# Source: https://getlago.com/docs/guide/payments/payment-authorization.md

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://getlago.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Payment pre-authorization

> Learn how to validate payment methods before creating, upgrading, or downgrading customer subscriptions.

<Warning>
  **Stripe Integration Only**

  While Lago supports multiple payment providers, payment pre-authorization is currently only available with Stripe.
</Warning>

## Introduction

By default, when creating a subscription, Lago follows this process:

1. Creates and activates the subscription (unless scheduled for the future or it's a downgrade);
2. Generates the invoice asynchronously; and
3. Processes the payment asynchronously.

This means it's possible to create an active subscription for a customer even if the payment later fails. While this behavior is intentional, it may not be ideal for all use cases.

To address this, Lago now offers payment pre-authorization, **allowing you to verify the validity of a payment method for a specific amount before creating the subscription.**

<Info>
  **Important**: If the pre-authorization fails, the entire process is aborted and no subscription is created.
</Info>

## How pre-authorization Works

Pre-authorization creates a Payment Intent in Stripe to verify that the payment amount can be collected. When successful, the amount is temporarily held on the customer's account but not captured.

**Note**: The held funds are automatically released immediately after successful verification.

Pre-authorization can fail for several reasons:

* Invalid card details;
* Insufficient funds; and

Please note that if 3DS is required during pre-authorization, the card is considered valid and the subscription is created.

## Understanding the limitations

While pre-authorization helps reduce payment failures, it cannot guarantee successful invoice payment because:

1. Conditions may change between pre-authorization and actual payment:
   * Customer's account balance may decrease
   * Card may be blocked or expired
2. A bank might approve the pre-authorization but still require 3D Secure authentication for the actual payment

## Implementation guide

To implement pre-authorization, use the `POST /api/v1/subscriptions` endpoint with additional parameters. The standard `subscription` parameters remain unchanged.

You must manually specify the amount to authorize, as the final amount (including taxes) is only calculated during invoice generation.

### Request format

```json  theme={"dark"}
{
  "authorization": {
    "amount_cents": 100,    // Amount in cents (e.g., 100 = 1 EUR)
    "amount_currency": "EUR"
  },
  "subscription": {
    // Standard subscription parameters
  }
}
```

### Response format

```json  theme={"dark"}
{
  "status": 422,
  "error": "Unprocessable Entity",
  "code": "provider_error",
  "provider": {
    "code": "stripe_code"
  },
  "error_details": {
    "code": "error_code",
    "message": "error_message",
    "request_id": "request_id",
    "http_status": "http_status",
    "http_body": {
      // Complete Stripe error response
    }
  }
}
```