Free Credit Card
Authorization Form
The form a customer signs so you can charge their card without them standing in front of you. Use it for a deposit, for a finished job, or for recurring work such as a maintenance plan. Grab the PDF, Excel, or Google Sheets version below.
No signup required. Print it, fill it in, then get it signed.
4500 Commerce Blvd, Dallas, TX 75201
Work order #: WO‑2026‑0418 | Card on file: Visa ending 4242
$6,400
⭐ 4.8 Stars
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What a Credit Card Authorization Form Actually Does
The customer writes down their card details, states what you are allowed to charge, and then signs. So from that point you have a written record that the cardholder agreed to the charge. A merchant must get the cardholder’s express informed consent before it stores a card for a future charge. It must also keep that record for the life of the agreement.
Deposit before you mobilize
You signed the estimate on Tuesday, but the crew does not roll until Monday. So the form lets you take the deposit on Wednesday, rather than driving back across town with a card reader.
Charge on completion, no site visit
Rental property, second home, owner who works days. You finish, you send the invoice, then you charge the card already on file. So no chasing a check for three weeks.
Recurring maintenance billing
Quarterly gutter cleaning, monthly pool service, a seasonal HVAC plan. One signature covers the whole schedule, so you are not re-asking every quarter.
Quoting the job that this form gets paid for? Turn a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds with SimplyWise Cost Estimator →
Field by Field: What to Collect and Why
Every box on the form earns its place. So here is what each one is for, and why.
Besides the form itself, pair it with the paperwork the charge references. For example, the contractor invoice template and the general estimate template both carry a number you can drop straight into the form.
How to Fill Out a Credit Card Authorization Form in 5 Steps
Step 1: Fill in your side first
Put your business name, address and phone at the top before you hand the page over. Also add the invoice or work order number the charge belongs to. A customer who can match the form to a job signs it faster. A bank that asks questions later can match it too.
Step 2: Let the cardholder write their own details
Next, the cardholder fills in their name as it appears on the card, the billing address, and the card number. Do not copy it off a photo they texted you, however tempting that is. Their handwriting on the page is part of what makes the form worth having.
Step 3: Tick one time or recurring, then state the numbers
First, a one time authorization needs the amount and the date you plan to run it. A recurring authorization needs more. Specifically, state the amount or a ceiling, the frequency, the start and end dates, and how the customer cancels. So never leave the amount box open.
Step 4: Get the signature, the printed name and the date
All three, every time. A squiggle with no printed name underneath is hard to attach to a person. Likewise, an undated form cannot be tied to the job. Finally, hand the customer a copy of the page they just signed.
Step 5: Run the charge, then secure the paper
Key the charge into your terminal or your processor the same day. Then deal with the page. After all, a sheet carrying a full card number does not live in the truck. Not on a clipboard either, and never in a text thread. The next section covers where it goes.
One Time Versus Recurring Authorization
A recurring authorization, however, carries a much longer list of things you have to spell out.
| What the form states | One time | Recurring |
|---|---|---|
| Description of the work | Required | Required |
| Amount, or how the amount is worked out | Required | Required |
| Maximum you may take in any one charge | Same as the amount | Write it in |
| Fixed dates or intervals the charges run on | One date | Required |
| End date of the agreement, if it has one | Not needed | Required |
| Cancellation and refund terms, and when cancellation rights end | Required | Required |
| A simple way for the customer to cancel the schedule | Not needed | Required |
| How you will tell them if the terms change | Not needed | Required |
Specifically, the Required column follows the disclosure list Visa publishes in its own rules document for agreements that store a card for future transactions, read on 14 September 2026. The full list is in Visa tables 5-20 and 5-21, cited in the sources note at the foot of this page.
Write the cancellation line in plain words
Visa requires three things of a merchant running recurring charges. A simple cancellation procedure. The fixed dates or intervals the charges will run on. And at least 7 days notice by email or another agreed method before the charge that follows a trial, introductory or promotional period. For example, the customer may cancel by calling or emailing your office. Anything received before a stated cutoff stops the next charge.
Build the maintenance plan quote the authorization pays for →
Handling the Card Number Safely Once the Form Is Signed
Now, this is the part contractors get wrong. A signed page with a full card number on it is a liability sitting in your cab. So treat it the way you would treat a customer’s house key.
The form has no security code box, on purpose
Visa’s published rules are direct here. A merchant must not request the card security code on any written form, so this template does not carry a box for one. Take the code verbally when you key the charge. Never write it down.
Better still, never hold the number
Payment processors publish a hosted form or a vault. Instead, it stores the card on their side and hands you a token. So use it, and the full number never touches your paperwork at all.
Process it, then destroy the copy
But if you do take a paper form, run the charge and keep the signed record. Shred or black out the full card number once the charge clears. Otherwise, storing it for convenience is how a number walks out of the truck.
Do not send it in the open
No card numbers by text message, no photos of a filled form in a group chat, no plain email attachment. Visa’s rules also bar a merchant from making a cardholder use a postcard or similar device. In short, card data should never travel in plain view.
One person handles it
So on a small crew, decide who takes signed forms and where they live. A locked drawer in the office beats a folder that rides in three different trucks.
SimplyWise is where the estimate, the invoice and the job live. The charge itself runs through your own payment processor. See how the estimate to invoice side works →
Worked Example: Taking a Deposit on a Kitchen Job
Apex Construction has a signed estimate for a kitchen remodel. The contract calls for a deposit before material ordering. Meanwhile, the homeowner works days and will not be at the house when the crew starts. So here is the form, filled.
The filled page, block by block
- Merchant block. Apex Construction LLC, 118 Foundry Row, Dallas TX 75212, office line printed underneath.
- Cardholder block. Marisol Reyes, billing address 4500 Commerce Blvd, Dallas TX 75201, mobile and email filled in by her.
- Card block. Visa ticked, card number, expiration and billing ZIP written by the cardholder. There is no security code box to fill.
- Authorization block. One time ticked. Amount $6,400. Charge date 18 April 2026.
- What it covers. Deposit against work order WO‑2026‑0418, kitchen remodel, cabinet and countertop material order.
- Signature block. Signature, printed name Marisol Reyes, date 17 April 2026. She also keeps a copy.
- After the charge. Apex keys the charge on 18 April and takes the security code by phone. Then it blacks out all but the last four digits on the office copy.
Figures in this example are illustrative, so they only show how the boxes are filled. They are not a price for kitchen work. Price the job with the construction calculators before you write a deposit number on anything.
What Is Actually in the Files Above
So the PDF, the Excel workbook and the Google Sheets version all carry the same blocks in the same order.
Merchant block
Business name, business address, business phone, email and a billing contact.
Cardholder block
Name as printed on the card, billing address, city, state, ZIP, phone, email.
Card block
Card type checkboxes for Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover. Then card number, expiration and the billing ZIP the card checks against. There is no security code box. Two printed lines say why, and tell whoever holds the page to store it securely and destroy it after the charge.
Authorization block
A one time amount, or a recurring option with frequency, start date, end date and a charge ceiling. Next comes a line for what the charge covers. That is, it ties to an invoice or work order number. Finally, the authorization paragraph closes the block.
Signature block
Signature, printed name, date and relationship to the account.
Closing note
A keep this form secure line at the foot of the page, so the reminder travels with the paper.
Of course, the invoice number you write in the authorization block has to come from somewhere. Raise the estimate and the invoice in SimplyWise Cost Estimator →
Free Template vs. Running It in the App
Free
- Merchant, cardholder, card and authorization blocks.
- PDF, Excel, Google Sheets.
- One time and recurring options on one page.
- You store and secure the paper.
SimplyWise App
- Photo to itemized estimate in about 6 seconds.
- Material pricing pulled for your ZIP code.
- Estimates and invoices carrying the number this form references.
- Client signs to approve the quote.
- $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, 7-day free trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Getting the authorization right
Handling the card and disputes
More Free Templates for Contractors
Contractor Invoice Template
The bill the authorization form charges against, with phases, materials and payment terms built in.
General Contractor Estimate
All purpose contractor estimate for remodels, additions, and multi trade projects.
Construction Bid Template
Competitive bid template with scope, exclusions, alternates, and commercial terms built in.
Sources for the rules quoted on this page
Three things on this page trace to one document. First, the disclosure list for stored credential and recurring agreements. Second, the cancellation and notice requirements. Third, the rule against requesting a card security code on a written form. All three sit in the Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, public edition dated 18 April 2026. Specifically, see tables 5‑20 and 5‑21 and section 5.4.3.1, read on 14 September 2026. Likewise, the vault and hosted form point follows Stripe’s own published developer documentation on saving a payment method, read the same day. Nothing here is legal advice. In any case, card network rules reach you through your own processor agreement. So check what your processor requires.
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