Payment method & the free first form

How the payment method gate works at signup, where to manage your card later, and how the complimentary first form is granted.

Every business workspace requires a credit card on file before it’s fully activated. In return, your first DS-160 submission is on us.

Why a card is required at signup

Two reasons:

  1. It lets us verify a real billing identity behind your agency workspace, which keeps the platform safe for all users.
  2. It’s how we comp your first form — when you add a card we grant a one-time complimentary credit to your workspace automatically.

You won’t be charged at signup. The only charge that happens during onboarding is the standard zero-dollar Stripe setup verification, and even that often appears as a temporary $0 authorization that resolves immediately.

Adding your card

Right after signup the workspace is in “pending payment” state. You’ll land on /workspaces/<id>/billing/setup, which renders a single Stripe Elements card form. Enter your card details, save, and the workspace is activated.

If you close the tab before saving a card, your next login redirects you back to the same screen. You can’t access workspace settings, client intake creation, or submissions until a card is on file.

The complimentary first form

The free credit is granted the first time you successfully add a card to a workspace. It is idempotent — swapping cards later (for example, when your old card expires) does not grant a second free form.

The credit is recorded on your workspace as stripeBilling.complimentaryFormGranted: true. Once flipped, it stays flipped.

Managing the card later

Once your workspace is active, manage the card from Workspace Settings → Billing:

  • View the saved card brand and last four digits
  • Remove the card (puts the workspace back into pending state and blocks new submissions)
  • Replace the card (clean swap; no free-form grant is re-applied)

How charging starts

Adding a card does not automatically subscribe you to a paid plan. Your dedicated success rep assigns a custom billing plan (tiered, fixed-monthly, or post-paid) once we understand your volume — see the business quickstart for the broader onboarding flow.

If you have questions about billing, reach out via the contact options on the Agencies page .