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A credit card authorization form is written permission to charge a card. The cardholder signs it to approve a single payment or a series of payments to a named business. Hotels, caterers, rental companies and service providers use it to bill clients remotely.
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People also call it a CC authorization form, a card authorization form, a credit card auth form or, in British spelling, a credit card authorisation form. The form names the card, the cardholder, the business, the amount and the timing. It ends with the cardholder’s signature and the date.
The form is the customer’s written consent. It is not the electronic approval a card network runs at checkout, and it is not a payment: the business charges the card later, on the terms the form sets out.
A card authorization form suits any business that charges a customer’s card when the customer is not there to pay, such as a caterer billing a regular client, a hotel taking a deposit, or a rental company holding a card against damage.
Typical users include:
Cardholders use the same paperwork when someone else pays for them, for example a parent covering a student’s booking or a company paying for an employee’s stay. Many hotels have their own version, such as this hotel card authorization form.
Businesses use a card authorization form to charge a customer’s card without the customer being present and to keep written proof that the customer agreed to the charges, which the business can submit as evidence if a buyer later disputes a payment with the card issuer. The card network’s dispute rules decide the outcome.
It also gives sellers evidence to answer chargeback fraud. This happens when a buyer pays online with a card, then asks the card issuer for a chargeback after receiving the goods or services. A dispute can freeze the money in question while the business gathers the paperwork to answer it.
For repeat billing the form saves time as well: the business takes the card details once instead of asking for them before every charge, and the customer has a signed copy of the charges and schedule agreed.
Once the buyer and seller agree on the purchase terms, the business sends the form and asks for the cardholder’s name, card number, expiration date and billing address, the details a payment processor needs to run the charge.
Mark the form for a single charge, such as a purchase or deposit, or as a recurring charge for payments that repeat, and fill in the amount and the schedule before the customer signs.
Have the cardholder sign and date the form to confirm consent to the charges it describes, then check that the name and card on the form match the card you are about to charge.
Black out or destroy the card security code (CVV) on the form once the charge is authorized, and keep the rest of the signed form only as long as the authorization runs and any dispute may need it.
Minnesota law bars a business there that accepts cards from keeping the security code after the charge is authorized (Minn. Stat. 325E.64); other states set their own rules.
Limit access to the people who process payments, and follow your payment processor’s rules for storing card numbers.
A card authorization form covers either a single charge or a series of repeating charges, and a related ACH form gives the same kind of permission for payments drawn from a bank account instead of a card.
The free template on this page covers both: you pick one-time or recurring, then choose a bank or card payment method. Hotel chains’ own versions are linked under Specific Credit Card Authorization Forms near the top of this page.
A complete form records who is paying, which card is used, what the cardholder agrees to, and when. Compare any form template against the list below before you send it out.
Leave out anything the charge does not need, such as a PIN or an online banking password.
To fill out a credit card authorization form, choose the charge type, enter the charge details, add your billing and payment information, then read the terms, sign, print your name and date the form.
Select either the “Recurring Charge” or “One (1) Time Charge” option, depending on whether you want to authorize regularly scheduled monthly charges or a single charge.
Fill in the fields for the type you chose, so the business knows who is paying, who is charging, how much, when, how often and for what:
Example: Recurring charge of $120.00 on the 1st of each month to Green Leaf Catering for weekly office lunches.
Enter the billing address linked to your card, with your phone number and email address, so the business can match the charge to your card and reach you about it:
Choose either the Bank (ACH) or Credit Card option, and fill in the required fields for the customer’s or third party’s credit card information:
For Bank (ACH):
For Credit Card:
Read the terms before you sign, because your signature approves the charges the form describes and the schedule they follow. If you understand and agree with the terms, sign the form, and print your name. Also, provide the date of your signature.
Return the completed form to the merchant in the way it asks. Retain a copy for your records, and remember to notify the merchant in writing if you need to make changes or cancel the authorization. For a recurring debit from your bank account, you can also tell your bank to stop it, orally or in writing, at least three business days before the scheduled date of the transfer (12 CFR 1005.10(c)(1)).
Before you sign, check that the name, card number, and amount on the form match your card and your records.
A card authorization form is a set of fields a business hands to its customer, while a credit card authorisation letter is a short note the cardholder writes to let another person use the card or to approve a charge for someone else.
| Point | Authorization form | Authorization letter |
|---|---|---|
| Who prepares it | The business that will charge the card | The cardholder |
| Format | Set fields and checkboxes | Free text with the cardholder’s signature |
| Common use | Single or recurring charges by a merchant | Letting a relative, employee or guest use the card or pay with it |
| What it names | Card, amount, schedule, business, cardholder | Card, the person allowed, the purchase or stay, its dates |
| Who keeps it | The business, with a copy for the cardholder | The person allowed, to show the merchant |
Use the form when a business will charge your card. Write a letter when you let another person use your card, and ask the merchant first whether it has its own form for that.
Yes, the same card authorization form works for a debit card: mark the card type, enter the debit card number, expiration date and security code, and sign it as you would for a credit card.
Yes, once you sign a card authorization form, the business keeps your card details to charge you later, but only for the charges, amounts and schedule the form describes. Ask how it stores them, and cancel in writing when you no longer want the charges.
Yes, a recurring card authorization form covers repeated payments: choose the recurring option, then list the amount, how often the charge happens, and the date or day of each billing period. For a single charge, choose the one-time option instead.
No, pick the Bank (ACH) option or the Credit Card option, then fill in only the fields for the payment method you chose and leave the other section blank.
To cancel, notify the merchant in writing that you withdraw the authorization, keep a copy of your notice, and ask the business to confirm that it will make no further charges to your card. For a recurring debit from your bank account, you can also tell your bank to stop the payment, orally or in writing, at least three business days before the scheduled date of the transfer (12 CFR 1005.10(c)(1)). For a card charge, you can also contact the card issuer.
Both sides keep a copy of the signed card authorization form: the business stores the original with its payment paperwork, and the cardholder holds on to a copy in case a question comes up later.
Use the free template on this page: click Create My Document, answer a few simple questions, save your progress, finish on any device, then download and print the finished form.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
