Withdrawal from an online purchase or distance contract (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A letter withdrawing from a purchase made online, by phone or by catalogue, or from a contract signed at your door, in Germany. Under §§ 312g and 355 of the German Civil Code (BGB) a consumer may withdraw within 14 days without giving reasons. The letter carries everything the statutory model withdrawal form asks for — order date, date the goods arrived, order number, the goods, your name and address — in its own words, and asks for the refund within 14 days and a confirmation of receipt. In German, ready to send by e-mail or post.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Customer
- Customer's address
- Trader
- Trader's postal address (from its website's legal notice)
- City
- Date
- Order number
- Date of the order
- Date the goods were received
- Goods or services withdrawn from
- IBAN
- Returning the goods
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- How long do I have to withdraw from an online purchase in Germany?
- 14 days (§ 355(2) BGB). For goods the period starts when you receive them, for services when the contract is made (§ 356 BGB). Sending the withdrawal on the last day is enough. If the trader did not inform you properly about the right of withdrawal, it only expires twelve months and 14 days after the period would normally have started.
- Do I have to use the withdrawal button in a German online shop?
- No, but it is the easiest route. Since 19 June 2026 an online shop must offer a withdrawal function labelled “Vertrag widerrufen” (withdraw from contract) or similar, available throughout the period; after you confirm in a second step, the trader must acknowledge receipt without undue delay on a durable medium (§ 356a BGB). Keep that acknowledgement. A letter or e-mail with this document remains valid alongside it — for a shop without the button, a doorstep sale, or as extra proof.
- How do I send a withdrawal in Germany so that I can prove it?
- No particular form is required; an e-mail with this document as a PDF is enough, and a signature is only usual on paper. The withdrawal takes effect when it reaches the trader (§ 130 BGB), which you must prove if there is a dispute. Keep the sent e-mail and also post the letter. The tracking record of a registered letter dropped in the letterbox (Einwurf-Einschreiben) does not on its own prove receipt (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 68/24); a messenger who reads the letter and witnesses the delivery is safer.
- Who pays for the return, and when is the money refunded after withdrawing in Germany?
- The trader must refund every payment, including standard delivery costs, within 14 days of receiving the withdrawal, using the same means of payment (§ 357 BGB). It may hold the refund back until it has the goods again or you have shown proof of sending them (§ 357(4) BGB). You bear the direct cost of returning the goods only if the trader told you so beforehand and has not offered to pay it (§ 357(5) BGB).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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