for verification.
What are my options for a refund policy?
While the default student refund policy is 14 days (effective August 25, 2023), Teachable schools can set a refund policy that is longer than 14 days by filling out this form. Once you have confirmed, we can process your custom refund policy request.
If a Student Cancels a Subscription, Is Their Payment Refunded?
Refunds apply only if the student cancels within 14 days of the initial payment.
No refunds after 180 days from purchase.
Are There Fees When I Refund a Student?
Students receive the full amount refunded, but fees you paid for the transaction are not reversed (after Nov 6 2025).
Can I Refund Students If My School Is Downgraded?
You’ll need to re-upgrade your school to regain access to financials.
Otherwise, refunds must be processed off-platform.
What Should I Do if a Refund Request Seems Fraudulent?
Teachable can’t verify fraudulent claims. Evaluate case-by-case:
Request supporting documents (e.g., police report or bank statement)
Issue a refund through Admin if appropriate
Or wait to see if a chargeback is filed