Stripe must oblige by requests, from creditors or the government, to block payouts from Stripe to a user’s bank account if there is an active lien or levy placed on the legal entity. See below for how to get these blocks resolved.

Liens

A lien can be placed on a person or legal entity as a legal claim to secure payment of a debt or services. Stripe is obliged to act on liens it receives by blocking payouts from the user’s Stripe balance to their bank account, and in some cases, remitting funds back to the creditor who puts the lien in place. Liens apply to all Stripe accounts that have information which matches the lien. In the case of multiple competing liens, the creditors must agree on the order of repayment and communicate it to Stripe.

How to resolve a lien block

Stripe is unable to remove a payout block on an account until we have received an official lien release notice from the creditor who put the lien in place. The person or entity subject to the lien must work with this creditor (or their legal representative) to ensure the lien is resolved and released.

The creditor (or their legal representative) must provide Stripe with a signed copy of the lien release. Assuming there are no other competing blocks on the account, Stripe will re-enable payouts within 5 business days. The release must come from the creditor. You are responsible for ensuring the creditor sends the release form. Find the name of the creditor Stripe received the lien from by searching the account’s ID in your Dashboard under the Payouts paused due to lien notice.

Levies

A lien is a claim against property or funds to secure payment of a debt. In contrast, a levy is the actual seizure of property/funds to satisfy a debt. Levies are typically sent to Stripe by the government and we are obliged to act on them by blocking payouts from a Stripe account to a bank account and/or remitting funds to the relevant government agency. Levies apply to all Stripe accounts that have information which matches the levy. An entity can have multiple competing levies.

How to resolve a levy block

Once funds up to the amount specified in the levy have been remitted to the government agency and a release is sent by that government agency to llg-notices@stripe.com the levy will be resolved. Assuming there are no other competing blocks on the account, Stripe will re-enable payouts within 5 business days. The release must come from the government agency. You are responsible for ensuring they send the release form. Find the name of the agency Stripe received the levy from by searching the account’s ID in your Dashboard under the Payouts paused due to levy notice.