# Issue a refund (/limited-release/commerce-platform/accept-payments/issue-refund)



Refund a captured payment from a seller back to a buyer.

## Know before you code [#know-before-you-code]

> **Info:** To use this integration you must:
>
> * [**Contact us**](https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/contact-us?_ga=2.191334383.496491259.1730035904-2088268300.1721295590) to be an approved partner.
> * [**Onboard merchants**](/limited-release/commerce-platform/onboard-merchants/) before you begin this integration.
> * Inform your merchants of [PayPal's Seller Protection policy](https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/security/seller-protection), so they are aware of use cases that invalidate that protection, such as shipping to an address other than the one in the transaction confirmation.

## 1. Generate PayPal Auth Assertion header [#1-generate-paypal-auth-assertion-header]

Pass the [PayPal-Auth-Assertion](/api/rest/requests/#paypal-auth-assertion) and the [PayPal-Partner-Attribution-Id](/api/rest/requests/#paypal-partner-attribution-id) headers with the standard `Content-Type`, `Authorization`, and `PayPal-Request-ID` headers. In client-side JavaScript, the value of the `PayPal-Auth-Assertion` header can be generated as follows:

```javascript lineNumbers
// client-side JavaScript

function encodeObjectToBase64(object) {
  const objectString = JSON.stringify(object);
  return window.btoa(objectString);
}

const clientId = "CLIENT-ID";
const sellerPayerId = "SELLER-PAYER-ID"; // preferred
// const sellerEmail = "SELLER-ACCOUNT-EMAIL"; // use instead of payer-id if required

const header = {
  alg: "none"
};
const encodedHeader = encodeObjectToBase64(header);

const payload = {
  iss: clientId,
  payer_id: sellerPayerId
  // email: sellerEmail
};
const encodedPayload = encodeObjectToBase64(payload);

const jwt = `${encodedHeader}.${encodedPayload}.`; // json web token
console.log(`Paypal-Auth-Assertion=${jwt}`);
```

> **Info:** **Note:** The token contains two period (.) characters, which are required according to the JSON web token structure.

#### Modify the code [#modify-the-code]

Copy the code and modify it as follows:

* Use the client ID of the platform or marketplace from the PayPal Developer dashboard for `clientId`.
* In the given example, the `sellerPayerId` is the payer ID of the receiving seller's PayPal account. You can also use `email` instead of `payer_id` and supply the email address of the seller's PayPal account.

Example functions to generate the `PayPal-Auth-Assertion` header in other programming environments:

#### Node.js [#nodejs]

```javascript lineNumbers
// Node.js

function encodeObjectToBase64(object) {
  const objectString = JSON.stringify(object);
  return Buffer
    .from(objectString)
    .toString("base64");
}

const clientId = "CLIENT-ID";
const sellerPayerId = "SELLER-PAYER-ID"; // preferred
// const sellerEmail = "SELLER-ACCOUNT-EMAIL"; // use instead if payer-id unknown

const header = {
  alg: "none"
};
const encodedHeader = encodeObjectToBase64(header);

const payload = {
  iss: clientId,
  payer_id: sellerPayerId
  // email: sellerEmail
};
const encodedPayload = encodeObjectToBase64(payload);

const jwt = `${encodedHeader}.${encodedPayload}.`; // json web token
console.log(`Paypal-Auth-Assertion=${jwt}`);
```

#### Java [#java]

```java lineNumbers
// Java

import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;

public class Base64Encode {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    String clientId = "CLIENT-ID";
    String sellerPayerId = "SELLER-PAYER-ID"; // preferred
    // String sellerEmail = "SELLER-ACCOUNT-EMAIL"; // use instead if payer-id unknown

    String header = "{\"alg\":\"none\"}";
    String payload =
      "{\"iss\":\"" + clientId + "\",\"payer_id\":\"" + sellerPayerId + "\"}";
    // "{"iss":"" + clientId + "","email":"" + sellerEmail + ""}";

    byte[] encodedHeader = Base64.encodeBase64(header.getBytes());
    byte[] encodedPayload = Base64.encodeBase64(payload.getBytes());

    String jwt = new String(encodedHeader) +
      "." +
      new String(encodedPayload) +
      "."; // json web token
    System.out.println("Paypal-Auth-Assertion=" + jwt);
  }
}
```

## 2. Make refund request [#2-make-refund-request]

To refund an order, use the `/v2/payments/captures/capture_id/refund` endpoint. The `capture_id` can be read from the `purchase_units/payments/captures/id` field of the order you want to refund.

#### Modify the code [#modify-the-code-1]

Copy the code and modify it as follows:

* Replace `ACCESS-TOKEN` with your access token.
* Replace `YOUR-PAYPAL-REQUEST-ID` with your PayPal request ID.
* Replace `PAYPAL-AUTH-ASSERTION` with your PayPal auth assertion generated from Step 1.
* Replace `BN-CODE` with your [PayPal attribution ID](/api/rest/requests/#paypal-partner-attribution-id) to receive revenue attribution.To find your BN code, see [Code and Credential Reference.](/platforms/create-account/#link-bncode)

#### Fully refund an order [#fully-refund-an-order]

For a full refund, include an empty payload in the JSON request body.

```bash lineNumbers
curl -v -X POST https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/payments/captures/2GG279541U471931P/refund
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN"
  -H "PayPal-Request-Id: YOUR-PAYPAL-REQUEST-ID"
  -H "PayPal-Auth-Assertion: PAYPAL-AUTH-ASSERTION"
  -H "PayPal-Partner-Attribution-Id: BN-CODE"
  -d '{}'
```

#### Partially refund an order [#partially-refund-an-order]

For a partial refund, include an amount object in the JSON request body. You can also issue multiple partial refunds up to the total captured amount. If you are unsure how much captured amount is remaining to be refunded after one or more partial refunds, make the API call with the total captured amount or leave the amount field blank. The API will automatically calculate and issue the refund for the remaining value.

```bash lineNumbers
curl -v -X POST https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v2/payments/captures/2GG279541U471931P/refund
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN"
-H "PayPal-Request-Id: YOUR-PAYPAL-REQUEST-ID"
-H "PayPal-Auth-Assertion: PAYPAL-AUTH-ASSERTION"
-H "PayPal-Partner-Attribution-Id: BN-CODE"
-d '{
  "amount": {
    "value": "10.99",
    "currency_code": "USD"
  }
}'
```

#### Step result [#step-result]

A successful request returns the `HTTP 201 Created` status code. If you didn't receive a response, making the same API call without changing the request should result in an `HTTP 200 OK` with a confirmation of the refund.

## Next steps [#next-steps]

> **Info:** [Refund Resource](/api/payments/v2/captures-refund)
>
> For more information about the refunds API, see the Payment API.

> **Info:** [Integration Checklist](/platforms/integration-checklist)
>
> Go through the integration checklist before you go live.