Making terms and conditions, withdrawal notice and order button legally compliant in your online shop

Anyone selling goods or services to consumers in an online shop needs more than a well-thought-out design: without legally compliant terms and conditions, a correct withdrawal notice and a clearly labelled order button, cease-and-desist letters are a risk. This applies regardless of whether the shop runs on its own system, a website builder or a marketplace.

In short: Operators of online shops with consumer customers must, in distance selling, provide a withdrawal notice together with the model withdrawal form, label the order button clearly with "Zahlungspflichtig bestellen" (order with obligation to pay) or a comparable wording, and clearly state base prices as well as delivery and payment terms before the purchase is completed. If this is missing, cease-and-desist letters and a customer withdrawal right extended by up to twelve months are a risk.

Who is subject to the withdrawal notice requirement?

All online shop operators who sell goods or digital content to consumers at a distance are affected, regardless of shop system, industry or company size. As soon as a contract is concluded exclusively by means of distance communication such as a website, app, telephone or email, without the simultaneous physical presence of both parties, the requirements of §§ 312d ff. BGB (German Civil Code) and the EGBGB (Introductory Act to the German Civil Code) apply. This covers classic online shops as well as sales via marketplaces, social commerce channels or subscription models, as long as a consumer ultimately acts as the customer. Pure B2B shops without any consumer contact are exempt from the withdrawal notice requirement, but should still document their terms and conditions and order process properly, because the customer base can expand at any time.

What do you need to do in practice?

Five points are decisive for making your order process legally compliant and defensible in a dispute:

1. Integrate the withdrawal notice, including the model withdrawal form, in a legally compliant way.
2. Label the order button clearly with "Zahlungspflichtig bestellen" or a comparably unambiguous wording.
3. State base prices, delivery and shipping costs and payment terms clearly before the purchase is completed.
4. Adapt the terms and conditions to your own business model, with no plain copy-paste of someone else's terms.
5. Keep the terms and conditions and the withdrawal notice up to date when your product range or processes change.

Ready-made terms-and-conditions generators are a good starting point, but they do not replace a check against your own business model: payment methods, delivery regions, product categories and contract durations directly affect the necessary content of the terms. Anyone who adopts a generic template without checking risks clauses that do not fit their own offering at all and are, in case of doubt, invalid. Which of these obligations apply to your company specifically is shown by a tool such as Company Audit.

By when and how often must terms and conditions and the withdrawal notice be updated?

There is no fixed renewal deadline, but terms and conditions and the withdrawal notice must be reviewed and adjusted whenever your product range, payment methods, delivery terms or order process change. Anyone who sets up their terms once and never touches them again risks that the texts no longer match the actual business model and thus become open to challenge, for example because new product categories, payment providers or deliveries abroad are added that the existing clauses do not cover. It therefore makes sense to build in a fixed review point for every major change to the shop, not only when a cease-and-desist letter is already in the mailbox. A practical tip: the formerly customary link to the EU online dispute resolution platform (ODR) can now be removed from the shop without replacement.

What are the risks of a violation?

If the withdrawal notice is missing, the order button is labelled incorrectly or base prices are not clearly stated, competition-law cease-and-desist letters from competitors or associations are a risk, with the corresponding costs for the cease-and-desist declaration and possibly court proceedings. In the worst case, the statutory withdrawal right of customers is additionally extended to up to twelve months: customers can then still withdraw orders long after the actual purchase, which can lead to substantial reversals, especially for high-priced or seasonal products. Both can be avoided by carefully setting up the order process and legal texts once and then consistently maintaining them with every change.

Frequently asked questions

Is a free terms-and-conditions template from the internet enough?

A template can be a starting point but must be adapted to your own business model. Plain copy-paste of someone else's terms generally does not meet the legal requirements, often does not fit your own offering in substance and can itself be the subject of a cease-and-desist letter.

How exactly must the order button be labelled?

The button must make it unmistakably clear that clicking triggers an order with an obligation to pay, for example through the wording "Zahlungspflichtig bestellen" or a comparably clear alternative. Vague wordings such as "Weiter" (Continue) or "Bestellung abschicken" (Send order) do not meet this requirement.

Does the model withdrawal form have to be offered actively?

Yes, the model withdrawal form is an integral part of the withdrawal notice and must be made accessible to customers, for example as a download or embedded in the corresponding legal page of the shop.

What happens if I do not adapt the terms and conditions and the withdrawal notice after expanding my product range?

If the legal texts no longer match the actual offering, they are open to challenge and provide no reliable protection in a dispute. Regular review with every major change to the product range or order process is therefore part of the entrepreneurial duty of care.

Does the requirement also apply to digital products or services?

Yes, the requirements of §§ 312d ff. BGB and the EGBGB apply to all distance selling to consumers, including digital content, software subscriptions and online services, not only physical goods.

Source: §§ 312d ff. BGB · EGBGB. This article is general information and does not replace legal advice in individual cases. As of: July 2026.