Implementing legislation for "withdrawal button" published: section 356a of the German Civil Code to enter into force on 19 June 2026

In our news article of November 2023 (in German only) and a more detailed analysis (Billing/Vetter, K&R 2024, 387), we already reported on the upcoming introduction of the “withdrawal button” (Widerrufsbutton) for cancelling contracts during cooling-off periods and the associated challenges for businesses in the digital B2C sector. In a further news article from July 2025, we analysed the draft bill (Referentenentwurf) published shortly before by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz) and concluded that the draft implemented the requirements of the EU Directive almost verbatim, leaving key practical issues unresolved.

The legislative process has now been completed: the German Act to Amend Consumer Contract Law, Insurance Contract Law and Treatment Contract Law (Gesetz zur Änderung des Verbrauchervertrags- und des Versicherungsvertragsrechts sowie zur Änderung des Behandlungsvertragsrechts) was published in on 5 February 2026 (Federal Gazette (BGBl.) 2026 I No. 28). The new section 356a of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB) enters into force on 19 June 2026. From that date, all businesses that enable consumers to conclude distance contracts via an online user interface will have to provide an electronic withdrawal function. This also encompasses financial services contracts concluded at a distance; unlike section 312k(1) of the German Civil Code, which provides for an exemption from the "cancellation" button for ending such contracts, the new section 356a does not grant any such exemption.

Final wording of the new section 356a of the German Civil Code

Compared to the draft bill of July 2025, the legislator only changed one detail of the wording of section 356a of the Code. The final version reads as follows (translated from German):

“Section 356a Electronic withdrawal function for distance contracts

(1) In the case of distance contracts concluded via an online user interface, the trader must ensure that consumer is able to submit a withdrawal declaration on the online user interface by using a withdrawal function. The withdrawal function must be legibly labelled “withdraw from contract” (“Vertrag widerrufen”) or with another equally clear and unambiguous wording. It must be permanently available, prominently placed and easily accessible to the consumer on the online user interface during the withdrawal period.

(2) The withdrawal function must enable the consumer to submit a withdrawal declaration to the trader and to provide or confirm the following information to the trader in or with the withdrawal declaration without difficulty:

1. the consumer’s name;
2. information to identify the contract or part of the contract the consumer wishes to withdraw from;
3. information on the electronic means of communication by which a confirmation of receipt of the withdrawal is to be transmitted to the consumer.

(3) Once the consumer has provided or confirmed the information pursuant to subsection 2, the trader must enable the consumer to submit the withdrawal declaration and the information to the trader by means of a confirmation function. This confirmation function must be legibly labelled “confirm withdrawal” (“Widerruf bestätigen”) or with another equally clear and unambiguous wording.

(4) If the consumer has activated the confirmation function, the trader must promptly transmit a confirmation of receipt to the consumer on a durable medium, containing at least the content of the withdrawal declaration pursuant to subsection 2, as well as the date and time of its receipt.

(5) The consumer’s withdrawal declaration will be deemed to have been received by the trader within the withdrawal period if the consumer sent the withdrawal declaration pursuant to subsection 3 via the withdrawal function before the expiry of that period.”

Compared to the draft bill of July 2025, only the wording at the end of subsection 2(3) has changed. Whereas the draft bill of July 2025 provided that the confirmation of receipt was to be transmitted by the means of communication indicated by the consumer using the wording übermittelt werden soll ("should be transmitted"), the final version now uses the mandatory phrasing zu übermitteln ist ("is to be transmitted"). This is only a drafting correction: the previous “should” wording could have created the impression that the trader was permitted to deviate from the means of communication chosen by the consumer. The revised wording – in line with Article 11a(2)(c) of the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) as amended by Directive (EU) 2023/2673 on financial services contracts concluded at a distance – makes clear that the confirmation of receipt must be transmitted using the means of communication specified by the consumer.

Extended legislative materials: some clarifications and remaining gaps

Although the German legislator barely changed the statutory text itself, the explanatory memorandum to the Government Bill (in Bundestag Document 21/1856, pages 37-38) (in German only) contains several noteworthy additions compared to the earlier draft bill. These explicitly address several of the practical problems already identified in our earlier publications, although they do not resolve all of them.

Blanket provision instead of individualisation

One of the problems we already discussed concerns individualisation of the withdrawal button. In theory, the button should only be displayed to a consumer during the specific withdrawal period applicable to them. However, such individualisation is technically unfeasible – especially where the button is displayed without a prior login.

The legislative materials now expressly address this issue and establish blanket and permanent provision of the withdrawal function as the default. The explanatory memorandum makes clear that businesses must provide the withdrawal function “on a blanket basis” (pauschal bereithalten) where they cannot determine the individual cooling-off period or can only do so with disproportionate effort – for example because there is no login or for data protection reasons. Permanently displaying the button is said to be “not detrimental to the running of the specific withdrawal period”. A misleading commercial practice (relevant under unfair competition law) is also said not to exist, since “from the perspective of a reasonable consumer” merely displaying the withdrawal function does not imply the simultaneous existence of a right to withdraw.

The legislator thus confirms the consequence we described: the withdrawal function must, as a matter of principle, be provided permanently and indiscriminately. However, the resulting problem that generally displaying the button may invite unjustified withdrawal declarations and lead to considerable additional administrative effort in processing such declarations remains unresolved.

Withdrawal button in the login area as a possible exception

Notably, the legislative materials continue to provide for an exception under which providing the withdrawal function exclusively within the login area of a customer account is sufficient, “if and to the extent that the contract can exclusively be entered into by setting up a customer account”.

This distinction is of particular interest because it appears to differentiate the withdrawal button for cancelling during the cooling-off period from the cancellation/termination button under section 312k of the German Civil Code. For the latter, the courts have repeatedly held that online cancellation using the button mechanism must be possible without having to login beforehand (see Cologne Regional Court (Landgericht Köln), order of 29 July 2022 – 33 O 355/22; Berlin Higher Regional Court (Kammergericht), judgment of 18 November 2025 – 5 UKl 10/25, appeal pending before the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof): I ZR 275/25). By contrast, the legislative materials for section 356a of the German Civil Code permit a log in-only solution for the withdrawal button at least where the underlying contract itself requires the establishment of a customer account. This is likely to be particularly relevant for providers of financial services where consumer contracts are in some cases only entered into after a customer account has been set up.

Special features for contracts concluded over third-party websites

The legislator has now also expressly addressed the problem we described regarding contracts concluded over intermediary platforms. The legislative materials clarify that it makes no difference for the obligation to provide the withdrawal function whether the contract is entered into on a website operated by the trader itself – or on a website operated by a third party. The trader must ensure that the consumer can use the withdrawal function and, “if necessary, contractually oblige the platform operator” to facilitate this.

This clearly places responsibility with the trader as the consumer’s contractual counterpart. However, the question of how this obligation is to be fulfilled in practice remains open. The “link-out solution” we described, which redirects the consumer from the platform to the trader’s own website, is not mentioned in the legislative materials. Nor is the problem addressed that the trader depends on the ongoing cooperation of the platform operator in such cases.

Possibility of partial withdrawal

The legislative materials also address the possibility of partial withdrawal, i.e. only cancelling individual goods or services within a broader order. The legislator states that when stating the contract or part of the contract to be withdrawn from, this must be “specific” and “may be made by selection in an order overview – for example in the customer account”. Here too, however, there is no clear indication of the practical consequence that either a prior login is indeed necessary, or the confirmation page must in these cases request more information than specified in section 356a(2) of the German Civil Code – for example through an additional input field for specifying the part of the contract to be withdrawn from in more detail.

Apps as “online user interfaces”

The legislative materials define the term “online user interface” (Online-Benutzeroberfläche) as “software, including websites or parts of websites as well as applications, including mobile apps”. This confirms that the obligation to provide the withdrawal function also applies to apps through which consumers can conclude a distance contract.

Placement of the withdrawal button in the footer

The legislative materials also contain a new practical note on placement: the withdrawal function should be directly accessible from every subpage of the “online user interface”, with the trader being able to “use hyperlinks”. This confirms the approach we proposed to integrate the withdrawal button in the footer of the website.

However, an inconspicuous text link is expressly not sufficient. For placement in the footer, the legislative materials require “special measures such as colour choice or contrasts as well as a prominent placement that clearly distinguishes the withdrawal function from other information such as the general terms and conditions, the legal notice or similar”. The withdrawal button must therefore be clearly (e.g. through colour) visually highlighted relative to the other links in the footer.

Confirmation of receipt with note on pending review

Finally, the legislative materials contain a helpful recommendation regarding the wording of the confirmation of receipt. The legislator notes that care should be taken in the wording to ensure “that the impression is not unintentionally created that the substantive legal validity of the objection has already been assessed”. They state that it may be advisable “to note in the confirmation of receipt that a review of the validity and scope of the withdrawal declaration is still pending”.

In practice, the automated confirmation e-mail should therefore contain a standard notice stating that the e-mail exclusively confirms the receipt of the withdrawal declaration and that a review of the validity and scope of the withdrawal is still pending. Phrases such as “confirmation of your withdrawal” or “your withdrawal is hereby confirmed” should be strictly avoided.

Outlook

With the publication of the implementing legislation, the introduction of the withdrawal button in Germany is complete. Businesses in the digital B2C sector now face a concrete need for action: they have to implement the electronic withdrawal function on their websites by 19 June 2026 and, where applicable, in their apps. In addition, the withdrawal instructions and internal processes for handling incoming withdrawal declarations have to be updated. The model withdrawal instructions for distance contracts other than financial services contracts have to be updated in accordance with the new drafting note 3 in Annex 1 (to Article 246a, section 1(2), second sentence) of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch – EGBGB) to inform the consumer about the new withdrawal button. A corresponding need for adjustment also arises for the withdrawal instructions for financial services contracts concluded at a distance, although the implementing legislation regrettably deletes the existing statutory model instructions in Annexes 3 to 3b (to Article 246b, section 2(3), first sentence) of the Introductory Act, referring to the full harmonisation sought by the Directive.

Although the extended legislative materials contain welcome clarifications, the structural problems we identified remain unresolved in the statute itself. The scope of the new provisions, which affects all consumer contracts in electronic commerce, should not be underestimated in its practical significance. It is to be expected, once the new rules enter into force there will be an increase in cease-and-desist warnings (similar to what we observed following the introduction of the cancellation button under section 312k of the German Civil Code), particularly since the implementation of the withdrawal button of failure to implement it will also be relatively easy to verify. In addition, failure to comply with the new obligations or their adequate implementation may result in steep administrative fines. All the more reason for the businesses concerned to start on the technical and organisational implementation straight away.