Dispute an Agency or Freelancer’s Hours

Fixed-price contract? Go here instead.

Upwork Hourly Protection allows you to dispute an agency or freelancer’s hours if you feel that you have been billed for more time than they worked on your project. A dispute is a formal disagreement on an hourly contract about your current invoice.


Contacting our customer support team or requesting a refund does not qualify as filing a dispute; you must use the following steps to officially file a dispute.



File a dispute

  1. Go to Jobs  My Jobs and choose the contract you wish to dispute.
  2. From the Contract Room, choose the (…) options menu under the freelancer’s name. For an agency, look under the Last Week section.
  3. Select Request a Refund. You'll be asked to request a refund in hopes they can resolve the matter themselves. If they don't do so in a timely manner, you must return here by Friday to officially file a dispute.
  4. Select Complete the dispute form.


After you file a dispute

  1. We immediately alert your freelancer or agency business manager via email and a notification in their Upwork account. If the recipient accepts the dispute or doesn't respond, we’ll refund the disputed hours to you on behalf of the freelancer as a credit. If the freelancer rejects and challenges the dispute, it will be reviewed by an Upwork Dispute Specialist.
  2. Our dispute specialist will review and evaluate the contract Work Diary using the criteria stated in the Upwork Hourly Protection. Please allow up to four business days to receive a dispute decision.
  3. Although your account has already been charged for all of the hours billed, a dispute puts payment on hold while the dispute specialist reviews the matter.



Filing a dispute through Upwork’s process must be based on the hours a freelancer has billed you for. That means you cannot file a dispute with us because you are not satisfied with the quality of the freelancer’s work. In those cases, you and your freelancer should discuss the matter and work together to resolve any issues. You can also request a refund from your freelancer. Still can’t resolve the issue and within 30 days of payment? Please contact customer support to learn about our mediation assistance (see the escrow instructions for details).

What happens if I cancel a dispute?


What if I have a fixed-price contract?


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