You can find your receipt status in your account by going to your 'my receipts' page and selecting a receipt. The status of your claim is visible in the receipt summary:
| Refund Status | Meaning |
| Waiting for customs stamp | You still need to mark your receipt as ‘stamped by customs’. Select your receipt → upload a photo of your receipt with the customs stamp visible → click the blue button ‘stamped by customs’ |
| Waiting for traveller verification | We still need copies of your ID documents before we can continue processing your claim, or your ID documents are still being checked. You can upload your ID documents on your account page. Your ID documents will be checked within 24 hours. |
| Send original receipt by post | We need to receive your original receipt by post in order to process your claim. You can find our postal address here. |
| Waiting for visual validation | We have received and accepted your receipt. It’s now being checked by a member of our staff. Your receipt will be checked within 24 hours. |
| Waiting for double-check | Your receipt needs to be double-checked by a member of our staff. Your receipt will be checked within 24 hours. |
| Rejected | Your receipt can (currently) not be processed for a VAT refund claim. We will let you know why your receipt was rejected via email. The reject reason will also be visible under the receipt status in your account. Go to your 'my receipts' page and select the receipt to see the reject reason. |
| Waiting for shop validation | The store where you bought your items is new in our system or needs to be updated because it hasn't received a claim in a very long time. We’re in the process of contacting them to receive information about how to submit your claim to their administration. |
| Ready for invoicing | Your account and receipt details have been checked and approved. We’re ready to send your claim to the store. We send invoices for VAT refund claims to stores two (2) times a month. |
| Waiting for payment from shop | We’ve sent your claim to the store for processing. Most stores process claims within 30 business days. You can find your expected payment date in your account. |
| Paid by shop | The store has processed your claim and transferred the VAT to vatfree.com. You can now request payment. |
| Payout requested | We’ve received your payment request. The amount will be transferred to your account during our first upcoming payment-run. You’ll receive a notification via email when payment has been transferred to your account. |
| Fully paid | We’ve transferred your refund amount to your account. You should have received an email from us to let you know that we've paid. |
Depreciated | If your receipt has the status 'depreciated' this means your claim has expired in our system and can no longer be paid (due to bookkeeping and accounting reasons). Claims expire in our system if you do not request payment within 2 years after the store has processed your claim. Please keep a close eye on your email inbox and the receipt status in your account. As soon as a store has processed your claim we let you know automatically via email (and in your account) that you can log in to request payment. Please request payment on time so your claim does not expire. |