Consumer Rights Directive (Directive 2011/83/EU)

Can a customer return our product bought online after 14 days — and what happens if our withdrawal notice is defective?

Any consumer who buys online or off-premises has at least 14 days to withdraw without reason [Art. 9]; if you failed to provide the required withdrawal information, that window stretches to 12 months — and cross-border enforcement fines can reach 4 % of annual turnover [Art. 24(3)].

Short Answer

The Consumer Rights Directive imposes mandatory pre-contractual information duties on every trader selling to consumers via distance or off-premises channels [Art. 6]. Consumers enjoy a 14-day cooling-off period that starts on receipt of goods or conclusion of a service contract [Art. 9(2)]; Member States may extend this to 30 days for unsolicited doorstep sales [Art. 9(1a)]. The trader must reimburse all payments, including standard delivery costs, within 14 days of the withdrawal notice [Art. 13(1)]. Since 28 May 2022 the Omnibus amendment (Directive 2019/2161) adds transparency requirements for online marketplaces, personalised pricing and consumer reviews [Art. 6a].

Who is affected

Every trader — natural or legal person — who concludes distance contracts (e-commerce, telesales) or off-premises contracts with consumers in the EU [Art. 2(1)-(2), Art. 3(1)]. Exclusions apply to financial services, immovable property, package travel, healthcare and gambling [Art. 3(3)]. Member States may exempt off-premises contracts below EUR 50 [Art. 3(4)].

Deadline

Continuously enforceable since 13 June 2014. The Omnibus Directive amendments (Directive 2019/2161) have applied since 28 May 2022. No upcoming transitional deadlines remain — all obligations are in full effect now.

Risk

Cross-border infringements: fines up to 4 % of annual turnover in the affected Member State(s), or at least EUR 2 million where turnover data is unavailable [Art. 24(3)-(4)]. Failure to inform about withdrawal rights extends the withdrawal period to up to 12 months plus 14 days [Art. 10(1)]. Failure to disclose additional charges or return costs means the consumer does not bear those costs [Art. 6(6)]. Pre-ticked boxes for extra payments are void and entitle the consumer to reimbursement [Art. 22].

Proof

Legal status

• In force
• as of 2026-04-19
• Consolidated version of 28.05.2022 (incorporating amendments by Directive (EU) 2015/2302 and Directive (EU) 2019/2161)

Primary sources

• EUR-Lex — Full text
• European Commission — Consumer Rights — EU consumer rights policy

What to do now

Legal / DPO

•Review and update your standard withdrawal notice and model withdrawal form to comply with the template in Annex I(A) and I(B); any omission extends the withdrawal window to 12 months [Art. 10(1)].
•Verify that your terms of service do not waive or restrict consumer rights under this Directive — any such clause is automatically non-binding on the consumer [Art. 25].
•Assess whether any of the 13 withdrawal exceptions in Art. 16 apply to your product or service mix (e.g. bespoke goods, sealed hygiene products, digital content with express consent) and document the legal basis for each exception claimed [Art. 16(a)-(m)].

Compliance

•Audit all pre-contractual information flows for distance and off-premises channels against the 20-point checklist in Art. 6(1)(a)-(t); the burden of proof that information was provided rests on the trader [Art. 6(9)].
•Ensure that order buttons are labelled 'order with obligation to pay' or an equally unambiguous wording — otherwise the consumer is not bound by the contract [Art. 8(2)].
•Verify that no default options (pre-ticked boxes) are used to infer consent to additional payments; any payment obtained this way must be reimbursed [Art. 22].

IT / Security

•Implement durable-medium confirmation workflows that store contract confirmations with timestamps accessible for future reference, as required for distance contracts [Art. 8(7)].
•If you operate an online marketplace, build the ranking-transparency disclosure required by Art. 6a(1)(a) into a dedicated, directly accessible section of the interface.
•On withdrawal of digital content or digital services, ensure systems prevent further consumer access while making user-generated content available for retrieval in a machine-readable format [Art. 13(7)-(8)].

Product / Engineering

•For digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, implement a consent-and-acknowledgement flow before performance begins — without both steps the withdrawal exception does not apply [Art. 16(m)].
•Display functionality, compatibility and interoperability information for goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services before contract conclusion [Art. 6(1)(r)-(s)].
•Set default delivery commitment to 30 days or less; if delivery fails within the agreed period the consumer may terminate the contract and claim a full refund [Art. 18(1)-(3)].

Key Terms

Distance contract: A contract concluded between trader and consumer under an organised distance sales scheme without simultaneous physical presence, using one or more means of distance communication [Art. 2(7)].
Off-premises contract: A contract concluded outside the trader's business premises, including doorstep sales, contracts following personal approaches in public, and excursion sales [Art. 2(8)].
Right of withdrawal: The consumer's right to cancel a distance or off-premises contract within 14 days without giving any reason and without incurring costs beyond direct return shipping [Art. 9(1)].
Durable medium: Any instrument enabling the consumer or trader to store information personally addressed to them, accessible for future reference and reproducible unchanged, such as email, PDF or paper [Art. 2(10)].
Digital content: Data produced and supplied in digital form, as defined in Directive (EU) 2019/770, including software, apps, music, videos and e-books [Art. 2(11)].
Online marketplace: A service using software — including a website or app — operated by or on behalf of a trader, allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with other traders or consumers [Art. 2(17)].
Trader: Any natural or legal person acting for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft or profession, including through intermediaries acting on their behalf [Art. 2(2)].

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the withdrawal period for distance and off-premises contracts?

14 calendar days from receipt of the goods or conclusion of the service contract [Art. 9(1)-(2)]. Member States may extend this to 30 days for contracts concluded during unsolicited home visits or excursions [Art. 9(1a)].

What happens if the trader does not inform the consumer about the right of withdrawal?

The withdrawal period is extended by 12 months from the end of the original 14-day period [Art. 10(1)]. If the trader provides the information within those 12 months, the period expires 14 (or 30) days after the consumer receives that information [Art. 10(2)].

Does the Consumer Rights Directive apply to B2B transactions?

No. It applies only where a consumer (natural person acting outside trade, business, craft or profession) concludes a contract with a trader [Art. 2(1)-(2), Art. 3(1)].

Are there exceptions where consumers cannot withdraw?

Yes. Art. 16 lists 13 exceptions including custom-made goods [Art. 16(c)], sealed hygiene products opened after delivery [Art. 16(e)], digital content where performance began with express consent and acknowledgement of losing the withdrawal right [Art. 16(m)], and contracts concluded at public auctions [Art. 16(k)].

Who bears the cost of returning goods after withdrawal?

The consumer bears the direct cost of returning goods, unless the trader agreed to bear them or failed to inform the consumer about this cost [Art. 14(1)]. For off-premises contracts where goods were delivered to the consumer's home and cannot normally be returned by post, the trader must collect them at its own expense [Art. 14(1)].

What penalties apply for infringements?

Member States must impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties [Art. 24(1)]. For cross-border infringements under Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, fines may reach at least 4 % of the trader's annual turnover in the affected Member State(s), or at least EUR 2 million where turnover data is unavailable [Art. 24(3)-(4)].

What are the specific obligations for online marketplaces?

Providers of online marketplaces must disclose ranking parameters, whether the third-party seller is a trader, which consumer rights apply if the seller is not a trader, and how obligations are split between marketplace and seller [Art. 6a(1)(a)-(d)].

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