Studio Queues Team · Last updated July 17, 2026
Commission refund policy guide: stage-based structures, deposit refundability, chargeback interactions, and artist-side cancellation clauses to include.
A commission refund policy is the specific clause artists are most often unsure how to write and most often wish they had written differently after a difficult transaction. It sits inside your terms of service, but it deserves its own careful thought because it is where money conversations happen when a commission does not end cleanly. This guide covers what a working refund policy addresses, the common stage-based refund structures artists use across the industry, the specific deposit-refundability question, and how the policy interacts with card processor chargeback rules. Everything below is written descriptively rather than prescriptively; this is educational overview material, not legal advice. Refund policy language interacts with contract law, consumer protection law, and platform payment rules in ways that vary by jurisdiction, and a qualified attorney should review your final policy before you post it publicly.
A working commission refund policy answers a specific set of scenarios that come up predictably in a commission practice. The scenarios themselves are consistent even if the exact language you use to address them varies. A working policy typically covers:
The refund policy is typically one clause inside a broader terms of service document. For the full ToS structure that a commission refund policy sits inside, see the full ToS template that a refund clause typically lives inside.
Most artist refund policies use a stage-based structure where the refundable percentage of the payment decreases as more work is completed. This mirrors the actual labor invested and gives both sides a clear framework. Common structures used across the industry:
The percentage-declining structure. A representative example: 100 percent of the balance (but not the deposit) is refundable before the sketch stage; 50 percent of the balance is refundable after sketch approval but before flat color; 25 percent is refundable after flat color but before final rendering; 0 percent is refundable at or after final rendering. Adjust the exact percentages and stages to your workflow.
The milestone-locked structure. Each milestone the client approves is non-refundable once approved, but any unpaid remaining milestones can be cancelled without penalty. This is the structure that pairs naturally with milestone payments; when the payment structure is staged, the refund structure follows the same logic. For how the payment structure and refund policy fit the same problem, see how milestone payments simplify the refund conversation.
The flat-tier structure. A single named refund percentage that applies at any stage before delivery, with a deposit that is always non-refundable. Simplest to communicate but less accurate to actual labor invested.
Each structure has tradeoffs. The percentage-declining structure is fair to both sides but requires the policy to name specific stages clearly. The milestone-locked structure is the cleanest when your payment structure already uses milestones. The flat-tier structure is simple but often leaves the artist under-compensated on late-stage cancellations or the client over-charged on early ones.
Whichever structure you choose, name the specific stages of your workflow so both sides know exactly where the piece is in the refund calculation. "After sketch approval" is a specific event both sides can point to. "After significant work has been done" is not, and disputes over ambiguity are avoidable with clearer language.
The deposit gets its own paragraph in most refund policies because it functions differently from the balance. Common industry practice treats the deposit as compensation for the slot held in the queue and for the intake, quoting, and initial preparation work you did before the client formally accepted. Most artist policies specify that deposits are non-refundable once work begins, and some specify non-refundable from the moment they are paid.
Reasons artists commonly make the deposit non-refundable:
Some artists offer a partial deposit refund if the client cancels within a very short window (24 to 48 hours) before any work has begun. This is a policy choice, not a requirement. Whatever your position, name it clearly in the policy so the deposit's refundability is not ambiguous. Attorney review is worth the fee here because language about non-refundable deposits interacts with consumer protection law in some jurisdictions in ways that can affect enforceability.
Your commission refund policy and the card processor's chargeback rules are two different things. Understanding the interaction matters.
Your refund policy governs the terms both you and the client agreed to at intake. It says when refunds happen, at what percentage, and under what conditions. It is enforceable between you and the client as a contract term (subject to jurisdiction and attorney review).
A card processor chargeback is initiated by the client through their card issuer, not through you. The processor evaluates the dispute based on its own rules and the evidence presented. Your written refund policy is one piece of evidence, but the processor's decision is not bound by your policy the way a contract would be.
Practical implications:
None of this replaces attorney review of your specific refund policy language. It is context for why the policy matters even when a chargeback is the actual mechanism the client uses.
The refund policy also needs to address artist-initiated cancellations, which most policies underweight. Reasons you might need to cancel include health, scope issues discovered after intake, client behavior that violates your terms of service, or a schedule conflict you did not foresee.
Common artist-side cancellation clauses specify that if the artist cancels before any work begins, all payments (including the deposit) are refunded. If the artist cancels partway through, refund is proportional to completed work retained by the client (or a partial refund with the artist keeping partial-work compensation). Some policies specify that if the cancellation is due to client behavior (abuse, violation of ToS, sensitive content requests outside the artist's stated scope), the deposit is retained.
Naming these cases is worth doing because clients sometimes assume any cancellation you initiate is a full refund; naming the specifics prevents that assumption becoming a dispute.
A commission refund policy addresses a specific set of scenarios (client cancellation before work, partway through, or after delivery; artist cancellation; ghosting; rejected delivery) with terms that are fair to both sides. Common structures use stage-based refund percentages or milestone-locked non-refundability. Deposits are typically non-refundable once work begins. Card processor chargebacks operate on rules separate from your policy, though a clear written policy the client agreed to is stronger evidence in a dispute than an assumed understanding.
All of this is educational overview material. Your specific refund policy language should be reviewed by a qualified attorney before you post it publicly, because the interaction between refund clauses and jurisdiction-specific consumer protection law is where a well-intentioned policy can create enforceability problems. The attorney fee is small relative to the cost of a badly-worded refund clause producing a dispute you cannot win.
If you want a workflow platform that supports click-to-accept ToS at intake, milestone-locked staged payouts that pair naturally with milestone-based refund policies, and timestamped message and transaction history for dispute defense, you can lock in 0% platform fees while founding artist spots are still open. The founding artist program keeps 0% platform fees active for as long as your premium subscription stays active, and only the first 500 spots are available. Payment processing fees (Stripe) still apply the same way they would on any platform.
