What is the withdrawal button and when did it start?
Directive (EU) 2023/2673 added a new Article 11a to the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU. EU countries had to adopt their national rules by 19 December 2025 and apply them from 19 June 2026. Not every country met that date: Austria's rule has been in force since 1 October 2026, and according to the Spanish consumer organisation OCU, Spain had not yet transposed the directive on 19 June 2026. The rule covers distance contracts concluded through an online interface, such as a web shop or a shopping app.
The trader must offer a withdrawal function there. It has to be labelled legibly with ‘withdraw from contract here’ or an equally unambiguous wording. Each language version of the directive has its own wording, for example ‘Vertrag widerrufen’ in German. It must stay available for the whole withdrawal period, be prominently displayed and be easy to reach. Before you buy, the trader must tell you that the function exists and where to find it.
The button does not create a new right. It is an additional route next to the existing ones, such as email, letter or the model withdrawal form. The basic rules stay the same: you usually have 14 days, counted from delivery for goods and from the day the contract was agreed for services.
What does it look like in practice?
Fictional example: Niamh, who lives in Galway, orders a desk lamp for €45 from a shop based in another EU country. The lamp arrives on a Tuesday, but the light is too harsh for her small flat. On Thursday she opens her order history in the shop's app and finds a button reading ‘withdraw from contract here’. A short form shows her name, the order number and her email address. She checks the details, takes a screenshot and taps ‘confirm withdrawal’.
A few minutes later an email arrives with the content of her statement and the date and time it was submitted. Niamh files it with her other online order records. On Saturday she posts the lamp back and keeps the proof of postage. If no acknowledgement had come, she would have sent her withdrawal by email as well.
How do you use the withdrawal function step by step?
- Open the shop through its known app or by typing the address yourself, then sign in. Start with your order history or account page. Where exactly the button sits is up to the trader, but it must be prominent and easy to reach.
- Select ‘withdraw from contract here’ or the equivalent wording in the shop's language.
- In the online withdrawal statement, enter or confirm your name, details identifying the contract (for example the order number) and the electronic channel for the acknowledgement, usually your email address.
- Press ‘confirm withdrawal’. Only this second step sends your statement.
- Wait for the acknowledgement of receipt. The trader must send it without undue delay on a durable medium, such as an email. It includes the content of your statement and the date and time of submission.
- Save the acknowledgement and send the goods back within 14 days of withdrawing, unless the trader has offered to collect them.
Tip: Take a screenshot of the completed form before you press ‘confirm withdrawal’. If the acknowledgement never arrives, you still have your own record of what you sent and when.
Which deadlines apply after you click?
| When | What happens | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | The 14-day withdrawal period starts. | For services, it starts when the contract is agreed. |
| Before the period ends | You send your withdrawal. | Sending it in time is enough. If the last day falls on a non-working day, the deadline moves to the next working day. |
| After ‘confirm withdrawal’ | The trader sends an acknowledgement. | Without undue delay, with content, date and time. |
| Within 14 days of withdrawing | You send the goods back. | Unless the trader collects them. |
| Within 14 days of receiving your withdrawal | The trader refunds all payments, including standard delivery costs. | The trader may wait until the goods are back or you show proof of sending. |
| 12 months after the normal period | Latest end of the right if the trader did not inform you about it. | If the trader gives you the information within those 12 months, the period ends 14 days after you receive it. |
You normally pay the direct cost of sending the goods back, unless the trader agreed to cover it or did not tell you about this cost before you bought. If the product is defective, the trader pays for the return, but that is a legal guarantee issue rather than a withdrawal.
How do the rules look in different countries?
| Country | Legal basis | Button wording and notes |
|---|---|---|
| All EU countries | Directive (EU) 2023/2673, to be applied from 19 June 2026 | ‘Withdraw from contract here’ and ‘confirm withdrawal’, or equivalent wording in the national language. The actual start date depends on national law. |
| Germany | § 356a BGB (civil code), since 19 June 2026 | ‘Vertrag widerrufen’, then ‘Widerruf bestätigen’. |
| Austria | § 13a FAGG (BGBl. I No. 59/2026), in force since 1 October 2026 | Same German wording as in Germany; Austrian law calls the right ‘Rücktrittsrecht’. |
| France | Directive, national consumer law | ‘renoncer au contrat ici’, then ‘confirmer la rétractation’. |
| Italy | Art. 54-bis Codice del consumo (Legislative Decree No 209/2025), since 19 June 2026 | ‘recedere dal contratto qui’, then ‘conferma recesso’. |
| Spain | Directive; according to OCU, not yet transposed on 19 June 2026 | ‘desistir del contrato aquí’, then ‘confirmar desistimiento’. |
| Switzerland | Not covered; EU law does not apply automatically | No obligation to offer a withdrawal button. Swiss law has no statutory right to withdraw from online purchases; returns depend on the shop's conditions or goodwill. |
If you bought from a shop in another EU country and have trouble with a withdrawal or refund, the European Consumer Centre in your country can help.
What if the shop has no withdrawal button?
Your right of withdrawal does not depend on the button. You can still use the model withdrawal form or send your own clear statement, for example by email or letter. You do not have to give a reason. What counts for the deadline is that you send your statement in time.
In a dispute, you have to show that you withdrew. Choose a channel that leaves a record, such as an email you keep in your sent folder or a tracked letter.
Sample wording for an email or letter
‘I hereby withdraw from my contract for the sale of the following goods: [item], order number [number], ordered on [date], received on [date]. Please acknowledge receipt of this withdrawal. [Full name], [address], [date]’
A missing or hidden button breaches the trader's obligations. For advice on your own case, contact a consumer organisation in your country. This page is general information, not legal advice for an individual case.
When does the button not help?
The button only makes an existing right easier to use. There is no right of withdrawal in cases such as these:
- Goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised
- Goods that perish quickly
- Sealed audio, video or software that you have unsealed
- Digital content you started downloading or streaming after expressly agreeing to lose the right
- Travel and event tickets, hotel bookings and car hire for specific dates
- Purchases from private individuals
If the product is faulty, see Device broken: legal guarantee or commercial warranty. To end a running subscription, read Cancelling a subscription online. If a refund message arrives afterwards, check it as described in Refund announced: genuine or fake?.
Common mistakes
- Registering a return in your account and assuming that is the same as withdrawing. What matters is an acknowledgement that your withdrawal was received.
- Closing the window after ‘withdraw from contract here’. Your statement is only sent when you press ‘confirm withdrawal’.
- Leaving the acknowledgement in your inbox and deleting it later. It is your proof of the date and time.
- Sending a parcel back without any statement. The law requires a clear statement, so do not rely on the return alone.
- Expecting a withdrawal button from a Swiss shop. Read its return conditions before you buy.
Your checklist
The checkboxes are for your own reference. No entries are sent to us. To keep a copy, print the page or save it as a PDF using your browser menu.
Common questions
Does every online shop need a withdrawal button?
Under EU rules, the obligation applies from 19 June 2026 to distance contracts concluded through a website or app where you have a right of withdrawal; national start dates can differ, such as 1 October 2026 in Austria. The button must be available throughout the withdrawal period. The rule does not require a button for contracts made, for example, over the phone; there you withdraw by sending a statement. Switzerland has no such obligation.
What if I don't receive an acknowledgement?
First check your spam folder and whether the email address you entered was correct. The trader must send the acknowledgement without undue delay. If nothing arrives, send your withdrawal again by email or letter while the period is still running, and keep your screenshot. That gives you a second record if the trader later says nothing was received.
Do I have to give a reason for withdrawing?
No. Within the withdrawal period you can withdraw without giving any reason. The online withdrawal statement only has to let you provide your name, details identifying the contract and the electronic channel for the acknowledgement. If a shop also asks why you are returning the item, answering is up to you. A reason is not needed for the withdrawal to be valid.
Who pays for sending the goods back?
As a rule, you pay the direct cost of returning the goods. That does not apply if the trader agreed to cover it or did not inform you about it before the purchase. The trader must refund your payments, including the original delivery costs, within 14 days of receiving your withdrawal, but may wait until the goods are back or you prove you sent them.
Does the withdrawal button apply in Switzerland or outside the EU?
No. The directive is EU law and does not apply automatically in Switzerland. Swiss law has no statutory right of withdrawal for online purchases; a 14-day right exists only in specific cases, such as doorstep or telephone sales over CHF 100. If you buy from an EU shop while living outside the EU, you may still see the button; which rights you have then depends on the law that applies to your contract.
Sources and further information
Primary sources from public authorities, consumer organisations and providers. A source may be in another language; follow the guidance that applies to your service and where you live.
- EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2023/2673, Article 11a withdrawal functionSource review date:
- EUR-Lex: Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EUSource review date:
- Your Europe: Returns and the right of withdrawalSource review date:
- Verbraucherzentrale (Germany): withdrawal button from June 2026 (German)Source review date:
- RIS (Austria): § 13a FAGG online withdrawal function (German)Source review date:
- ECC-Net Italia: withdrawal button mandatory from 19 June (Italian)Source review date:
- OCU (Spain): delay in adopting the withdrawal button rule (Spanish)Source review date:
- Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz (Switzerland): returns and exchanges (German)Source review date:
