Surcharge Signage and Disclosure Rules at the Point of Sale

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This page is general information, not legal advice, and it is current as of September 17, 2026. It summarizes Visa's U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q&A, the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (18 April 2026), and the state statutes and agency guidance listed at the end. Mastercard, American Express and Discover set their own rules, so check each network's current rules. Confirm your signs with your processor and your own counsel before you start surcharging. CELER Merchants is an independent merchant services agent, not a law firm or a processor.

What Visa requires everywhere in the US

Visa's Q&A says a merchant that surcharges must disclose the surcharge as a merchant fee and, for both in-store and online transactions, clearly alert consumers at the point of entry, at the point of sale or transaction, and on every receipt, where it must appear as a separate charge. Visa also requires at least 30 days' notice to your acquirer before you start, limits surcharging to credit cards, and caps the amount at your merchant discount rate for that card or 3%, whichever is lowest.

What the rule text itself says, section by section

The Q&A summarises; the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (18 April 2026) are where the obligations sit, and they are more specific than most signage advice admits. Section 5.5.1.5 requires the merchant to notify its acquirer in writing at least 30 calendar days before publicly announcing an intention to impose a credit card surcharge, or 30 calendar days before first assessing one, whichever is earlier, so the clock can start at the announcement rather than the first transaction. Section 5.5.1.7 says a merchant may surcharge at the brand level, meaning the same surcharge on all Visa credit card transactions regardless of issuer or product type, or at the product level, meaning the same surcharge on a particular Visa credit product type regardless of issuer, and must not do both. It also requires the surcharge to be included in the transaction amount and identified within the transaction data, which is a processor configuration question rather than a signage one. Section 5.5.1.8 sets the US maximum at 3.00%, caps a brand-level surcharge at the merchant's Visa Surcharge Cap, and caps a product-level surcharge at the merchant's Visa Credit Card Surcharge Cap less the debit card cost of acceptance. Section 5.5.1.9 is the disclosure rule, and it names three things the point-of-transaction disclosure must include: the exact amount or percentage of the surcharge; a statement that the surcharge is assessed by the merchant and applies only to credit transactions; and, in the US region and US territories, a statement that the surcharge amount is not greater than the applicable merchant discount rate for Visa credit card transactions at that merchant. A sign that names a percentage but omits the second and third statements is short of the rule.

Visa specifies the type size, in points

This lives in a table rather than in the summary documents, so most merchants never see it. Table 5-4 of the Visa rules gives, for each transaction type, where the point-of-entry and point-of-transaction disclosures go and the minimum type size for each. In every case the rule adds the same qualifier: no smaller or less prominent than surrounding text. That qualifier can be the stricter half. A checkout page whose body copy runs at 14 points is not satisfied by a 10-point surcharge notice, because the notice would be less prominent than the text around it.

Two requirements that are not about signs at all

The same section carries two obligations that signage checklists routinely miss. First, for an electronic commerce transaction, a mail or phone order transaction and an unattended transaction, the cardholder must be given the opportunity to cancel the transaction after the surcharge is disclosed. A checkout flow that reveals the surcharge on a final confirmation screen with no way back fails this even when the type size is right. Second, in the US region and US territories, merchants whose acceptance devices offer cardholder choice between credit and debit buttons must ensure both that debit card transactions are not assessed a credit card surcharge and that it is made clear to the cardholder that surcharges are not permitted on debit transactions regardless of which button the cardholder presses. That is a terminal prompt and a staff-training issue, and it is a common way a compliant sign ends up sitting above a non-compliant transaction.

State disclosure rules

Where a state rule and a network rule differ, follow both, which usually means the stricter one. The table covers the states where our guides found specific notice rules.

States where the sign cannot fix it

In Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, credit card surcharges are prohibited, so no sign makes one compliant. Florida's statute banning surcharges is still published although a federal appeals court held it unconstitutional in 2015; check current status with counsel before surcharging there. In California, a card fee customers cannot avoid, for example because you only take cards, has to be included in the advertised price under SB 478.

A sign checklist

1. Give your acquirer written notice at least 30 calendar days before you announce or start, whichever comes first. 2. Put a notice at the entrance or on the home page, and another at the register or checkout page, at or above the type sizes in Table 5-4. 3. State the exact amount or percentage, add that the surcharge is assessed by you and applies only to credit transactions, and add that it is not greater than your merchant discount rate for Visa credit card transactions. 4. Use Colorado's exact statutory wording in Colorado. 5. In New York, post the card price itself, not only a fee notice. 6. Show the surcharge as its own line on every receipt. 7. For phone orders in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Connecticut (for discounts), say it out loud before you charge. 8. Restaurants in New Jersey: put it on the menu too. 9. Give online, phone and unattended customers a way to cancel after the surcharge is disclosed. 10. Never apply the surcharge to debit or prepaid cards, make sure the credit and debit buttons cannot produce one, and keep the amount at or below your cost.