Upwork Job Success Score: How JSS Works and How to Fix It

The formula

JSS is roughly (successful outcomes − negative outcomes) ÷ total outcomes. Upwork tracks three rolling windows — 6, 12, and 24 months — and shows you the best of the three. It updates daily (since 2025), so changes show up fast in both directions.

A contract counts toward JSS once it reaches 90 days of life. Closing it later with good feedback doesn't change anything retroactively. A single long-term contract from one client is counted as roughly four jobs every 360 days.

Bigger contracts move the score more

Earnings are weighted:

So one unhappy $50 client hurts less than one unhappy $2,000 client — and one happy $2,000 client dilutes a bad small one faster.

What counts as negative in 2026

• A contract end reason that isn't "Project completed successfully" (enforced since December 2025).
• Disputed contracts, and often canceled ones.
• Refunds, if the client left negative notes when closing — though if a refunded contract has zero earnings, support can manually mark it "ineligible for JSS." Ask them.

The big change: private feedback is gone. Through 2026 Upwork removed the old private survey and replaced it with Notes — client notes that do not affect JSS. The classic "5 public stars but 7/10 private equals silent damage" rule no longer applies. To gauge whether a client was unhappy, check Job Success Insights (per-contract markers, solo profiles only).

Two more things that don't touch JSS: mid-contract feedback (a temporary review on an active contract, available every 30 days) and client Notes. Only the final feedback at contract close moves the number.

What isn't eligible at all

Contracts over 24 months, contracts with no earnings and no feedback, contracts with no feedback, and contracts where the client violated Upwork policy or got suspended. One trap: no earnings plus bad feedback still counts as negative.

The score bands

Falling under 80% is the cliff: you effectively disappear from client searches.

The recovery playbook

The 6-month rolling window does most of the work for you — a bad contract eventually falls out of the window. To speed it up after a dip (say a 4-star review knocked you to 87%):

1. Dilute it. Close more 5-star contracts so the bad one weighs less. This is the fastest lever.
2. Refund the bad contract if it makes sense (a poor closing reason can still leave a small mark).
3. Report the feedback if it was abusive or manipulative — it can be removed.
4. Wait. Six months of clean 5-star work returns you to 100%.

If your score lives inside a Top Rated agency as an exclusive member, an exclusive flip can inherit the agency's badge — a 91% profile can jump to about 96% and regain Top Rated. Clients can't see whether you're exclusive or not.

Bottom line

JSS rewards finishing clean and finishing big. Get every client to close with "Project completed successfully" and all 5 stars, keep your contract values up, and when a bad one lands, out-volume it with good ones and let the 6-month window do the rest.

The weights and bands above are listed with the rest of our published figures on the Upwork statistics page.