WooCommerce Right of Withdrawal - Art. 11a compliant (Dir. 2023/2673)
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WooCommerce Right of Withdrawal - Art. 11a compliant (Dir. 2023/2673)

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#Right of Withdrawal in WooCommerce

From 19 June 2026 every EU online store selling to consumers must provide a working right-of-withdrawal feature directly in the shop - that is what Art. 11a of Directive 2011/83/EU (as amended by 2023/2673) requires. Terms text and an e-mail form are no longer enough.

The withdrawal module in Polski for WooCommerce is a ready-to-use, free implementation of that requirement, plus extra features that simplify the whole flow.

#Free tier

  • Two-step My Account form with item selection and partial quantities
  • Sequential partial withdrawals across one order
  • Guest flow with magic-link e-mail authentication (30 min, single-use)
  • Admin manual registration (phone / e-mail / letter / in-store)
  • Per-product and per-category exemptions with 8 Art. 38 reasons
  • Art. 16(m) digital consent in 3 modes (required / optional / hidden)
  • Annex I(A) and I(B) generator with merchant data
  • Configurable deadline + trigger statuses
  • Durable-medium confirmation e-mail with frozen order snapshot
  • Three custom order statuses, full order notes history
  • Variant products as discrete line items
  • HPOS + legacy storage compatible
  • PL + EN translations
  • WP 6.9+ Abilities API - 16 abilities for AI agents and the command palette
  • Gutenberg blocks for the three public shortcodes

#Pro tier

  • Operator-confirmed refund builder
  • Download verification for digital items
  • A4 PDF declaration generator (durable medium)
  • WooCommerce Subscriptions: prorated billing + renewal cancellation
  • Product Bundles refund (whole / proportional / no-discount)
  • Annex I(B) in 8 languages with country-specific legal references
  • Reports dashboard (count, average processing time, refund volume, reasons)
  • Audit log with CSV export
  • REST endpoints + 4 additional abilities

#Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliant: focus visible, 44×44 target size, lang attributes, aria-required, aria-invalid, sticky form values, role=alert on errors, live region for selected-item counter, scroll-margin under sticky headers. Plain-language error messages with recovery hints. Visible FAQ accordion (mirrors FAQPage JSON-LD).

#Directive + timeline

  • EU: Directive 2011/83/EU (Art. 11a added by 2023/2673)
  • Implementation deadline: 19 June 2026
  • Withdrawal period: 14 days from receipt (configurable)
  • Return shipping window: 14 days from declaration
  • Refund deadline: 14 days from receipt of returned goods or proof of dispatch
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Service FAQ

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Popular questions

What does Art. 11a of Directive 2023/2673 require from 19 June 2026? Does the form work for guests without an account? Can the customer return only some items? How do I exclude products that can't be returned? What does the Pro version add?
What does Art. 11a of Directive 2023/2673 require from 19 June 2026? #
From 19 June 2026 every EU online store selling to consumers must provide a working right-of-withdrawal feature directly inside the shop. Terms-of-service text and a form in the order e-mail no longer suffice. The consumer must be able to submit the declaration in an "easily accessible and prominently displayed" way before the 14-day deadline. The rule applies to all distance contracts, not just WooCommerce.
Does the form work for guests without an account? #
Yes. The module ships a dedicated guest flow: the consumer enters the e-mail used at checkout plus the order number, receives a one-time magic link by e-mail (30 minutes, single-use), and on click sees the withdrawal form pre-filled with order details. No login required. The token is hashed at rest and rate-limited to 5 attempts per 15 minutes per e-mail+IP.
Can the customer return only some items? #
Yes. The My Account two-step form lets the consumer pick exactly which line items and how many units to withdraw. Sequential withdrawals are supported too - the system tracks remaining units per item and blocks any attempt to exceed the cap. Pro auto-refund prorates the amount per line.
How do I exclude products that can't be returned? #
Per-product and per-category exemptions with 8 pre-defined reasons from Art. 38 of the Polish Consumer Rights Act (transposing the directive): custom-made, perishable, sealed for hygiene reasons, inseparably mixed, alcohol, sealed audio/video, digital content, plus "Other" with free-text reason. Excluded items show the legal ground to the consumer.
What does the Pro version add? #
Operator-confirmed auto-refund (never automatic), A4 PDF declaration as durable medium, WooCommerce Subscriptions support with prorated billing and renewal cancellation, Product Bundles refund strategies, Annex I(B) generator in 8 languages (DE/AT/PL/FR/NL/IT/ES/EN) with country-specific legal references, reports dashboard with processing time and refund volume, and an audit log with CSV export.

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