Returns and Refunds Rules: UK, EU, US and Canada

If you sell online to customers in the UK, the EU, the US or Canada, you need more than one returns and refunds policy. Each market sets its own minimum for how long customers can change their mind, who pays return shipping and how fast you refund. This guide helps you write one clear returns page for all four.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check with a qualified adviser for each country you sell to. We checked the sources below on 30 October 2026 and flag what we could not confirm. If you sell from the Middle East, read it with our guide to selling from the Middle East to the UK, Europe, the US and Canada.

The short version by region

EU: 14 days to cancel from delivery, a refund within 14 days, and a withdrawal function from 19 June 2026.
UK: 14 days to cancel from delivery, a 14 day refund deadline, and a 30 day right to reject faulty goods.
US: returns are mostly store policy. A federal rule covers shipping delays, and some states require a posted policy.
Canada: provincial. Ontario and Quebec give online cancellation rights for missing information, a missing contract copy or late delivery.

EU: 14 days, a withdrawal button and a 12 month trap

The right of withdrawal comes from Directive 2011/83/EU. Your Europe, the official EU consumer site, says customers can cancel most online purchases within 14 days without a reason. For goods, the 14 days start when the items arrive.

The trap is Article 10. Without the required information on the right of withdrawal, the period ends 12 months after the original 14 days. If you supply it within those 12 months, it ends 14 days after the customer receives it.

Article 13 of the Directive (we read it on legislation.gov.uk, as we could not open the current EUR-Lex text) says you refund all payments, including standard delivery, without undue delay and within 14 days of being told, by the same payment method and with no fee to the customer. Extra cost for a pricier delivery type is not refunded. You may hold the refund until the goods are back or proof of sending is shown, whichever comes first, unless you offered to collect.
Article 14 says the customer pays the direct cost of returning goods unless you agreed to pay or did not tell them beforehand.
Exceptions include made-to-order or personalized goods, fast-expiring goods and unsealed audio, video or software.

The withdrawal button

Directive (EU) 2023/2673 added Article 11a. For contracts made through an online interface, you must offer a withdrawal function labeled Withdraw from contract here, or a clearly equivalent wording, and keep it easy to see for the whole withdrawal period. The customer enters a name and details that identify the contract, then uses a function labeled Confirm withdrawal. You then send an acknowledgment on a durable medium, with date and time. Member States apply these rules from 19 June 2026.

UK: 14 days to cancel, plus 30 days for faulty goods

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 follow the same model. Regulation 30 gives 14 days from the day the goods come into the customer's physical possession. Regulation 31 adds the 12 month rule: without cancellation information the period runs 12 months longer, or ends 14 days after you supply it late. legislation.gov.uk lists the text as up to date to 25 October 2026.

Refund (regulation 34): within 14 days of the earlier of two events: you get the goods back, or the customer shows proof of sending. If you offered to collect, the 14 days run from being told. Standard delivery only, same payment method, no fee.
Return costs (regulation 35): the customer pays unless you agreed to pay or failed to say who pays.
Exceptions (regulation 28): made-to-specification or personalized goods, goods that deteriorate or expire rapidly, and sealed hygiene goods once unsealed.

Faulty goods follow the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Section 19 gives three remedies: the short-term right to reject, repair or replacement, and a price reduction or the final right to reject. Section 22 sets the short-term right at 30 days, counted from the first day after the goods are delivered and ownership has passed. Section 19(14) presumes that a fault found within six months of delivery was there on delivery, unless the seller shows otherwise. GOV.UK adds that misleading customers about their rights, for example with a sign saying you do not accept returns, is illegal.

US: returns are mostly store policy, but two kinds of rules apply

We found no federal law that makes a store accept change-of-mind returns. The FTC's consumer guidance points shoppers to each store's own return policy and notes that many stores stop taking returns after a time such as 30 or 90 days.

The Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule

This rule, 16 CFR Part 435, covers online, phone and mail orders. It is about shipping promises, not change of mind. At the time of writing (30 October 2026), the eCFR shows:

You need a reasonable basis for the shipping time you state. If you state none, shipment is due within 30 days of a properly completed order.
If you cannot ship on time, offer a choice: accept the delay or cancel for a prompt refund. If the new date is over 30 days late or unknown, the order is cancelled unless you ship within 30 days of the original date or the customer agrees.
Refunds are due within seven working days, or one billing cycle for sales on your own credit account. The FTC business guide says a Rule-required refund cannot be credit toward future purchases, vouchers or scrip.

State rules on posting your policy

In California, Civil Code section 1723 says a retail seller that does not give a full cash or credit refund, or an equal exchange, for at least seven days after purchase must display its policy conspicuously. The display states the refund type, time period, covered goods and conditions. If the seller does not display it, a buyer who returns the goods within 30 days of purchase can recover the purchase price. The Attorney General's page names signs, tags and order forms, not websites.

Canada: provincial rules, with Ontario and Quebec as examples

Ontario

The Ontario government says its online shopping rules apply to purchases over $50 where you or the buyer are in Ontario.
Before checkout completes, you must disclose the total price, payment terms and any cancellation, return, exchange or refund rights you offer, and let the customer accept, decline and correct errors. A written copy is due within 15 days.
Community Legal Education Ontario lists these cancellation rights: 7 days after the customer receives the copy if required information was missing, 30 days after the agreement if no copy arrived, and no deadline if delivery is over 30 days late. Refunds are due within 15 days. A 2019 model template on the ISED Canada site uses the same numbers. We could not open the Act on e-Laws, so confirm there.

Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2023 will replace the 2002 Act once proclaimed. A law firm article of 21 March 2025, our latest source, still described it as awaiting proclamation. We could not confirm its status on 30 October 2026.

Quebec

The Office de la protection du consommateur says a customer can cancel a distance contract within 30 days if no copy arrives within 15 days, or within 7 days of receiving the copy if information is missing. Late delivery is also a ground.
You refund everything within 15 days of cancellation, and you pay the reasonable return costs.
A change of mind is covered only if your own return policy allows it, and you must disclose that policy before the contract.

A returns page checklist you can copy

Selling in several countries from one store? See our Shopify Markets guide.

Window: the days allowed for a change of mind, and the start date.
How to cancel: an email or form, plus the EU withdrawal link and confirmation step.
Return shipping: who pays, stated before checkout. In the EU and UK, silence moves the cost to you.
Refund: the same payment method and the deadline you will meet (14 days in the EU and UK, 15 days under the Ontario and Quebec cancellation rules, seven working days for unshipped US orders). Say whether you give cash, credit or an exchange, as California asks, and that only standard delivery is refunded (EU and UK).
Condition and exceptions: how you check returns, when you deduct, and which items you exclude.
Faulty goods: a separate section stating that your policy does not limit legal rights.
Late shipping: your stated shipping times and your delay-or-cancel notice (US).
Placement: footer, product page, cart and order email.
Data and review: withdrawal requests hold personal data, so check your privacy notice (see our privacy and cookies guide), and date the policy with a yearly reminder.

Mistakes to avoid

Counting the 14 days from the order date instead of delivery.
Leaving out the cancellation information in the EU or UK, which adds 12 months.
Using one global all sales final line, which cannot override UK faulty-goods rights.
Offering store credit where a rule requires a refund, such as the US shipping-delay rule.

Questions owners ask

Do EU rules apply if my company is based outside Europe?

The Commission's 2014 guidance, citing the Rome I Regulation, says that when a trader directs activities to a consumer's country, that country's law applies to the contract, and a choice of another law cannot remove the consumer's mandatory protections. If you market and ship to EU customers, plan to meet EU rules. We did not research the UK position for sellers abroad, so ask your adviser.

Do I have to offer free returns?

In the EU and UK, no, if you tell customers before purchase that they pay return shipping. In Quebec, you pay reasonable return costs after a legal cancellation.

Can I give store credit instead of a refund?

For EU and UK cancellations, the refund goes back by the original payment method unless the customer agrees otherwise. For a US order you could not ship, the FTC business guide rules out store credit. For US change-of-mind returns, your own policy decides, and California asks you to state whether you give cash, store credit or an exchange.

Need a hand?

Take legal wording from your adviser. We can help with the store side, such as checkout, payments, shipping and order flow, as part of our eCommerce solutions. Our free store review covers speed, mobile checkout and search basics, not legal wording. When you are ready, send a short brief on the contact page.

Returns and refunds: what online sellers must offer in the UK, EU, US and Canada