{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "lightning-invoices",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/lightning-invoices/",
  "collection": "bitcoin",
  "title": "Lightning invoices: amount, expiry and payment status",
  "description": "Read Lightning invoices: amount, network, expiry, payment hash and why a fresh invoice is usually needed for a fresh payment.",
  "aliases": [
    "lightning invoice explained",
    "lightning invoice explained explained"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "A Lightning invoice is a payment request that a compatible wallet can decode and pay. The BOLT 11 format includes a network, payment hash, creation time, signature and other fields; the amount can be unspecified. Expiry limits when a new attempt should begin. An invoice is not proof that money arrived, and its signature does not by itself establish a merchant’s real-world identity.",
    "claimId": "lightning-invoices-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-btc-bolt11",
      "x425-btc-ln-payments"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Amount",
      "value": "May be fixed or unspecified",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11"
      ],
      "id": "amount",
      "claimId": "lightning-invoices-fact-amount"
    },
    {
      "label": "Expiry",
      "value": "Measured from the invoice creation time",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11"
      ],
      "id": "expiry",
      "claimId": "lightning-invoices-fact-expiry"
    },
    {
      "label": "Payment evidence",
      "value": "Requires more than displaying the request",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11"
      ],
      "id": "payment-evidence",
      "claimId": "lightning-invoices-fact-payment-evidence"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "lightning-network-explained",
    "lightning-routing-fees"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "decode",
      "heading": "Check the wallet’s decoded request",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "The invoice’s encoded units and prefixes are for software to parse. Use the wallet’s readable amount and network display instead of guessing from the string. An amountless invoice asks the payer to choose an amount; it does not mean that the payment must be zero.",
        "A description can explain what is being paid for, but treat it as supplied content. Match the request to the intended recipient through the channel you already trust."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "expiry",
      "heading": "An expiry is a deadline for starting payment",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11",
        "x425-btc-ln-payments"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Imagine an invoice created at 12:00 UTC with an explicit expiry of 900 seconds. Its new-payment window ends at 12:15 UTC. BOLT 11 specifies a one-hour default when its expiry field is absent; wallets may include their own explicit value.",
        "An attempt already in progress can remain unresolved beyond an interface timer. Inspect its final status before requesting or paying a replacement, so a delayed success does not become an unintended second payment."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "reuse",
      "heading": "Request a fresh invoice for a separate purchase",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11",
        "x425-btc-bolt12"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Ordinary BOLT 11 invoices are not a general reusable donation address. BOLT 12 identifies invoice reuse and repeated attempts as limitations addressed by an offer-and-invoice-request flow. Use the recipient’s supported reusable mechanism when that is what you need.",
        "A signed invoice plus its matching payment preimage can provide evidence that the invoice was paid. That evidence alone does not prove which person paid it; the recipient also knows the preimage."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Can a Lightning invoice leave the amount open?",
      "answer": "Yes. BOLT 11 permits the amount to be omitted, and the wallet should tell the payer that it is unspecified. Confirm the chosen amount before authorizing payment.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11"
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Does an expired invoice mean a pending payment definitely failed?",
      "answer": "No. Invoice expiry and the final state of an already dispatched payment are separate. Check the wallet’s recorded payment status before paying again.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-bolt11",
        "x425-btc-ln-payments"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "lightning-invoices-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-invoices",
      "statement": "A Lightning invoice is a payment request that a compatible wallet can decode and pay. The BOLT 11 format includes a network, payment hash, creation time, signature and other fields; the amount can be unspecified. Expiry limits when a new attempt should begin. An invoice is not proof that money arrived, and its signature does not by itself establish a merchant’s real-world identity.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd",
        "source-1906b56694566cb0"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd",
          "locator": "Human-Readable Part; Data Part; Tagged Fields; Payer / Payee Interactions; Payer / Payee Requirements"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-1906b56694566cb0",
          "locator": "Pathfinding; Dispatching Payments; Payment Fees; Monitoring Payments"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "Educational explanation. Product-specific behavior is scoped to the cited documentation, checked 2026-10-02.",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read BOLT11 currency/amount, timestamp, signature, expiry and payer/payee guidance plus BOLT12 reuse limitations.900s=15min and absent-field3600s checked. Already-dispatched payment status is separated from invoice expiry; preimage evidence is not human payer identity."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lightning-invoices-fact-amount",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-invoices",
      "statement": "Amount: May be fixed or unspecified",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd",
          "locator": "Human-Readable Part; Data Part; Tagged Fields; Payer / Payee Interactions; Payer / Payee Requirements"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read BOLT11 currency/amount, timestamp, signature, expiry and payer/payee guidance plus BOLT12 reuse limitations.900s=15min and absent-field3600s checked. Already-dispatched payment status is separated from invoice expiry; preimage evidence is not human payer identity."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lightning-invoices-fact-expiry",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-invoices",
      "statement": "Expiry: Measured from the invoice creation time",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd",
          "locator": "Human-Readable Part; Data Part; Tagged Fields; Payer / Payee Interactions; Payer / Payee Requirements"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read BOLT11 currency/amount, timestamp, signature, expiry and payer/payee guidance plus BOLT12 reuse limitations.900s=15min and absent-field3600s checked. Already-dispatched payment status is separated from invoice expiry; preimage evidence is not human payer identity."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lightning-invoices-fact-payment-evidence",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-invoices",
      "statement": "Payment evidence: Requires more than displaying the request",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd",
          "locator": "Human-Readable Part; Data Part; Tagged Fields; Payer / Payee Interactions; Payer / Payee Requirements"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read BOLT11 currency/amount, timestamp, signature, expiry and payer/payee guidance plus BOLT12 reuse limitations.900s=15min and absent-field3600s checked. Already-dispatched payment status is separated from invoice expiry; preimage evidence is not human payer identity."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-bolt11",
      "label": "BOLT 11: Invoice Protocol for Lightning Payments",
      "publisher": "Lightning specification contributors",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lightning/bolts/1aadb719b4007c4cea0ba6e36b08c4fb53788dee/11-payment-encoding.md",
      "locator": "Human-Readable Part; Data Part; Tagged Fields; Payer / Payee Interactions; Payer / Payee Requirements",
      "note": "Invoice amounts, payment hashes, expiry, signing and feature constraints.",
      "version": "Pinned BOLTs revision",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:57.096Z",
      "contentSha256": "d2ede88b25ca3017e8cce7cc313a88d3b6a780d34ded2d403b996b2a8c7e9810",
      "recordId": "source-e70fcc81fb7aecfd"
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-ln-payments",
      "label": "Sending Payments",
      "publisher": "Lightning Labs",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lightninglabs/docs.lightning.engineering/0456e1627b2579ac18108cb921fe609f87c8b009/lightning-network-tools/lnd/payments.md",
      "locator": "Pathfinding; Dispatching Payments; Payment Fees; Monitoring Payments",
      "note": "LND initiated/in-flight/succeeded/failed statuses and safe retry semantics.",
      "version": "Pinned Lightning Labs documentation revision; LND/Loop implementation scope",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:57.437Z",
      "contentSha256": "b60ed4c76affc6a05feaaf3ec960f40d5039a3d53aae3c35046e6fc125279d7b",
      "recordId": "source-1906b56694566cb0"
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-bolt12",
      "label": "BOLT 12: Negotiation Protocol for Lightning Payments",
      "publisher": "Lightning specification contributors",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lightning/bolts/1aadb719b4007c4cea0ba6e36b08c4fb53788dee/12-offer-encoding.md",
      "locator": "Limitations of BOLT 11; Payment Flow Scenarios; Offers; Invoice Requests; Invoices; Payer Proofs",
      "note": "Reusable offers produce separate invoice requests and authenticated invoices.",
      "version": "Pinned BOLTs revision",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:57.136Z",
      "contentSha256": "0fa23def72465c7c31dcff2c90c0139e988c502b42f103c0e0b945b752837b69",
      "recordId": "source-cc1932d4fd39f8dd"
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "lightning-network-explained",
      "lightning-routing-fees",
      "lightning-bolt12-offers",
      "bitcoin-onchain-vs-lightning",
      "lightning-addresses"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Lightning invoices: amount, expiry and payment status.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/lightning-invoices/"
}