EU returns rules for Shopify stores: the 14-day withdrawal right, refunds and exceptions

Every consumer in the EU may return an online order within 14 days without giving a reason. The rule sits in the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU and is the same in all 27 member states, so a Shopify store selling into Europe meets one withdrawal right, not twenty-seven versions of it. What differs is how much the store adds on top: a longer window, a free label, or returns of excluded goods are voluntary policy, and the law sets the floor. This page covers the floor: when the 14 days start, what you must say before the order, the model form, the refund, who pays for the return, the exceptions, and the withdrawal function the law asks for since 19 June 2026.

1. The 14-day right of withdrawal

Under Article 9(1) the consumer has 14 days to withdraw from a distance or off-premises contract without giving any reason and without costs other than the return cost and the extra delivery cost set out below. For a sale of goods the period starts the day the consumer, or a third party they named other than the carrier, takes physical possession; for goods in one order delivered separately, the day of the last item; for services, the day the contract is concluded (Article 9(2)). The only longer statutory period in the directive is the 30 days a member state may set for unsolicited home visits and sales excursions (Article 9(1a)), which does not touch online sales.

The right belongs to consumers, natural persons acting outside their trade or profession. Goods bought in a physical shop carry no statutory right of return without reason; what a store offers there is its own policy.

2. What your store must say before the order

Article 6(1)(h) requires, before the consumer is bound: the conditions, time limit and procedure for exercising the right, the model withdrawal form in Annex I(B), and, where the store uses one, the existence and placement of the withdrawal function. Article 6(1)(i) adds that the consumer bears the cost of returning the goods, if that is the store's rule; without that line the store pays. Leave the withdrawal information out and Article 10 extends the period by 12 months; give it late and the period ends 14 days after the consumer receives it. While the information is missing the consumer is also not liable for any diminished value of the goods (Article 14(2)).

The model form is headed “Model withdrawal form (complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)” and, since the 2023 amendment, is addressed to the trader's name, geographical address and email address. You must supply it; the consumer may use it or any other unequivocal statement.

3. The deadlines, side by side

4. Refunds, return costs and used goods

The store reimburses all payments received, including the cost of delivery, no later than 14 days after it is told of the withdrawal, using the same means of payment the consumer used unless the consumer expressly agreed otherwise and incurs no fee (Article 13(1)). It need not refund the extra cost of an express option the consumer chose over the cheapest standard delivery offered (Article 13(2)). For goods, it may withhold the refund until it has the goods back or the consumer has supplied evidence of sending them, whichever comes first, unless the store offered to collect them (Article 13(3)).

The consumer bears only the direct cost of returning the goods, and only where the store said so before the order (Article 14(1)). The consumer is liable for diminished value only where the handling went beyond what was needed to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods, as in a shop (Article 14(2)). Trying a garment on is normal handling; wearing it for a week is not.

5. The exceptions (Article 16)

No right of withdrawal applies, among other cases, to:

• services fully performed, where the consumer gave prior express consent and acknowledged losing the right;
• goods or services whose price depends on financial market fluctuations;
• goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised;
• goods liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly;
• sealed goods not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons, once unsealed;
• goods inseparably mixed with other items after delivery;
• sealed audio or video recordings and sealed software, once unsealed;
• newspapers, periodicals and magazines, except subscriptions;
• accommodation, transport, car rental, catering and leisure services for a specific date;
• digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, once performance began with the consumer's prior express consent and acknowledgement, confirmed by the trader.

A store that relies on an exception should say so on the product page and in the terms: the exceptions are read narrowly, and a store that cannot show one applies owes the refund.

6. The withdrawal function since 19 June 2026

For distance contracts concluded through an online interface, Article 11a requires a withdrawal function labelled “withdraw from contract here” or an equivalent, prominently displayed, easily accessible and available throughout the withdrawal period. The consumer enters their name, the contract details and an electronic address and submits through a “confirm withdrawal” step; the trader acknowledges receipt without delay on a durable medium, with its content and the date and time of its submission. Member states apply it from 19 June 2026 (Directive (EU) 2023/2673). Our withdrawal button guide covers the labels in seven languages, the form fields and the Shopify setup.

7. First steps for a Shopify store

• Put the withdrawal conditions, the 14-day period, the procedure and the model form in your terms and your returns page, and link both from the footer and checkout.
• State who pays for the return. Silence means you do.
• Mark products that fall under an Article 16 exception on the product page and in the terms. Our free EU returns policy template has the Directive's model instructions, the model form and an exceptions paragraph to copy.
• Set a refund routine that pays within 14 days of the withdrawal, by the original payment method, including standard delivery.
• Add the withdrawal function with a confirmation step and an acknowledgement email with its content and the date and time of submission.

Sources (EUR-Lex): Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Directive (EU) 2023/2673 (withdrawal function, Article 11a).

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