How to Fill Out and Submit the BBB Complaint Form: Steps and Limits

To file a BBB complaint, go to bbb.org/file-a-complaint, describe your dispute with the business, and say what you want them to do about it. The Better Business Bureau forwards your complaint to the company, gives them 14 days to respond, and generally closes the case within about 30 days. Filing is free, and the complaint, along with its outcome, sits on the business’s public BBB profile for three years.¹

Two Ways to File

You can submit online or by mail.

Online. Use the form at bbb.org/file-a-complaint. It walks you through identifying the business, describing the problem, and choosing an outcome, and it sends you an immediate confirmation.
By mail. Write to the BBB office that covers the business’s location. Include your name, address, and phone number; the company’s name, address, and phone number; a summary of the issue; and the resolution you want. Find the correct local office through the directory at bbb.org.

Most people file online because it’s faster, but the mail route is there if you prefer paper.

What to Gather Before You Start

There is no minimum dollar amount. The BBB accepts complaints regardless of the transaction size.² The more specific your filing, the easier it is for the business to pull up your account and respond. Have these ready:

The business’s identity. Full legal name, physical address, and website. If the BBB can’t match the complaint to the right company, the case stalls.
Your contact details. A working email, phone number, and mailing address. The BBB uses these for status updates and closure notices.
Transaction details. Order or invoice numbers, contract references, and the date of purchase or service.
Supporting documents. Receipts, screenshots of correspondence, warranty paperwork, and photos of any defective product. Attaching them as you go is easier than hunting for files while the form is open.

Writing the Description and Choosing a Resolution

The form gives you a text box to explain what happened. Stick to facts: what the business promised, what you actually received, and the gap between the two. Give dates. If you called customer service three times, say so and note when. If a product arrived damaged and the seller refused a return, describe the damage and attach the photos.

After the description, you pick a desired resolution: a refund, a replacement, a repair, a billing adjustment, or a specific corrective action. Choose something concrete. “I want a refund of $85 for the defective item” tells the business exactly what will close the case. “I want them to do better” gives them nothing to act on.

What Happens After You Submit

The BBB processes your filing within two business days. Staff review it against the acceptance guidelines and confirm the business can be identified, then forward everything you submitted to the company.¹

The business has 14 calendar days from the filing date to respond. If nothing comes back, the BBB sends a second request. When the business replies, you get a chance to review the answer and say whether it resolves the problem. Start to finish, most cases wrap up in about 30 calendar days.¹

At closure, the BBB assigns one of five statuses:¹

Resolved. You confirmed the issue was handled to your satisfaction.
Answered. The business addressed the complaint, but you either didn’t accept the response or didn’t tell the BBB whether you were satisfied.
Unresolved. The business responded but didn’t make a good-faith effort to fix the problem.
Unanswered. The business never responded.
Unpursuable. The BBB couldn’t locate the business.

All five statuses appear on the business’s public BBB profile and stay there for three years from the filing date.¹

If the Business Ignores It or You Reject the Response

Silence isn’t free for the company. Failure to respond can hurt its BBB letter grade, because responsiveness is a core element of the BBB’s accreditation and reporting standards, and accredited businesses that stay silent can lose accreditation entirely.¹ For you, a non-response closes the case as “Unanswered” and puts that label on the public profile for three years. It doesn’t produce a refund, but it does create a permanent record other customers will see.

If the business responds and you’re not satisfied, a case manager reviews the situation. The manager may request more information from either side, ask the business to respond again, or offer mediation or arbitration. When the business has addressed the core issues but you still object, the case may close as “Answered” rather than “Resolved.”

For disputes that can’t be settled through back-and-forth, the BBB offers binding arbitration under a formal set of rules. You don’t need a lawyer, though you can bring one. A binding arbitration decision is final and carries the same legal weight as a court judgment, so both sides are locked into the arbitrator’s ruling.³

Complaints the BBB Won’t Accept

The BBB handles marketplace disputes between consumers and businesses. Anything outside that lane gets rejected, so check the exclusion list before you invest time in the form:²

Government agencies, unless the agency operates a commercial service with a buyer-seller relationship.
Employer-employee disputes. Wage disagreements, wrongful termination, and workplace grievances go through your state labor board or the courts.
Private individuals. Someone selling a personal car through a classified ad isn’t a business.
Criminal matters. Allegations of theft, assault, or vandalism belong with law enforcement. The BBB doesn’t make criminal findings.
Personal injury claims. Compensation for bodily harm or emotional distress is a matter for the courts. The BBB will still address a related customer-service issue like a refund, but it won’t award injury damages.
Challenges to existing law, such as a rate set by regulation. A billing error under that rate is still fair game.
Cases already in litigation, or matters already decided by a court or arbitrator.

Vehicle Warranty and Lemon Law Disputes

Car problems that fall under the manufacturer’s warranty have a separate track called BBB AUTO LINE, run by BBB National Programs. It handles warranty disputes, lemon law claims, and related manufacturer conflicts through mediation and arbitration, free to the vehicle owner.⁴

Your vehicle’s manufacturer must participate in the program, and the problem must be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. State lemon laws may affect eligibility. To file, you’ll need the owner’s name and address, the Vehicle Identification Number, the make, model, and year, and a description of the problem. Submit through the Dispute Resolution Portal at bbbprograms.org or call 1-800-955-5100.⁴ Don’t file a standard BBB complaint for a warranty issue AUTO LINE covers; it only slows things down.

Complaints About Charities

Charity disputes go through the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, not the standard complaint form. For nationally soliciting charities, submit the online form at give.org or mail it to BBB Wise Giving Alliance, 3101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 523, Arlington, VA 22201.⁵ For local or regional charities, contact the BBB office serving that charity’s area through the directory at bbb.org.

1
Better Business Bureau. Complaints
2
Better Business Bureau. Complaint Acceptance Guidelines
3
Better Business Bureau. BBB Rules of Binding Arbitration
4
BBB National Programs. BBB AUTO LINE
5
Give.org. Inquire or Complain About a Charity