Testing Fresh

Simulate payments to test your integration. Test your integration in a sandbox — an isolated test environment where transactions don't move real funds.

How to use test cards

When testing, use your test API keys (sk_test_... and pk_test_...) in all API calls.

Do not use real card details in test mode. Use only the test card numbers below.

Testing interactively

In the Dashboard or any payment form:

• Card number: 4242 4242 4242 4242
• Expiry: any future date, e.g. 12/34
• CVC: any 3 digits (4 for Amex)

Testing in code

Use PaymentMethod tokens instead of card numbers:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u "sk_test_YOUR_KEY:" \
  -d amount=500 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d payment_method=pm_card_visa \
  -d "payment_method_types[]=card"

Test cards by brand

See the full table in Quick Reference → Test Cards.

Most commonly used:

Brand	Number	CVC	Date
Visa	4242424242424242	Any 3 digits	Any future date
Mastercard	5555555555554444	Any 3 digits	Any future date
American Express	378282246310005	Any 4 digits	Any future date
Discover	6011111111111117	Any 3 digits	Any future date

Decline scenarios

Test specific decline codes by using these cards:

Scenario	Card number	Code
Generic decline	4000000000000002	card_declined
Insufficient funds	4000000000009995	insufficient_funds
Lost card	4000000000009987	lost_card
Stolen card	4000000000009979	stolen_card
Expired card	4000000000000069	expired_card
Incorrect CVC	4000000000000127	incorrect_cvc
Processing error	4000000000000119	processing_error
Blocked by Radar	4000000000000101	card_declined (Radar)

3D Secure test cards

Scenario	Card number
3DS required	4000002760003184
3DS supported but not required	4000002500003155
3DS authentication fails	4000008400001629
3DS — card not enrolled	4000008400001280

PaymentMethod tokens for test code

Token	Card
pm_card_visa	Visa (succeeds)
pm_card_mastercard	Mastercard (succeeds)
pm_card_amex	American Express
pm_card_visa_debit	Visa debit
pm_card_chargeDeclined	Generic decline
pm_card_chargeDeclinedInsufficientFunds	Insufficient funds
pm_card_threeDSecure2Required	Requires 3DS2

Non-card payment method testing

Each payment method has its own test values. Examples:

ACH / US bank accounts:

• Routing: 110000000
• Account: 000123456789 (success), 000111111116 (fail)

SEPA Direct Debit:

• IBAN: DE89370400440532013000

iDEAL, Bancontact, etc.:

• Use test mode — these methods always succeed in sandbox.

Testing webhooks locally

# Forward events to your local server
stripe listen --forward-to localhost:3000/webhooks

# Trigger specific events
stripe trigger payment_intent.succeeded
stripe trigger customer.subscription.created
stripe trigger invoice.payment_failed

Simulate specific charge outcomes

Stripe provides magic amounts for specific test behaviors:

Amount	Behavior
5000 (50.00)	Succeeds
4000 (40.00)	Attaches to customer without charging
9991 (99.91)	Always declines
9992 (99.92)	Declines with insufficient_funds
9993 (99.93)	Declines with lost_card

Rate limits in testing

Don't use sandbox environments for load testing — you may hit rate limits. For load testing strategies, see the Stripe rate limits documentation.

Moving to live mode

When you're ready:

1. Replace sk_test_... with sk_live_...
2. Replace pk_test_... with pk_live_...
3. Register live webhook endpoints (sandbox webhooks don't fire in live mode)
4. Re-create any Products, Prices, and Coupons — test objects aren't usable in live mode