Withdrawal form template: what actually works

Since 2014, EU law has provided an official model withdrawal form, set out in Annex I(B) to the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) and harmonised across the 27 member states. This model has survived every reform. Here is what this form says, how to use it without error, and how it fits together with the new withdrawal button that has been mandatory since 19 June 2026.

The official text of the model form

Annex I(B) to the Consumer Rights Directive reproduces a form that every trader concluding contracts at a distance must make available to the consumer, in addition to the other means of withdrawal. Here it is in its applicable wording:

Withdrawal form

(Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.)

To the attention of [trader's name, geographical address, fax number and email address to be inserted by the trader]:

I/We (*) hereby notify you (*) of my/our (*) withdrawal from the contract for the sale of the goods (*)/for the provision of the services (*) below:

Ordered on (*)/received on (*):

Name of consumer(s):

Address of consumer(s):

Signature of consumer(s) (only where this form is notified on paper):

Date:

(*) Delete as appropriate.

This text is fixed by the legislator. You cannot shorten it, reword it, or remove any of its fields. You can, however, adapt it visually (layout, font, the colour of your brand) as long as all the elements remain present.

What works, what fails

What works

Reproducing the form word for word in your terms and conditions or on a dedicated page. This is the safest option. You avoid any debate about the compliance of your adaptation. Lawyers unanimously recommend this approach.

Providing the form in two parallel formats: embedded as HTML in the page, and downloadable as a PDF. The PDF makes the paper version easier for the few consumers who prefer that format. Pre-filling only the fields that concern you: trader's name, address, email. The consumer fields (name, address, purchase date, etc.) must stay empty. A form with a consumer already named would be legally meaningless.

Numbering the sections visibly so that an older consumer, or one who is not at ease with technology, can fill it in without hesitation. Not a legal obligation but good UX practice.

What does not work

Modifying the official text "to improve it": adding a marketing sentence, removing the "Delete as appropriate" note, replacing "sale of the goods" with "purchase of a product". These changes, even well-intentioned, expose you to a check by the national consumer regulator (the CCPC in Ireland) that will note the failure to reproduce the legal model.

Imposing an additional field such as a mandatory reason for withdrawal. The reason is explicitly non-mandatory under the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU). Imposing it amounts to hindering the exercise of the right, which is punishable.

Hiding the form behind a complex procedure: a mandatory customer account to create in order to download the PDF, a captcha to solve, an email to send in order to receive the form. The form must be freely accessible, with no registration, no intermediate step.

Refusing a form sent by post on the pretext that you have an online button. The paper form remains valid after 19 June 2026; it is not replaced by the button but coexists with it.

Printing the form in a tiny size in the terms and conditions (8-point body text or in very light grey). Case law holds that text deliberately made illegible is equivalent to text that is absent.

Comparison: model form vs withdrawal button

The arrival of the withdrawal button, mandatory since 19 June 2026, does not replace the model form. The two coexist and the consumer chooses which to use.

For the merchant, the button is simpler to handle (structured receipt, automatic timestamping, an audit log ready for the national consumer regulator). But the paper form retains its legal value, and some consumers will keep using it, particularly for large purchases where a handwritten signature gives a sense of legal solidity.

The most common mistake in 2026

Many merchants think that putting the button in place exempts them from offering the model form. This is false. The 2026 button rule (Directive (EU) 2023/2673) adds the button to the range of means; it does not remove the model form, which remains mandatory.

In practice, your site must therefore offer:

1. The withdrawal button visible on every page (Directive (EU) 2023/2673)
2. The model form, downloadable from the Right of Withdrawal page (Annex I(B), Directive 2011/83/EU)
3. The option to send a free-form statement (email, letter), stemming from the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU)

The three channels coexist. You must inform the consumer of all three in your terms and conditions. Our terms-and-conditions clause generator automatically includes this triple mention.

The special case of B2B

The Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) applies to business-to-consumer sales; standard B2B contracts (sales between professionals) fall outside the right of withdrawal. If your clientele is exclusively professional (you ask for the VAT number at sign-up, your invoices carry a professional VAT number), you do not have to provide either the form or the button.

On the other hand, as soon as you sell even a single product to a private individual (a company director buying in a personal capacity, a freelancer treated as equivalent to a consumer), the obligation applies. It is therefore safer to offer both the form and the button in every case: the cost is nil, the risk avoided is high.