Stripe test cards and test card numbers

Updated 2026-11-08

The standard Stripe test card is 4242424242424242, the Visa card that Stripe uses in its own examples. It gives a successful payment. Use any future expiry date, such as 12/34, and any three-digit CVC (four digits for American Express). Stripe's test cards work only with your test API keys in test mode or a sandbox, and they move no money. The tables below list Stripe's other dummy cards for each brand, country, decline, fraud check, dispute and 3D Secure case, with a copy button next to each number.

How to use Stripe test cards

1. Open a sandbox with the account picker in the Stripe Dashboard.
2. Use your test API keys, such as a secret key that starts with sk_test_, in every API call.
3. Enter a test card number in your payment form or in the Dashboard.
4. Use any future expiry date, such as 12/34.
5. Use any three-digit CVC, or any four digits for American Express.
6. Use any value for the other fields, such as name and postal code.

In test code, Stripe recommends a PaymentMethod ID such as pm_card_visa instead of a card number. If your server-side code uses card numbers, it might not be PCI compliant when you go live. For example:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u "sk_test_...:" \
  -d amount=500 \
  -d currency=gbp \
  -d payment_method=pm_card_visa

When you go live, replace the test publishable and secret keys with live keys. Live payments fail while your integration still uses test keys.

Stripe test card numbers by brand

Each of these cards gives a successful payment for its card brand.

Stripe sets cross-border fees by the country of the card's issuer. Cards issued outside the US, such as JCB and UnionPay, might show a cross-border fee even in test environments.

Stripe test cards by country

These cards give a successful payment from a card issued in that country. Stripe's documentation lists more than 60 countries. This is a selection:

Online payments in the European Economic Area need 3D Secure under Strong Customer Authentication rules. The European cards above succeed without authentication, so also test the 3D Secure cards.

Test cards for declined payments

These cards return a card error with the error code and decline code in the table, so you can test how your integration shows a failed payment.

To test the incorrect CVC card, enter a CVC. If you leave the CVC out, Stripe skips the CVC check, so it can't fail.

You can't attach these decline cards to a Customer. To test a saved card that fails later, use 4000000000000341: attaching it to a Customer succeeds, and charging that customer fails.

Errors from invalid card details

You don't need a special card to test invalid details. Enter a value that is wrong:

• invalid_expiry_month: a month such as 13.
• invalid_expiry_year: a year in the past, no more than 50 years back, such as 95.
• invalid_cvc: a two-digit CVC, such as 99.
• incorrect_number: a number that fails the Luhn check, such as 4242424242424241.

Test cards for fraud checks (Radar)

Stripe Radar can block payments that have a high risk level or fail verification checks. Blocked payments return a card error with the code fraud. Radar always blocks the first card in the table. Whether it blocks the others depends on your Radar settings.

Test cards for disputes

With the default account settings, each of these payments succeeds and is then disputed or flagged.

To end a test dispute, submit evidence with one of these values, as uncategorized_text in the API or in the "Additional information" field in the Dashboard:

• winning_evidence closes the dispute as won.
• losing_evidence closes the dispute as lost.
• escalate_inquiry_evidence turns an inquiry into a full dispute.

Test cards for 3D Secure

Only the cards in this section test 3D Secure on purpose. Other test cards can still start 3D Secure, but Stripe skips the authentication steps for them. 3D Secure redirects don't happen for payments you create in the Stripe Dashboard, so test these cards through your own checkout or the API.

Test cards for refunds and your balance

With most test cards, a refund succeeds at once and doesn't change after that. The first two cards below act like live refunds, which can change status later. The third card skips the pending balance.

Stripe test bank account numbers (ACH)

For US bank account payments (ACH Direct Debit), use the routing number 110000000 with one of these account numbers:

Before these payments complete, verify the test account with the microdeposit amounts 32 and 45, or the descriptor code SM11AA.

Mistakes to avoid when testing Stripe payments

• Testing with a real card. The Stripe Services Agreement doesn't allow testing in live mode with real card details. Use test keys and test cards.
• Reusing one card for every test. Stripe keeps some results on the card itself, so one test can change the next test that uses the same card. Use a different test card for each separate scenario.
• Leaving out the CVC or postal code. Stripe skips the CVC check when the CVC is empty, and the postal code check when the postal code is empty. The test cards for those checks can't fail unless you fill in the field.
• Testing 3D Secure in the Dashboard. Dashboard payments don't redirect to 3D Secure. Use your checkout or the API.
• Load testing in test mode. Test mode has stricter rate limits than live mode and returns 429 errors. Stripe has a separate load testing guide.

For other fake data to fill a test checkout, such as names and addresses, use the fake data generator or the random address generator.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Stripe, Test card numbers (Stripe test cards documentation), checked on 2026-11-08. Every card number and behaviour on this page comes from it.
• Stripe API reference, The Dispute object, for the uncategorized_text evidence field, checked on 2026-11-08.