# What does stripe.refund.created prove?

> Prove that Stripe holds a refund for the charge. Version 1.0.0, certification Community. Every condition and timing rule of the signed Stripe skill.

Canonical: https://provely.sh/verify/stripe/stripe.refund.created  
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05  
Skill version: 0.1.0  
Certification: community  

**Prove that Stripe holds a refund for the charge. The created level proves that the Refund object exists at the provider with the requested amount and charge. It does not prove that money moved.**

*Contract identity.*

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Contract id | `stripe.refund.created` |
| Version | `1.0.0` |
| Hash | `0540b6160ff287df` |
| Completion level | `created` |
| Certification | Community |
| Skill | [Stripe 0.1.0](/verify/stripe) |
| Valid for provider API versions | `2026-08-26` |

## What is the intent?

Request a refund of the charge.

## What is the subject and the action?

| Member | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Subject type | `stripe.refund` |
| Subject identity | refund_id = `$action.result.id` |
| Canonical effect | `money.refund` |
| Provider operation | `POST /v1/refunds` |
| Idempotency | idempotency_key through `Idempotency-Key`, retry is safe |

## How does the evidence correlate with this operation?

| Strategy | Assurance | Keys | Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `resource_id` | strong | refund_id from `$action.result.id` | yes |
| `idempotency_key` | strong | idempotency_key from `$operation.id` | no |
| `fingerprint` | weak | charge from `$input.charge`; amount from `$input.amount` | no |

## Which evidence does the contract require?

Minimum evidence level `E2`. An independent channel is required. Minimum channels: 1.

| Channel | Level | Independence | Verifier | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `refund_readback` | E2 | provider readback | `http` | Read the refund from the provider. The http verifier returns the parsed Refund object, so a condition path is $observed.refund_readback.status. |
| `refund_created_events` | E3 | provider event | `webhook` | The refund.created events for the charge since the operation started. The webhook verifier returns {events, count, latest, earliest, types, duplicates_dropped}. A count above one shows a second refund. |

## Which conditions must all hold for VERIFIED?

| Condition | Meaning | Path | Operator | Expected | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `refund_present` | The provider holds the refund with the returned id. | `$observed.refund_readback.id` | `eq` | `$action.result.id` | `refund_readback` |
| `refund_state_known` | The refund shows a live state of the refund lifecycle. | `$observed.refund_readback.status` | `in` | `["pending","requires_action","succeeded"]` | `refund_readback` |
| `refund_created_in_window` | The provider created the refund after the operation started. Stripe writes created in seconds since the epoch. | `$observed.refund_readback.created` | `time_after` | `$operation.created_at` | `refund_readback` |

## Which conditions give CONTRADICTED?

| Condition | Class | Reason | Path | Operator | Expected |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `refund_on_wrong_charge` | wrong subject | The refund belongs to a different charge. | `$observed.refund_readback.charge` | `ne` | `$input.charge` |
| `refund_amount_mismatch` | wrong amount | The provider refunded a different amount. | `$observed.refund_readback.amount` | `ne` | `$input.amount` |
| `refund_predates_operation` | pre existing state | The refund is older than the operation. It proves nothing. | `$observed.refund_readback.created` | `time_before` | `$operation.created_at` |
| `duplicate_refund_present` | duplicate side effect | Stripe created more than one refund for the charge since the operation started. Do not retry. | `$observed.refund_created_events.count` | `gt` | `1` |

## Which observed states map to a verdict before completion?

| Rule | Match | Verdict | Reason |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `terminal_failure` | `$observed.refund_readback.status` in `["failed"]` | FAILED | The provider reports a failed refund. |
| `canceled` | `$observed.refund_readback.status` eq `"canceled"` | CONTRADICTED | The refund was canceled. No funds will move. |

## How long does the runtime observe?

| Timing member | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Initial delay | 1000 ms |
| Poll interval | 5000 ms |
| Backoff | exponential factor 2, max 60000 ms |
| Maximum attempts | 40 |
| Timeout | 604800000 ms |
| Stale read window | 20000 ms |
| On timeout | UNVERIFIABLE (`evidence_unavailable_before_timeout`), escalated to a person |

## Where do these rules come from?

- `stripe.openapi#/paths/~1v1~1refunds/post`: [stripe.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stripe/openapi/master/openapi/spec3.json), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.openapi#/components/schemas/refund/properties/status`: [stripe.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stripe/openapi/master/openapi/spec3.json), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.docs.refunds#refunds/p1`: [stripe.docs.refunds](https://docs.stripe.com/refunds), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.openapi#/components/schemas/refund/properties/id`: [stripe.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stripe/openapi/master/openapi/spec3.json), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.openapi#/paths/~1v1~1refunds~1{refund}/get/responses/200`: [stripe.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stripe/openapi/master/openapi/spec3.json), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.docs.refunds#refunds/refund-status/p1`: [stripe.docs.refunds](https://docs.stripe.com/refunds), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.docs.refunds#refunds/refund-status/p2`: [stripe.docs.refunds](https://docs.stripe.com/refunds), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.docs.refunds#refunds/refund-status/p3`: [stripe.docs.refunds](https://docs.stripe.com/refunds), retrieved 2026-09-05
- `stripe.openapi#/components/schemas/refund/properties/created`: [stripe.openapi](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stripe/openapi/master/openapi/spec3.json), retrieved 2026-09-05

### Can stripe.refund.created return VERIFIED from the action response alone?

No. The minimum evidence level is E2. The action response is E1. The completion conditions read `refund_readback`.

### What happens after the timeout?

The verdict is UNVERIFIABLE with the reason `evidence_unavailable_before_timeout`. The operation goes to a person for review.

## Read next

- [Read the Stripe verification page](https://provely.sh/verify/stripe)
- [Read the stripe.refund.succeeded contract](https://provely.sh/verify/stripe/stripe.refund.succeeded)
- [Read what a completion contract contains](https://provely.sh/contracts)
- [Read what a receipt proves](https://provely.sh/receipts)