EU withdrawal button: what every online shop selling in France must display since 19 June 2026

To buy, your customer clicks a button labelled « commande avec obligation de paiement » (order with obligation to pay): that is article L221-14 of the French Consumer Code. Since 19 June 2026, they must be able to get out of the contract almost as fast: a « renoncer au contrat ici » (withdraw from the contract here) link on your site, a short form, a « confirmer la rétractation » (confirm the withdrawal) button and a dated acknowledgement of receipt. A shop run by a company that has not set this up faces an administrative fine of up to €75,000.

Is a withdrawal button mandatory in France and the EU?

Yes, since 19 June 2026, for every distance contract concluded with a consumer through an online interface. The trader must give the consumer, free of charge, a function that lets them withdraw at no cost before the legal period runs out.

The obligation is EU-wide. Directive (EU) 2023/2673 of 22 November 2023 inserted an Article 11a into Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, applicable from 19 June 2026 in every Member State. Its title only mentions financial services: do not let that mislead you, Article 11a covers all distance contracts concluded through an online interface.

Each Member State transposes it into national law, and this guide covers the French version: the French-language labels, the fines and what your « CGV » (terms of sale) must now say. France transposed the directive with two texts dated 5 January 2026, published in the « Journal officiel » (Official Journal) on 6 January:

• Order No. 2026-2 (« ordonnance »), which adds two paragraphs to article L221-21 of the Consumer Code and completes point 7° of article L221-5;
• Decree No. 2026-3 (« décret »), which creates article D. 221-5 (the practical rules for the function) and, in its article 7, replaces a paragraph of the model information annexed to article R221-3.

The withdrawal provisions came into force on 19 June 2026. The government’s Entreprendre Service Public page on selling online (in French), checked on 19 June 2026, sets out the obligation.

Who needs a withdrawal button on their website?

Every trader that sells online to consumers, whatever its size: e-commerce shops, online courses, coaching or subscriptions, apps that sell a service. Neither the legal form (« micro-entreprise » sole trader, SAS or SARL company) nor turnover makes any difference.

Three cumulative conditions trigger the obligation:

1. A consumer. Business-to-business sales are not covered.
2. A distance contract concluded through an online interface. Your website, your shop, your app. A sale concluded by phone or in a physical store falls outside this text.
3. A right of withdrawal that exists. The function is there to exercise that right. For goods and services excluded by article L221-28 (clearly personalised goods, perishable food, concert tickets for a set date…), there is nothing to exercise. But a mixed catalogue must offer the function for everything else.

Some contracts fall outside the chapter entirely: healthcare, gambling, package travel, real estate, passenger transport, regular deliveries of everyday goods on delivery rounds (art. L221-2). Financial services sit in another chapter and have their own withdrawal function, created by the same Order in article L222-8: this guide does not cover them.

What about orders placed before 19 June 2026? They remain under the old texts: article 26 of the Order provides that « les contrats en cours au 19 juin 2026 » (contracts in progress on 19 June 2026) remain governed by the provisions in their previous wording. By October 2026, this exception has all but run out: the fourteen-day periods for those orders have expired, unless extended for missing information.

What exactly must the withdrawal function do?

The function works in four steps: a visible link labelled « renoncer au contrat ici », a short form, a confirmation step labelled « confirmer la rétractation », then a dated acknowledgement of receipt sent on a durable medium. Article D. 221-5 of the French Consumer Code sets out the details.

Turned into design requirements:

• The label. « Renoncer au contrat ici » or an equally clear wording. Using the decree’s exact words rules out any argument. “Contact”, “Help” or “Returns and exchanges” do not tell the customer they are exercising a right: they do not pass.
• The placement. Visible and “directly and easily accessible”. A link in the footer of every page, repeated in the order confirmation email and the customer account, is the safest way to meet this. A link buried on page 4 of your terms of sale is not.
• The duration. Throughout the withdrawal period, which for goods only starts on delivery (art. L221-18). In practice, keep the function online permanently.
• The form. First name and surname, what identifies the order (number, date, items), an email address for the reply. Pre-filling these fields for a logged-in customer is allowed: the text says “provide or confirm”.
• The confirmation. A second step, with a « confirmer la rétractation » button. It protects the customer from an accidental click.
• The acknowledgement of receipt. On a durable medium (an email works), with the content of the statement and the date and time it was sent. The decree says “within a reasonable time”: an automatic email at the moment of submission settles the question.
• Free of charge. No fees, no paid step, no premium-rate phone line.

The full journey, from the decision to the acknowledgement:

flowchart TD
  A{"Online sale to a consumer?"} -->|No| X["No function required"]
  A -->|Yes| B{"Contract concluded since 19 June 2026?"}
  B -->|No| Y["Old rules"]
  B -->|Yes| C{"Product excluded by L221-28?"}
  C -->|Yes| Z["No right of withdrawal: say so in your terms of sale"]
  C -->|No| D["Link: renoncer au contrat ici"]
  D --> E["Name, order, reply email"]
  E --> F["Button: confirmer la rétractation"]
  F --> G["Dated acknowledgement on a durable medium"]

What changed on 19 June 2026?

The right of withdrawal itself is unchanged: fourteen days, no reason needed, refund within fourteen days. What has changed is how it is exercised online: the dedicated function becomes mandatory, and the pre-contractual information must state its existence and location.

Before, an online form was merely optional (L221-21). Email, post and the model withdrawal form all remain valid.

How does the 14-day right of withdrawal work in France?

The consumer has fourteen days to withdraw from a distance contract, without giving reasons and without any costs other than those provided by law, such as the cost of returning the goods if they were told they would bear it. The period runs from delivery of the goods, or from conclusion of the contract for a service (art. L221-18).

What you need to know to handle incoming requests:

• Several parcels. For an order delivered in several shipments, the period runs from receipt of the last item; for regular deliveries, from receipt of the first (L221-18).
• Refund. All sums paid, standard delivery costs included, without undue delay and at the latest fourteen days after you were informed of the decision. For goods, you may wait until you have them back or have received proof they were shipped. The refund uses the same means of payment, unless the customer expressly agrees otherwise (art. L221-24).
• Exceptions. Article L221-28 lists thirteen, including personalised goods, perishable food, unsealed hygiene products, leisure activities on a set date, and digital content or services performed before the period ends, where the customer expressly asked for it and acknowledged losing the right.
• Missing information. If the withdrawal information required by point 7° of article L221-5 was not provided, the period is extended by twelve months (art. L221-20).

And that point 7° now includes « l’existence et l’emplacement de la fonctionnalité de rétractation » (the existence and location of the withdrawal function). Read together, the two articles expose a shop whose information says nothing about it to an extended withdrawal period: that is the literal reading of the texts, and it remains to be seen how the courts will apply it.

What do I need to change in my terms of sale?

Your terms of sale must now state that the withdrawal function exists and where to find it, on top of the conditions, period, procedure and model form already required. Terms written before 19 June 2026 are therefore incomplete, even if they were flawless at the time.

This comes from the addition to point 7° of article L221-5: « et, le cas échéant, l’existence et l’emplacement de la fonctionnalité de rétractation mentionnée à l’article L. 221-21 » (and, where applicable, the existence and location of the withdrawal function referred to in article L. 221-21). The decree even supplies the sentence: the model information annexed to article R221-3 asks you to insert « Vous pouvez également exercer votre droit de rétractation en ligne sur [insérer l’adresse du site internet ou une autre référence adéquate indiquant où se trouve la fonctionnalité de rétractation]. » (You may also exercise your right of withdrawal online at [insert the website address or another appropriate reference indicating where the withdrawal function is located].), followed by notice of an acknowledgement on a durable medium « y compris son contenu ainsi que la date et l’heure de sa soumission » (including its content and the date and time of its submission).

In practice, in the “Right of withdrawal” clause of your terms of sale:

1. Add the exact address of the withdrawal page (for example yourshop.com/withdrawal) and where it sits (for example: a « Renoncer au contrat ici » link at the bottom of every page).
2. Announce the acknowledgement of receipt by email, with content, date and time.
3. Check that the list of exceptions matches what you actually sell (L221-28).
4. Repeat the same wording in the order confirmation email, which must already contain the L221-5 information.
5. Update the “last updated” date of your terms of sale, so the customer and the authorities know which version applies.

The rest of your terms follows the usual rules, covered in our guide to terms of sale in France. And since the form collects personal data (name, email, order), your privacy policy must cover this processing.

How many shops have made the update since June? That is one of the questions in our compliance study of 500 French e-commerce sites.

What is the fine for not having a withdrawal button in France?

A missing function, or a non-compliant one, carries an administrative fine of up to €15,000 for an individual and €75,000 for a company. The same cap applies if the pre-contractual information does not state its existence and location.

These are maximums: the DGCCRF (the French consumer protection authority), which imposes these fines, sets the amount case by case.

How do I add a withdrawal button on Shopify, WooCommerce or PrestaShop?

Whatever the platform, you need the same result: a permanent « Renoncer au contrat ici » link, a page or form asking for name, order and email, a « confirmer la rétractation » step, and an automatic acknowledgement email. The question to ask is always the same: does the tool on offer meet each of these points?

Shopify. Shopify’s Help Center has a page on the EU right of withdrawal. It does not describe a ready-made button: it says Shopify’s self-serve return and cancellation rules can help meet the requirement, mentions the customer account or the order status page as possible locations, and reminds you that compliance remains your responsibility. So check the link label, the confirmation step, the email sent and access without an account. Third-party apps are available on the Shopify App Store: test them against the checklist below.

WooCommerce. We found no built-in withdrawal feature in the official WooCommerce documentation; free third-party plugins are published on WordPress.org. Otherwise, a /withdrawal page with a form (name, order number, email, « confirmer la rétractation » button) and an automatic email to the customer can meet the obligation, provided the link is in the footer and every item on the checklist is met.

PrestaShop. The official documentation describes a merchandise returns module, disabled by default, which lets customers request a return from the order history in their account, once the order is marked as paid and shipped. It was not designed for withdrawal: labels, confirmation and acknowledgement need checking one by one, and guest orders need testing. Third-party modules are sold for PrestaShop: same check, point by point.

A custom site or app. Often the simplest: a dedicated route, a three-field form, a confirmation page and a transactional email. Keep a timestamped record of every statement: it is your proof of the date you were informed, which starts the L221-24 refund clock.

Once the link is live, the free website audit checks the legal links on your home page (terms of sale, legal notice, privacy), HTTPS and the consent mechanism. It does not test the withdrawal function itself: the checklist below does that.

How do I check my site is compliant?

Test the ten points below as a customer who ordered without an account, on a mobile phone. If a single point fails, the function is not compliant.

For the rest of your site (legal notice, cookies, privacy), the website compliance quiz covers the ground in a few minutes, and our free tools check your legal notice and the cookies set on first page load.