Right of withdrawal in the EU: 14 days, the refund and the new withdrawal button

A consumer who buys from you online has 14 days to withdraw from the contract, without giving a reason. You refund within 14 days of being told. From 19 June 2026 an online shop must also offer a withdrawal function labelled “withdraw from contract here”, the withdrawal button.

What you do:

1. Treat the law of the consumer’s country as the law of the sale when you direct your sales there. Your terms may choose another law, but that choice does not remove the protection the consumer’s own law gives (Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, Art. 6(1)(b), Art. 6(2); Art. 25Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 25Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
2. Before the order, give the consumer the conditions, time limit and procedure for withdrawing, the model withdrawal form and who pays the return, and say which goods carry no right. The model instructions in Annex I(A) cover the withdrawal information and the return cost when you fill them in correctly; the statement on goods with no right you give separately (Art. 6(1)(h)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (h)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 6(1)(i)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (i)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 6(1)(k)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (k)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 6(4)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
3. Give 14 days from the day the goods arrive. The 14 days start on the day the consumer, or a third party the consumer names other than the carrier, takes physical possession. Several goods in one order delivered separately start on the last delivery. Count calendar days, not the day of delivery; a period that ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday runs to the next working day (Art. 9(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 9, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 9(2)(b)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 9, paragraph 2, point (b)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.; Commission Guidance 2021/C 525/01, section 5.1.1).
4. Accept the model form or any other clear statement, if the consumer sends it before the period ends (Art. 11(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 11(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
5. If your shop concludes contracts through a website or an app, add a withdrawal function labelled “withdraw from contract here”, always available during the withdrawal period, and a confirmation function labelled “confirm withdrawal”. Send an acknowledgement on a durable medium without undue delay (Art. 11aDirective 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11aClick opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
6. Refund every payment, including standard delivery, within 14 days of the day you are told, to the same payment means. Unless you offered to collect the goods yourself, you may wait until the goods arrive or the consumer shows they were sent, whichever is earlier (Art. 13(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 13(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
7. Let the consumer pay the direct cost of the return only if you said so before the order. Otherwise it is yours (Art. 14(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 6(6)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
8. The consumer is liable only for diminished value caused by handling beyond what is needed to see what the goods are and whether they work. Whether you may take that amount off the refund is national law (Art. 14(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.; Commission Guidance 2021/C 525/01, section 5.5.4).
9. Check each product against the list of goods with no right of withdrawal before you promise or refuse a return (Art. 16Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 16Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The consumer’s country law applies to a seller outside the EU that directs sales there

The Directive’s definition of a trader names no place of establishment (Art. 2(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 2, point 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The question is which country’s law governs the contract. A contract with a consumer is governed by the law of the country where the consumer has their habitual residence if you direct your activity to that country “by any means” (Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, Art. 6(1)(b)). The parties may choose another law, but the choice cannot deprive the consumer of the protection of the provisions that law does not let them waive (Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, Art. 6(2)). Any term that waives or restricts the Directive’s rights does not bind the consumer (Art. 25Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 25Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The 14 days start when the consumer takes possession of the goods

The consumer has 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract “without giving any reason, and without incurring any costs other than those provided for in Article 13(2) and Article 14” (Art. 9(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 9, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The start of the 14 days depends on what you sell:

The text says “other than the carrier”: handing the parcel to the carrier does not start the period.

The Directive applies Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71 (recital 41). The day of delivery is not counted. 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. A parcel delivered on 1 March gives a last day of 15 March (Commission Guidance 2021/C 525/01, section 5.1.1).

A country cannot prohibit the parties from performing their contractual obligations during the withdrawal period (Art. 9(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 9, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

Missing withdrawal information extends the period by 12 months

If you did not give the consumer the information on the right of withdrawal that Art. 6(1)(h)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (h)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. requires, the period ends 12 months after the end of the initial period (Art. 10(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 10, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). If you give that information within those 12 months, the period ends 14 days after the day the consumer receives it (Art. 10(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 10, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The failure costs you more than time:

The first row has its own cure. Give the information within the 12 months and the period ends 14 days after the consumer receives it (Art. 10(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 10, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The consumer withdraws with the model form or any other clear statement

Before the period ends the consumer tells you that they withdraw, in one of two ways: with the model withdrawal form in Annex I(B), or with “any other unequivocal statement setting out his decision to withdraw from the contract” (Art. 11(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The consumer has withdrawn in time if the communication is sent before the period expires (Art. 11(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The consumer must prove that they exercised the right (Art. 11(4)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), so keep the message and the date you got it.

• A country cannot add formal requirements to the model form beyond those in Annex I(B) (Art. 11(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• You may also let the consumer fill in and submit the form, or any other unequivocal statement, electronically on your website. You then send an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium without delay (Art. 11(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• Withdrawal ends the obligation to perform the contract (Art. 12Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 12Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Any ancillary contract, such as a service ordered with the goods from you or from a third party under an arrangement with you, ends automatically and without cost to the consumer, except as provided in Article 13(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. (the supplementary delivery cost) and Article 14Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. (the return cost and diminished value) (Art. 15(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 15, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 2(15)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 2, point 15Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The online withdrawal function, the withdrawal button, applies from 19 June 2026

For a distance contract concluded through an online interface, you must ensure that the consumer can also withdraw by using a withdrawal function (Art. 11a(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11a, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Member States had to publish their laws by 19 December 2025 and must apply them from 19 June 2026 (Directive (EU) 2023/2673, Art. 2(1)). The function is an addition to the form and any other unequivocal statement; it does not replace them (Art. 11aDirective 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11aClick opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 11(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Annex I(A), point 3).

The function works in two steps:

1. The first step. The function is labelled with the words “withdraw from contract here” or an unambiguous corresponding formulation, in an easily legible way. It is available throughout the withdrawal period, prominently displayed on your online interface and easily accessible to the consumer (Art. 11a(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11a, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). It lets the consumer send an online withdrawal statement and easily provide or confirm three things: their name, details identifying the contract they withdraw from, and the electronic means by which you will send the confirmation of the withdrawal (Art. 11a(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11a, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
2. The second step. When the consumer has completed the statement, you let them submit it with a confirmation function, labelled in an easily legible manner and only with the words “confirm withdrawal” or an unambiguous corresponding formulation (Art. 11a(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11a, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). When the consumer activates it, you send an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium, including its content and the date and time of its submission, without undue delay (Art. 11a(4)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11a, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

A consumer who submitted the online withdrawal statement before the period expired is treated as having withdrawn in time (Art. 11a(5)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 11a, paragraph 5Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Say in the information you give before the order that the function exists and where it is: Art. 6(1)(h)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (h)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. asks for “the existence and placement of the withdrawal function”. If you fill in Annex I(A), point 3 gives the wording: “You can also exercise your right of withdrawal online at [insert internet address or another appropriate explanation of where the withdrawal function is available]”, followed by the promise of an acknowledgement on a durable medium (Annex I(A), point 3).

You refund within 14 days of the notice and may wait for the goods unless you offered to collect them

You reimburse all payments you received from the consumer, including the delivery costs, “without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which he is informed of the consumer’s decision to withdraw” (Art. 13(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The rules around that sentence:

• The means of payment. You refund through the means of payment the consumer used for the first transaction, unless the consumer expressly agreed otherwise and incurs no fee because of the refund (Art. 13(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• Dearer delivery. You do not have to refund the supplementary cost if the consumer expressly chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery you offer (Art. 13(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The standard delivery you charged is refunded.
• Waiting for the goods. Unless you offered to collect the goods yourself, you may withhold the reimbursement until you have received the goods back, or until the consumer has shown that they sent them back, whichever is earlier (Art. 13(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 13, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Say so in the information you give; Annex I(A), point 4 has the sentence.

The consumer pays the direct cost of the return only if you said so before the order

Unless you offered to collect the goods, the consumer sends them back or hands them to you or to a person you authorised, without undue delay and not later than 14 days from the day the consumer communicated the decision to withdraw. The deadline is met if the goods are sent back before the 14 days expire (Art. 14(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The cost follows from what you told the consumer:

• The consumer “shall only bear the direct cost of returning the goods unless the trader has agreed to bear them or the trader failed to inform the consumer that the consumer has to bear them” (Art. 14(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Tell the consumer before the order (Art. 6(1)(i)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (i)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• If the goods, by their nature, cannot normally be returned by post, you give the cost of returning them as well (Art. 6(1)(i)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (i)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Annex I(A), point 5(b) gives the wording, with the amount in euro, or “the cost is estimated at a maximum of approximately” an amount where it cannot reasonably be calculated in advance.
• If you did not give the information on return costs, the consumer does not bear them (Art. 6(6)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The consumer is liable only for handling beyond a normal inspection

The consumer is liable “only” for “any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling of the goods other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods” (Art. 14(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Handling that goes no further than establishing what the goods are and how they work costs the consumer nothing. Handling beyond that makes the consumer liable for the loss in value. Recital 47 gives the test: the consumer should handle and inspect the goods only “in the same manner as he would be allowed to do in a shop”. A consumer may try on a garment and may not wear it (Commission Guidance 2021/C 525/01, section 5.5.4, quoting recital 47). The Directive says nothing on whether you may take the loss off the refund yourself or must claim it separately. National law decides (Commission Guidance 2021/C 525/01, section 5.5.4). The Directive adds that the consumer is “in any event” not liable for diminished value where you failed to give the notice of the right of withdrawal under Art. 6(1)(h)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (h)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex..

Annex I(A), point 5(c) gives the sentence for the consumer: “You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.”

Custom-made goods, perishable goods and unsealed hygiene goods carry no right of withdrawal

Article 16Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 16Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. lists contracts for which Member States “shall not provide for the right of withdrawal”. For goods, the list is:

The text speaks of goods “unsealed after delivery” (Art. 16(e)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 16, point (e)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), so a hygiene product that is still sealed keeps the right of withdrawal. Tell the consumer before the order that a product carries no right, or in what circumstances the consumer loses it (Art. 6(1)(k)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (k)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). A term of your own that adds a “no returns” category to this list does not bind the consumer (Art. 25Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 25Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

The model instructions in Annex I(A) give the withdrawal information in the form the law accepts

You may give the information on withdrawal, the return cost and the payment for services started during the withdrawal period by means of the model instructions in Annex I(A). You have fulfilled those requirements if you supply the instructions to the consumer “correctly filled in” (Art. 6(4)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Annex I(A) holds the text, and its notes say what goes into each gap:

These instructions cover three of the Article 6Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. duties: withdrawal (Art. 6(1)(h)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (h)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), return cost (Art. 6(1)(i)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (i)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.) and the payment for services started during the period (Art. 6(1)(j)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (j)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). The statement that a product carries no right of withdrawal, in Art. 6(1)(k)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (k)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., is not among them and you give it separately. The model withdrawal form of Annex I(B) goes with the instructions (Art. 6(1)(h)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 1, point (h)Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).

What happens if you do nothing

The consumer keeps the rights you did not give, and the country’s authority can fine you.

• Without the withdrawal information, the consumer has 12 months more to withdraw (Art. 10(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 10, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.), owes nothing for diminished value (Art. 14(2)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 14, paragraph 2Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.) and, without the return-cost information, bears no return cost (Art. 6(6)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 6, paragraph 6Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• A term that restricts the consumer’s rights under the Directive, such as “no returns” on goods outside Art. 16Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 16Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., does not bind the consumer (Art. 25Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 25Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).
• Each country lays down penalties for infringing its national provisions, which must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” (Art. 24(1)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 24, paragraph 1Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.). Where penalties are to be imposed in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, as Art. 24(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 24, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex. names it, 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 turnover information is not available (Art. 24(3)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 24, paragraph 3Click opens the article on EUR-Lex., Art. 24(4)Directive 2011/83/EU, Consumer Rights Directive (consolidated text of 27 September 2026)Article 24, paragraph 4Click opens the article on EUR-Lex.).