In short. The 14-day withdrawal period starts, for the sale of goods, on the day you physically receive the product; for services and digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, on the day the contract is concluded. It runs for 14 calendar days (weekends and public holidays count), the first day does not count and, if the shop failed to inform you of the right, the period is extended by 12 months.
Knowing when the withdrawal period starts matters as much to the consumer as to the shop: a single miscounted day decides whether a request is in time or not. And from 19 June 2026, with Directive (EU) 2023/2673 and its withdrawal button, every request is sealed with a date and time, so the calculation stops being an estimate and becomes evidence. In this guide we explain, without the noise, how to count the 14-day period by product type, with the rules for multiple-item orders, split deliveries, services and digital downloads.
When does the 14-day period start?
The withdrawal period lasts 14 calendar days, but the day it starts (the dies a quo) depends on what you sold. The general rule is set out in Article 9 of Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, which is harmonised across the EU (a maximum-harmonisation directive, so national implementations mirror it). These are the starting points:
| Type of contract | The period starts… |
|---|---|
| Sale of goods (normal case) | The day the consumer physically receives the goods |
| Services | The day the contract is concluded |
| Digital content not on a tangible medium | The day the contract is concluded |
| Water, gas, electricity or networked heating | The day the contract is concluded |
| Several goods in one order, delivered separately | The day the last item is received |
| Goods in several lots or pieces | The day the last lot or piece is received |
| Regular deliveries over a defined period | The day the first delivery is received |
The point most often confused: for goods the clock starts with delivery, not with the purchase; for services and digital content not on a tangible medium, it starts with the conclusion of the contract, because there is nothing physical to receive. A customer who buys a T-shirt and receives it five days later has 14 days from receipt; a customer who signs up for online consultancy has them from the moment the contract is closed.
And one detail that protects both parties: the period starts once the goods are received by the consumer or a third party they designate other than the carrier (a neighbour, the concierge). The courier's signature does not count. And be careful with pickup points or lockers run by the carrier or the post office: they are part of the carrier's network, so the consumer has not yet received the goods there — the period counts from when they collect it, not from when the parcel arrives at the point.
How are the 14 days counted? Calendar or working days?
They are 14 calendar days, not working days: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays count. This is one of the most common questions and the answer is unambiguous, because the directive itself refers to Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1182/71, which sets out how time periods are calculated across the European Union. Two practical rules follow from this:
- The first day does not count. If you receive the product on Monday the 1st, day 1 of the period is Tuesday the 2nd. The 14-day period therefore ends on Monday the 15th.
- If the last day is non-working, it is extended. When day 14 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the period is extended to the end of the next working day. It is never shortened for falling on a weekend.
In practice this means the real period is usually 15 calendar days (the day of delivery plus the 14), and sometimes a bit more if the end falls on a public holiday. For a shop, the prudent approach is not to cut it fine: if a request arrives on day 15 counted from delivery, it is almost always in time. It is wise to use the documented receipt date as the reference (the carrier's tracking), not the purchase or dispatch date.
Orders with several products and split deliveries
When a single order is delivered in parts, the period does not start with the first box, but with the last one. This rule is designed so the consumer can assess the complete order before deciding. It distinguishes three situations that should not be confused:
| Situation | Example | The period starts with… |
|---|---|---|
| Several goods in one order, delivered separately | T-shirt on Tuesday, trainers on Friday | The last delivery |
| Goods made up of several lots or pieces | A piece of furniture arriving in three parcels | The last lot/piece |
| Regular deliveries over a defined period | A monthly coffee subscription for a year | The first delivery |
The difference between the first case and the third is the one that causes the most errors. A single order with products travelling separately is counted from the last one; a subscription or recurring delivery is counted from the first, because each subsequent shipment is, in reality, just one more delivery under a contract already assessed. If you sell bundles, staggered pre-orders or flat-pack furniture, be clear about this distinction: it makes the difference between an in-time and an out-of-time return.
For the shop, the operational implication is simple: the timestamp must be anchored to the correct delivery. If your system counts from the first box of a split order, you will be closing the period too early and rejecting valid requests, which is a legal risk. We cover this alongside the rest of the obligations in our complete guide to Directive (EU) 2023/2673.
Services and digital content: their own rules
For services and for digital content not supplied on a tangible medium, the period starts on the day the contract is concluded, not on a delivery that does not exist. But these two cases have a peculiarity that goes beyond the calculation: the right can be lost before the 14 days are up.
- Services already performed. The right is extinguished only if three conditions all hold: the consumer expressly asked for the service to begin within the withdrawal period, the consumer acknowledged that they would lose the right of withdrawal once the service was fully performed, and the service is in fact fully performed. If you did not capture that prior acknowledgement, you cannot reject the withdrawal. If they withdraw with the service half done, they must pay the proportional part of what has already been provided — but only if they made that express request to begin and you provided the required information about the right of withdrawal; if either is missing, you cannot charge them anything (Art. 14(4)(a) of Directive 2011/83/EU).
- Digital content downloaded. For a download or streaming without a physical medium, the right is lost only if three things hold: performance began with the express consent of the consumer, their acknowledgement that they would thereby lose the right of withdrawal, and you provided confirmation of the contract on a durable medium (an email or PDF), per Art. 16(m). The checkbox on its own, without that confirmation, is not enough to reject the withdrawal.
These nuances form part of the exceptions to the right of withdrawal, which deserve a chapter of their own. What matters for counting the period is to hold on to the base rule: services and digital → from the conclusion of the contract; goods → from receipt. And remember that "starting to count" is not the same as "still having the right": for services and digital, the right can be used up.
What happens if you don't inform of the right? The period extends to 12 months
If the shop fails to inform the consumer correctly of the right of withdrawal before the purchase, the 14-day period is extended by an additional 12 months. This is the consequence set out in Article 10 of Directive 2011/83/EU and it is one of the costliest to ignore. It works like this:
- Without the information, the period extends to a maximum of 12 more months, counted from the end of the initial 14-day period (i.e. 12 months + 14 days from delivery or contract conclusion).
- If the shop remedies this and informs correctly within 12 months of delivery (or conclusion), the period drops to 14 days from the moment the customer receives that information. If it informs later, the customer keeps the period until that maximum cap.
- That window of up to a year is an open returns window that multiplies the risk of an order you thought was closed months ago.
This is where the withdrawal button of Article 11a and clear information stop being a formality and become your best defence: if you inform correctly and on a permanent basis, the period is 14 days, not a year. We explain it in detail in what exactly Article 11a requires and in how to add the button on Shopify.
Summary table: the dies a quo at a glance
| Case | Starts counting… | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Physical goods (single delivery) | Receipt of the goods | Art. 9 Directive |
| Several goods in one order, separately | Receipt of the last item | Art. 9 Directive |
| Goods in several lots or pieces | Receipt of the last lot/piece | Art. 9 Directive |
| Regular deliveries (subscription) | Receipt of the first delivery | Art. 9 Directive |
| Service | Conclusion of the contract | Art. 9 Directive |
| Digital content not on a tangible medium | Conclusion of the contract | Art. 9 Directive |
| No information of the right | +12 months on the initial period | Art. 10 Directive |
Common mistakes when counting the period
- Counting from the purchase instead of delivery. For goods, the clock starts with receipt. Charging for the order on day 1 does not start the period.
- Counting from the first box in a split order. It starts with the last delivery, not the first.
- Treating a subscription as a single order. The opposite is true: recurring deliveries count from the first delivery.
- Forgetting the next-day start and the extension for non-working days. The day of delivery does not count and, if day 14 is a public holiday, it is extended.
- Closing the period without having informed of the right. Without information, it is 14 days + 12 months, not 14 days.
Frequently asked questions
When does the 14-day withdrawal period start? For the sale of goods, on the day the consumer (or a third party they nominate, other than the carrier) physically receives the product. For services and digital content not on a tangible medium, on the day the contract is concluded. It is 14 calendar days.
Are the 14 days calendar days or working days? Calendar days: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays count. The first day does not count and, if the last day is non-working, the period is extended to the next working day.
If I order several products and they arrive separately, when do I count from? From the last delivery. The same applies if goods arrive in several lots or pieces. By contrast, for regular deliveries (subscriptions) it counts from the first.
When does the period start for services and digital downloads? From the conclusion of the contract. In addition, for services already performed at the customer's express request and with their acknowledgement that they would lose the right, and for digital content downloaded with express consent, acknowledgement and confirmation on a durable medium, the right can be lost before the 14 days are up.
What happens if the shop did not inform me of the right? The period extends to a maximum of 12 months plus 14 days, counted from delivery (or from the conclusion of the contract). If the shop informs you correctly within 12 months of delivery (or contract conclusion), you have 14 days from the moment you receive that information; if it informs you later, you keep the period until that maximum cap.
Conclusion
If you run a Shopify shop selling to the European Union, the practical takeaway is this: count the period from the documented receipt of the goods (or from the signing of the contract for services and digital), treat the 14 days as calendar days with the next-day start and the extension for non-working days, and anchor the calculation to the last delivery in split orders. And, above all, inform clearly of the right: it is the difference between 14 days and a whole year of exposure. When every request arrives with its date and time sealed, you stop arguing about whether it was in time and start having evidence.
💡 Ready to comply effortlessly? returnEasier installs the compliant withdrawal button on your Shopify shop and seals every request with a date and time, an auditable record and an acknowledgement of receipt, in the 7 EU languages. Try it free — 3 trial returns, no card.
Official sources
- Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights (art. 9 and 10) — EUR-Lex
- Directive (EU) 2023/2673 — EUR-Lex
Informational content; not legal advice. For specific cases, consult a lawyer specialised in consumer law.