Order Statuses

Every order in WooCommerce has a status that indicates its current state. This document explains each order status, when it applies, and what action you may need to take.

Order statuses in WooCommerce

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Order statuses let you know how far along an order is, starting with “Pending payment” and ending with “Completed.” The following table describes each order status available in WooCommerce:

Status	Description	Notes
Pending payment	The order has been received, but no payment has been made. Pending payment orders are generally awaiting customer action.	If your customer needs a payment link to make payment, check the document on paying for orders.
On hold	The order is awaiting payment confirmation. Stock is reduced, but you need to confirm payment.	The On hold status is generally assigned to an order when a customer pays via an “offline” payment method that does not have immediate payment confirmation, like the BACS gateway. Offline payment methods require you to manually verify the payment was processed. Once you confirm payment has been received, you can change the status of the order. The On hold status may be temporarily assigned to orders if the customer paid using a delayed notification payment method, like SEPA Direct Debit. Depending on the payment gateway in use on your site, the order may move automatically from On hold to a different status once the payment clears. Check the order notes on the order and the documentation of your payment gateway for details. You may also see the On hold status if you use a payment gateway that has an option to separate the authorization and capture of funds. Check the order notes and your payment gateway’s documentation for details.
Processing	Payment has been received (paid), and the stock has been reduced. The order is awaiting fulfillment.	All orders require processing except those in which all products are both Virtual and Downloadable. This is the store owner’s or warehouse’s cue to ship the order and manually change the status to Completed.
Completed	Order fulfilled and complete.	Requires no further action.
Failed	The customer’s payment failed or was declined, and no payment has been successfully made.	Depending on the payment gateway and the payment confirmation method it uses, this status may not show immediately. Orders are marked Failed if the order was abandoned before payment was complete and the hold stock window expires without a response. Learn how to understand and fix failed orders in WooCommerce for more details.
Draft	Draft orders are created when customers start the checkout process while the block version of the checkout is in place.	Orders in the Draft status are only visible on the “Draft” sub-tab of the Orders overview page. See the Draft order status section below.
Canceled	The order was canceled by an admin or the customer.	When an order has the Canceled status, stock for line items on the order is returned to the store’s inventory if inventory management is enabled. An order with the Canceled status may need to be refunded. Check the order notes and your payment gateway’s documentation for details.
Refunded	Orders are automatically put in the Refunded status when an admin or shop manager has fully refunded the order’s value after payment.	If you use the Manual Refund option, it is possible for an order to reach this status without the customer’s funds having been returned. Check the documentation on refunding orders in WooCommerce for more details.

Visual diagram of order status flow

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This flow chart illustrates how an order moves through statuses from Pending payment to On hold, Failed, or Processing, then Completed, Canceled, or Refunded.

Draft order status

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In WooCommerce, the default status for newly created orders is Pending payment. This status applies to orders that have been submitted but are awaiting payment.

However, when you use the block-based checkout, WooCommerce creates an order as soon as the customer arrives on the checkout page. The Pending payment status does not accurately reflect the state of these orders, which may be incomplete or unsubmitted. To accommodate this, WooCommerce uses the Draft status until the customer submits the order.

Characteristics of draft orders

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Draft orders have the following characteristics:

• Creation: Initiated when a customer arrives on the checkout page using the block-based checkout.
• Content: Includes the customer’s items, selected shipping method, and provided address information.
• Updates: The draft order dynamically updates as the customer modifies information in the Cart or Checkout blocks.
• Stock reservation: Draft orders place a temporary 10-minute hold on the stock contained in the customer’s cart. This reservation ensures that the items are available for the customer to purchase during the checkout session, and is separate from the Hold Stock inventory setting.

Draft order cleanup

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WooCommerce runs a scheduled daily cleanup process that automatically deletes all draft orders that are no longer active. No action is required on your part.

Order statuses and emails

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WooCommerce sends specific emails to you and your customers when order statuses change. For example, you receive an email when a new order is placed, and your customer receives an email when the order is completed. To (descriptive link text describing the destination) about configuring these emails, see the email settings documentation.

Questions and support

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Do you still have questions and need assistance? 

• If you’re looking to extend the core functionality shown here, we recommend reviewing available extensions in the WooCommerce Marketplace.
• Need ongoing advanced support or a customization built for WooCommerce? Hire a Woo Agency Partner.
• Are you a developer building your own WooCommerce integration or extension? Check our Developer Resources.

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