Q: Why was my credit card declined?

Answer: The first thing to know is that neither FileTime nor eFileManager ever declines an eFiling payment. The only party that can decline your credit card or debit card is the issuer. eFileManager uses PaymenTech to process credit and debit card payments so they report to us when a card has been declined.

There have been rare occasions when the communication link between eFileManager and PaymenTech has been compromised. Since eFileManager cannot provide the filing billing information to PaymenTech the result is a declined payment. This is very rare, however, and 99% of eFiling payment declines are for one of the following reasons.

1. Jurisdiction Does Not Accept American Express

   Many jurisdictions do not accept American Express. If your firm uses an American Express card this should probably be your first thought when a payment is declined.

   View (trial courts - appellate courts) a list of the eFiling jurisdictions and which credit cards are accepted by each.

   You will find instructions here if you need to add another credit card payment account to your firm account.

2. Exceeded the Credit Limit

   Exceeding the credit limit is especially easy with a debit card. If you keep a low balance in your bank account that backs the debit card, filing an original petition, for instance, could very easily cause your account to be overdrawn.

   That is because your account is charged the pre-authorization fee at the time the filing is received by eFileManager and then again the final filing fees after the clerk accepts the filing. The pre-authorization fees may not drop off your account for two or three days. This is especially true if you cancel a filing and resubmit it.

   If you have determined that the the jurisdiction not accepting an American Express card is not the issue, and the other issues below are not in play, call your credit card issuer and ask why they declined your card.

3. Credit Card Has Expired

   Your account will be declined if your card has expired. You cannot edit your existing payment account to update your expiration date. Follow these instructions to add a new payment account containing your new expiration date. On the same page on which you add a new payment account you will also be able to delete the expired account.

4. Credit Card Billing Address Has Changed

   Your account will also be declined if your payment address has changed. You cannot edit your existing payment account to update the billing address. Follow these instructions to add a new payment account containing the new billing address. On the same page on which you add a new payment account you will also be able to delete the expired account.

If you have determined that the above suggestions do not resolve your issue, call our customer support team at 800-658-1233 and we will help you get to the bottom of the issue.

But, since we do not save any of your credit card data and we do not conduct any of the credit card billing, we can only work through eFileManager to come up with a solution if the problem lies with them and not with your credit card.