---
title: Returns on the Order
description: 'Read an order’s return requests from the order itself'
sidebar:
  label: Guide
---

Return requests on an order are available on the order itself. `GET /orders/{orderId}` and the
`GET /orders` list both carry a `returns` array on each order, so you can read an order and its
return requests in one call — no separate request to the returns endpoints.

## The `returns` field

Every order in [`GET /orders/{orderId}`](/api-reference/orders) and the `GET /orders` list includes:

- `returns` — the return requests on the order, newest first. `[]` when none have been opened; `null`
  when the return data could not be read (the order itself is still returned).

Each entry mirrors a return request: an `id`, `createdAt`/`updatedAt` timestamps, and the requested
`items`. Each item names the product by `sku` — the same `sku` on the order’s `lineItems` — and
carries its per-line `status` (`PENDING`, `APPROVED`, or `DENIED`) and, when denied, a `denialReason`.

```json Order (excerpt)
{
  "id": "SIBI-12345678",
  "status": "Processed",
  "lineItems": [{ "sku": "GDF510PSRSS", "name": "GE Dishwasher", "quantity": 1 }],
  "returns": [
    {
      "id": "RET-12345XYZ",
      "createdAt": "2026-09-04T15:30:45.123Z",
      "updatedAt": "2026-09-05T09:12:03.900Z",
      "items": [
        {
          "sku": "GDF510PSRSS",
          "quantity": 1,
          "condition": "UNOPENED",
          "requestReason": "Ordered the wrong size",
          "status": "DENIED",
          "denialReason": "Item is outside the return window"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

A `returns` of `null` means the return data could not be read for this order on this request — the
order is still returned, so retry to read its returns. An empty `returns` means the order genuinely
has none.

## Opening a request and learning the outcome

`POST /orders/{orderId}/returns` on the [Returns API](/api-reference/returns).
Decisions are made by Sibi staff; subscribe to the
[Order Return Requests events](/events/order.return-requests) to learn when a line is approved or
denied, or re-read the order to see the current per-line status.