EU consumer law: what you owe when you sell online to EU consumers

If you direct your online sales to people in an EU country, that country’s consumer law governs the sale, wherever you are based. That law is mostly written from EU directives, so the core rules look alike in every EU country: 14 days to withdraw, a two-year legal guarantee, set information before the order, and fair rules on prices and advertising. Each rule has a short section below.

What you do:

1. Treat the law of each EU country you direct your sales to as the law of the sale. Your terms may choose another law, but that choice does not take away the consumer’s protection. The consumer can also sue you in the courts of the country where he lives (Art. 6 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008; Art. 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).
2. Show the required information before the order, and label the order button “order with obligation to pay” or a clear equivalent (Art. 6 and Art. 8 of Directive 2011/83/EU).
3. Give 14 days to withdraw, refund within 14 days of the notice, and offer an online withdrawal function. EU countries have applied that function since 19 June 2026. More: right of withdrawal.
4. Honour the legal guarantee of two years, and show the harmonised guarantee notice from 27 September 2026. More: EU warranty law.
5. Show a price reduction against the lowest price of the previous 30 days, keep reviews honest, and drop vague green claims. More: Omnibus Directive price rules.
6. Check the newer laws against your goods and your shop. More: EU right to repair and EU product liability directive, and European Accessibility Act.
7. Do not block or treat a customer differently because of his nationality or residence. More: geo-blocking regulation.
8. Give a marketplace your trader details when it asks, and correct them when it asks. More: Digital Services Act trader checks.

For product safety, which is a separate law with its own duties, see GPSR. Whether it reaches you is on does GPSR apply to you.

The consumer law of your customer’s country applies to your sale

A contract with a consumer is governed by the law of the country where the consumer has his habitual residence if you pursue your business there or, by any means, direct it to that country or to several countries including it, and the contract falls within that activity (Art. 6 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, known as Rome I). Your own address is not part of that test.

You may write a different law into your terms. It cannot take away the protection of the rules of the consumer’s country that a contract cannot waive (Art. 6 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008). Where you are not caught by that test, the general rules on applicable law decide the contract instead (Art. 6 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008). Rome I does not bind Denmark, which did not take part in it (Art. 1(4) and recital 46 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008).

The consumer can sue you in the courts of the country where he is domiciled. That applies where you pursue activities in his country or, by any means, direct them to it, and the contract falls within that activity (Art. 17 and Art. 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). Being outside the EU does not remove it: where the defendant is not domiciled in an EU country, Art. 6 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 leaves national jurisdiction rules in place, subject to the consumer rule in Art. 18 of that Regulation. A claim against the consumer can be brought only in the courts of his country (Art. 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).

Having a website that people in that country can open is not enough to direct your activity there (recital 24 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008; Joined Cases C-585/08 and C-144/09, Pammer and Hotel Alpenhof). The Court of Justice looks at whether, before the contract, your website and your overall activity show that you meant to do business with consumers in that country. Evidence that points to it includes an international activity, a language or currency other than the one generally used where you are established with the option to order in it, a telephone number with an international code, money spent on a search-engine advertising service to reach consumers in other EU countries, a top-level domain other than that of the country where you are established, and a mention of an international clientele. The list is not exhaustive, and the national court decides whether the evidence exists. An email address and other contact details, or the language or currency generally used where you are established, do not by themselves show it (Joined Cases C-585/08 and C-144/09, ruling, point 2). The Court ruled on the earlier Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, Art. 15(1)(c); Rome I asks for the same concept to be read the same way, and Brussels I bis uses it again (recital 24 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008; Art. 17(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).

Information and the order button before the contract

Before the consumer is bound by a distance contract, or by your offer, you give him in clear and comprehensible words (Art. 6 of Directive 2011/83/EU):

• the main characteristics of the goods, and your identity, geographical address, telephone number and email address;
• the total price including taxes, and the delivery or postal charges, or how they will be calculated;
• how payment, delivery and complaints work, including environmentally friendly delivery options where available, and the time by which you deliver (Art. 6 of Directive 2011/83/EU, as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/825);
• the conditions, time limit and procedure for withdrawal, with the model withdrawal form, and who pays the return cost;
• a reminder of the legal guarantee, and any after-sales service or commercial guarantee;
• from 27 September 2026, for goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services, the minimum period of software updates, where the producer or provider gives you that information, and the repairability score of the goods where one applies. Where none applies and the producer gives you the information, give the availability and estimated cost of spare parts, the availability of repair and maintenance instructions and the repair restrictions (Art. 6 of Directive 2011/83/EU; Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2024/825).

The button that places the order is labelled in an easily legible way only with “order with obligation to pay” or a corresponding unambiguous formulation. Without it the consumer is not bound by the contract or order (Art. 8 of Directive 2011/83/EU). Delivery restrictions and the accepted means of payment are shown at the latest at the start of the ordering process (Art. 8 of Directive 2011/83/EU). An extra payment needs the consumer’s express consent; a pre-ticked box he must untick does not give it, and he is entitled to the payment back (Art. 22 of Directive 2011/83/EU).

The 14-day withdrawal right and the online withdrawal function

The consumer has 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract without giving a reason (Art. 9Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 9Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. of Directive 2011/83/EU). For goods the 14 days start on the day he, or a third party he names other than the carrier, takes physical possession of them. For several goods ordered together but delivered separately, they start when the last one arrives (Art. 9 of Directive 2011/83/EU). The day of delivery is not counted, and the 14 days are calendar days, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays included. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the period runs to the end of the next working day (Art. 3 of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71, applied by recital 41 of Directive 2011/83/EU).

When he withdraws:

• You refund every payment, including delivery costs but not the extra cost of a dearer delivery type he chose, without undue delay and not later than 14 days from the day you are told. Unless you offered to collect the goods yourself, you may withhold the refund until you have the goods back or he shows he has sent them (Art. 13 of Directive 2011/83/EU).
• He sends the goods back within 14 days of telling you, unless you offered to collect them. He bears the direct cost of returning them unless you agreed to bear it or you failed to tell him he would (Art. 14 of Directive 2011/83/EU).
• If you never gave the withdrawal information, the period ends 12 months after the original period would have ended (Art. 10 of Directive 2011/83/EU).

The right does not apply to goods made to the consumer’s specification or clearly personalised, goods that deteriorate or expire rapidly, sealed goods unsuited to return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed, sealed audio, video or software once unsealed, and a few other cases (Art. 16 of Directive 2011/83/EU).

Where the contract is concluded through an online interface, such as a website or app, you must also give a withdrawal function. EU countries have applied that rule since 19 June 2026 (Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2023/2673). The function is labelled “withdraw from contract here” or an unambiguous equivalent, is available throughout the withdrawal period and is prominent and easy to reach. The consumer enters his name, details that identify the contract and the electronic address for the confirmation, then activates a function labelled only “confirm withdrawal” or an equivalent. You send an acknowledgement on a durable medium without undue delay, and he counts as having withdrawn in time if he submitted the statement before the period ended (Art. 1 of Directive (EU) 2023/2673).

The full rules: right of withdrawal.

Delivery within 30 days and who carries the risk

Unless you agreed another time, you deliver without undue delay and not later than 30 days from the conclusion of the contract (Art. 18 of Directive 2011/83/EU). If you miss it, the consumer sets you an additional period. If you miss that too, he can terminate the contract and you refund everything without undue delay. He can terminate at once where you refused to deliver, where delivery by the agreed date was essential given all the circumstances of the contract, or where he told you before the contract that delivery by a specified date was essential (Art. 18 of Directive 2011/83/EU).

The risk of loss or damage passes to the consumer when he, or a third party he names other than the carrier, takes physical possession. It passes at delivery to the carrier only where the consumer commissioned the carrier and you did not offer that choice (Art. 20 of Directive 2011/83/EU). So a parcel lost in transit with a carrier you chose is at your risk.

The two-year legal guarantee and the notice from 27 September 2026

You are liable for any lack of conformity that existed at delivery and becomes apparent within two years (Art. 10Directive (EU) 2019/771, Sale of Goods Directive (consolidated text of 31 July 2026)Article 10Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. of Directive (EU) 2019/771). A defect that appears within one year is presumed to have existed at delivery, unless you prove otherwise or the presumption does not fit the goods or the defect (Art. 11 of Directive (EU) 2019/771). So the burden of proof is on you. EU countries may extend that presumption to two years.

The consumer chooses repair or replacement, unless one is impossible or costs you disproportionately more than the other. If you do not fix it, or it still fails, he is entitled to a price reduction or to terminate the contract; a minor defect does not justify termination (Art. 13 of Directive (EU) 2019/771). Repair or replacement happens at no cost to him, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience (Art. 14 of Directive (EU) 2019/771). A contract term that cuts these rights to his disadvantage before he tells you of the defect does not bind him (Art. 21 of Directive (EU) 2019/771).

From 27 September 2026 EU countries require you to show a reminder of the legal guarantee and its main elements, including the two-year minimum, using the harmonised notice (Art. 6 and Art. 22a of Directive 2011/83/EU; Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2024/825). Its design is fixed by the Commission and none of its elements can be edited. For a distance contract concluded through an online interface it is in colour (RGB) (Annex I, notes 1 and 5, to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960). Where the producer offers a commercial guarantee of durability of more than two years at no extra cost, covering the entire good, and gives you the information, you show it with the harmonised label (Art. 6 and Art. 22a of Directive 2011/83/EU). The full rules: EU warranty law.

The repair duty from 31 July 2026

The Right-to-Repair Directive covers repair of goods a consumer bought, when a defect appears outside the seller’s liability under the guarantee (Art. 1 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799). The manufacturer must repair on request goods for which EU law sets repairability requirements. Repair may be free or at a reasonable price, within a reasonable time. The Directive lists those goods in Annex II (Art. 5 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799). The list names household washing machines and washer-dryers, dishwashers, refrigerating appliances, electronic displays, welding equipment, vacuum cleaners, servers and data storage products, mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets, household tumble dryers, and goods with batteries for light means of transport (Annex II to Directive (EU) 2024/1799). Domestic local space heaters were added to it, and EU countries apply that addition from 31 July 2026 (Art. 1 and Art. 2 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2026/74).

If the manufacturer is outside the EU, the duty falls on its authorised representative in the EU. With none, it falls on the importer, and with no importer, on the distributor (Art. 5 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799). A manufacturer may not use contract terms or hardware or software techniques that impede repair, unless objectively justified, and may not refuse to repair only because someone else repaired the good before (Art. 5 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799). EU countries apply these rules from 31 July 2026 (Art. 22 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799).

The same Directive changes the guarantee for contracts concluded from 31 July 2026. When repair is the remedy, the liability period is extended once by 12 months, and you tell the consumer beforehand of his choice between repair and replacement and of that extension (Art. 16 and Art. 21 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799). The full rules: EU right to repair.

Fair advertising, honest reviews and the green-claim bans

Unfair commercial practices are prohibited. A practice is unfair if it is contrary to professional diligence and materially distorts, or is likely to distort, the economic behaviour of the average consumer it reaches (Art. 5 of Directive 2005/29/EC). Misleading actions and misleading omissions are both caught (Art. 6 and Art. 7 of Directive 2005/29/EC). A list of practices banned in all circumstances sits in Annex I to that Directive.

The Omnibus Directive added to that Directive. Three examples that reach an online shop:

• Stating that reviews come from consumers who actually used or bought the product, without reasonable and proportionate steps to check, is banned. So is submitting or commissioning false reviews or endorsements (Art. 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161).
• Where you show consumer reviews, whether and how you check that they come from real buyers is material information (Art. 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161).
• Search results that carry a paid ad or a payment for higher ranking must say so (Art. 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161).

EU countries apply the bans that Directive (EU) 2024/825Directive (EU) 2024/825, Empowering Consumers for the Green TransitionThe whole regulationClick opens the law on the EU Publications Office. adds to Annex I from 27 September 2026 (Art. 4 of Directive (EU) 2024/825):

• a generic environmental claim (“environmentally friendly”, “eco-friendly”) that you cannot back with recognised excellent environmental performance;
• an environmental claim about the whole product or business when it concerns only one aspect;
• a claim, based on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive climate impact;
• a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or not set up by public authorities;
• presenting a legal requirement that applies to all products of the category as a distinctive feature of your offer;
• hiding that a software update will harm the goods’ functioning, a false claim about a good’s durability, presenting a good as repairable when it is not, and inducing early replacement of consumables (Annex to Directive (EU) 2024/825).

A consumer harmed by an unfair practice has access to proportionate remedies, including compensation and, where relevant, a price reduction or termination of the contract (Art. 11a of Directive 2005/29/EC). The green claims guide covers these bans and the stalled Green Claims Directive proposal. How they apply to cosmetic claims is on cosmetic claims.

Prices, price reductions and the fine maximum

You show the selling price, meaning the final price including VAT and all other taxes, and the unit price where the Directive asks for it. Both must be unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible (Art. 2, Art. 3 and Art. 4 of Directive 98/6/EC). Any announcement of a price reduction shows the prior price: the lowest price you applied during a period of not less than 30 days before the reduction (Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161). Countries may set other rules for goods that deteriorate or expire rapidly, a shorter period for a product on the market under 30 days, and a prior price for a reduction that is progressively increased (Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161). The VAT part of the price is on EU VAT for online sellers. The full rules: Omnibus Directive price rules.

Penalties are national. Each country sets them, and they must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive (Art. 13 of Directive 2005/29/EC; Art. 24 of Directive 2011/83/EU). For widespread infringements dealt with in coordinated action under Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, a country must give its authorities the possibility to fine, and the maximum fine must be at least 4 % of the trader’s annual turnover in the countries concerned, or at least EUR 2 million where the turnover is not known (Art. 13 of Directive 2005/29/EC; Art. 24 of Directive 2011/83/EU). The Price Indication Directive itself names no turnover maximum.

The authorities that enforce these laws have at least these powers under Regulation (EU) 2017/2394: to impose fines or periodic penalty payments; and, where no other effective means can stop an infringement and avoid serious harm to consumers’ collective interests, to remove content or restrict access to an online interface, to order a hosting provider to remove, disable or restrict access to an online interface, and where appropriate to order a domain registry or registrar to delete a domain name (Art. 9(4), points (g) and (h) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394).

Liability for a defective product from 9 December 2026

The Product Liability Directive gives a natural person who suffers damage caused by a defective product a right to compensation (Art. 5 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). It applies to products placed on the market or put into service after 9 December 2026 (Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). Directive 85/374/EEC keeps applying to products placed on the market before that date (Art. 21 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). “Product” includes software, raw materials and digital manufacturing files (Art. 4 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853).

The manufacturer is liable. Where it is outside the EU, the importer and the authorised representative are liable as well, alongside the manufacturer. With neither, the fulfilment service provider is (Art. 8 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). Where no manufacturer, importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider established in the EU can be identified, each distributor becomes liable if the injured person asks it to name an EU operator or its own distributor and it fails to do so within one month (Art. 8 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). A contract term cannot limit or exclude the liability towards the injured person (Art. 15 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). A claim must start within three years of when the person knew or should have known the damage, the defect and who is liable. The right ends after 10 years from placing on the market, 25 for a latent personal injury (Art. 16 and Art. 17 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). The authorised representative in this Directive is a person established in the EU with a written mandate from the manufacturer for specified tasks (Art. 4 of Directive (EU) 2024/2853). The full rules: EU product liability directive.

Accessibility of your shop since 28 June 2025

The European Accessibility Act applies to e-commerce services provided to consumers after 28 June 2025, and to a set of products placed on the market after that date, among them consumer computers and their operating systems, e-readers, payment terminals and consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for electronic communications or audiovisual media services (Art. 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/882). An e-commerce service is a service provided at a distance through websites and mobile apps, at the consumer’s request, to conclude a consumer contract (Art. 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/882). A service provider includes one who makes offers to provide the service to consumers in the Union (Art. 3 of Directive (EU) 2019/882).

A microenterprise providing services is exempt from the service requirements. A microenterprise employs fewer than 10 persons and has a turnover or balance sheet of not more than EUR 2 million (Art. 3 and Art. 4 of Directive (EU) 2019/882). A service provider prepares the accessibility information, keeps the service in conformity and tells the authorities where it is not (Art. 13 of Directive (EU) 2019/882). The duty applies only to the extent that it does not fundamentally alter the service or impose a disproportionate burden. You assess that yourself, document the assessment and keep the results for five years from the last time you provided the service. You give the authorities a copy on request (Art. 14 of Directive (EU) 2019/882). The full rules: European Accessibility Act.

Equal access for customers from every EU country

You may not block or limit a customer’s access to your online interface, or redirect him to a different version, because of his nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. A redirect needs his explicit consent, and the version he first sought must stay easily accessible (Art. 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/302). When he buys goods, you may not apply different general conditions of access because of those reasons, where the goods are delivered to a country to which you offer delivery or collected at a place you offer (Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2018/302). You may still offer different conditions, prices included, on a specific territory to everyone there on a non-discriminatory basis (Art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2018/302). The rule applies to the delivery countries you offer, and it does not by itself make you deliver to every country. The rule on payments bars different conditions for a payment because of a customer’s nationality, residence or establishment, or where the payment account or instrument comes from, when the transaction is a card payment, credit transfer or direct debit meeting the Regulation’s conditions (Art. 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/302).

The Regulation applies to all traders operating within the Union, whether the trader is established in an EU country or in a third country (recital 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/302). Each EU country designates the body that enforces it (Art. 7 of Regulation (EU) 2018/302). The full rules: geo-blocking regulation.

A marketplace must collect your trader details before you sell to EU consumers

If you sell to EU consumers through a marketplace, the Digital Services Act adds a duty on the marketplace, and you meet it by giving the marketplace your details. A marketplace that lets consumers conclude distance contracts with traders may let you offer products to consumers in the EU only after it has obtained your name, address, telephone number and email address, a copy of your identification document or another electronic identification, your payment account details, your trade register number where you have one, and your self-certification that you offer only products that comply with Union law (Art. 30(1)Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services ActArticle 30, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). If an item stays inaccurate, incomplete or out of date after the marketplace asks you to correct it, the marketplace must swiftly suspend its service to you for offers to consumers in the EU until you do (Art. 30(3)Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services ActArticle 30, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). These duties do not bind a marketplace that is a micro or small enterprise, unless the Commission designates it a very large online platform (Art. 29(1)Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services ActArticle 29, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 29(2)Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services ActArticle 29, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). What each check asks, how a marketplace verifies it and what a suspension means is in Digital Services Act trader checks.

What happens if you do nothing

The consumer keeps rights you did not give him. Without the withdrawal information his withdrawal period runs 12 months longer (Art. 10 of Directive 2011/83/EU). Without the labelled order button he is not bound by the contract (Art. 8 of Directive 2011/83/EU). A term cutting the legal guarantee does not bind him (Art. 21 of Directive (EU) 2019/771). He can sue you at home (Art. 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012), and the authorities of the country can fine you under national law, with a maximum of at least 4 % of annual turnover in the countries concerned for a widespread infringement (Art. 13 of Directive 2005/29/EC).