The right of withdrawal and mandatory elements of an online store in Romania: what most people skip

In an online store, the legal elements have real consequences. If the withdrawal information is missing, the customer can withdraw from the purchase for over a year instead of 14 days. This article goes through how the right of withdrawal works in Romania, what must be shown before checkout, and what changed with the ANPC pictograms in May 2026.

As I wrote in the article on general website legal requirements: this is not legal advice. As a developer, these are the things I see missing from online stores, and I refer to the text of the laws. Your terms and conditions are worth having checked by a lawyer.

Who does it apply to?

The right of withdrawal belongs to consumers, meaning private individuals who are not buying as part of their business. In Romania it is regulated by Emergency Ordinance 34/2014 (OUG 34/2014), which transposes the EU Consumer Rights Directive. If you only sell to businesses (B2B), this part does not apply to you, but most online stores also sell to private individuals.

How does the 14-day withdrawal work?

• The customer can withdraw within 14 days without giving a reason. For goods, the period runs from the day they take possession of the product.
• They can communicate the withdrawal with any unequivocal statement (email, letter, form). The annex of the ordinance contains a model withdrawal form. The customer does not have to use it, but you have to provide it.
• After withdrawing, the customer sends the product back within 14 days.
• You refund within 14 days the amount paid, including the original delivery cost. If the customer chose a more expensive delivery than your standard one (express, for example), you do not have to refund the difference.
• The refund goes through the same payment method the customer used, unless they agreed to another, and without charging them a fee.
• You can withhold the refund until you receive the product or the customer proves they have sent it.
• The return shipping cost is borne by the customer if you told them so beforehand. If you did not, you bear it.

The expensive mistake: not informing

If the customer was not informed about the right of withdrawal, the withdrawal period is extended by 12 months after the original 14 days end. For a seasonal product, that means they can return it the following year.

The information has to reach the customer before the purchase, and they must also receive it in the confirmation. In most stores it sits in the terms and conditions and in the order confirmation email. Many stores forget to add it to the confirmation email.

When is there no right of withdrawal?

The law also lists exceptions. The most common ones for online stores:

• products made to the customer's specifications or personalised (an engraved gift, made-to-measure furniture);
• perishable food;
• goods sealed for hygiene reasons, if unsealed (cosmetics, underwear in some cases);
• sealed audio, video or software products, if unsealed;
• digital content, if the download started with the customer's express consent and acknowledgement that they lose the right.

If any of your products fall into these categories, you have to say so in advance too, otherwise the customer can reasonably believe they can withdraw.

What must be shown before checkout

Before ordering, the customer must clearly see:

• the essential characteristics of the product;
• the total price including taxes and delivery costs, if any;
• the payment and delivery arrangements and times;
• the right of withdrawal and its conditions, or why there is none;
• the guarantee (the legal guarantee of conformity) and how complaints are handled;
• the company identification details, which I covered in the general article.

The order button

Most stores skip this one: the button that completes the order must clearly indicate that placing the order involves an obligation to pay. "Continue" or "Submit" is not enough. The established wording in Romania is "Comandă cu obligație de plată" ("Order with obligation to pay"). In WooCommerce it is a single setting or one line of code.

The ANPC pictograms: what changed in May 2026?

Since 2022, two pictograms have been mandatory in the footer of Romanian online stores: SAL (alternative dispute resolution) and SOL (the EU online dispute resolution platform). The EU closed the SOL platform on 20 July 2025, so ANPC amended the rule with Order 270/2026, in force since 19 May 2026:

• the SOL pictogram and link are no longer needed; they point to a platform that no longer works;
• the new SAL pictogram is 250×50 pixels and must link to reclamatiisal.anpc.ro.

The amendment took effect immediately on publication. Check your own footer: if the old SOL pictogram is still there, or the SAL pictogram points to the old address, it is worth replacing them now.

A ten-minute checklist

• Is there withdrawal information in your terms and conditions, together with the model withdrawal form?
• Does the order confirmation email also contain the withdrawal information?
• Is it stated who pays for returns?
• If you sell products with no right of withdrawal, is that shown on the product page and in the terms?
• Is the total price including delivery visible before checkout?
• Does the order button state the obligation to pay?
• Is the new SAL pictogram in the footer, linking to reclamatiisal.anpc.ro, with no SOL pictogram left?

If anything is missing from your store, send me the address and I will tell you what I see. In the online stores I build, these are included from the start, and I wrote about checking your store before the season here.