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right of withdrawal

noun · Widerrufsrecht

The consumer’s right of withdrawal is the Widerrufsrecht of § 355 BGB: fourteen days, no reasons required, sending the declaration in time is enough. Where the trader failed to instruct properly the period stretches to twelve months and fourteen days, and since 19 June 2026 online traders must additionally provide a withdrawal button, § 356a BGB. The same German word also names the revocation of an administrative act, a different institute.

Which translation, when

Widerrufsrechtthe mechanism: where statute grants a consumer a right of withdrawal under § 355 BGB, consumer and trader cease to be bound by their declarations once the consumer withdraws in time; the withdrawal is declared to the trader, the decision to withdraw must emerge unambiguously from the declaration, no reasons are needed, and timely dispatch preserves the period, § 355 Abs. 1 BGB, which runs fourteen days and starts, unless otherwise provided, on conclusion of the contract, Abs. 2.
fehlerhafte Belehrungthe long stop: for distance and off-premises contracts the period does not begin before the trader has instructed the consumer as Art. 246a EGBGB requires, § 356 Abs. 3 Satz 1 BGB, so a defective instruction keeps the right alive, but as a rule only up to a limit, the right expiring at the latest twelve months and fourteen days after the starting point the statute names, Satz 2, with separate rules for individual contract types; § 312g Abs. 1 grants the right for distance and off-premises contracts, and Abs. 2 lists the exceptions, from goods made to the consumer’s specification to sealed goods unsuitable for return once unsealed.
elektronische Widerrufsfunktionthe new duty: for distance contracts concluded through an online interface the trader must provide a withdrawal function labelled legibly with Vertrag widerrufen or an equally unambiguous wording, permanently available, prominently placed and easily accessible throughout the period, § 356a BGB, in force since 19 June 2026 and implementing Directive (EU) 2023/2673; the older withdrawal-button rules for terminating continuing obligations are a separate device.
Widerruf gegen Rücktrittthe neighbouring words: German uses Widerruf for this consumer right, Rücktritt where a party withdraws from a contract on a statutory or agreed ground, Kündigung to end a continuing obligation and Anfechtung to avoid a declaration for mistake or deceit; and the same noun Widerruf names the revocation of a lawful administrative act, which the revocation entry holds, so the field decides the meaning.

Why

Right of withdrawal is the Widerrufsrecht, the central instrument of German consumer protection, and its mechanics are set out in § 355 BGB. Where a statute grants a consumer the right, neither side stays bound to the declarations aimed at concluding the contract once the consumer withdraws in time. The declaration goes to the trader, the decision to withdraw must emerge unambiguously from it, no reasons need be given and no particular form is prescribed, and dispatching it in time is enough, so a delayed arrival does not hurt the consumer. The period is fourteen days and begins, unless otherwise provided, with the conclusion of the contract. What makes the institute dangerous for traders is the instruction requirement: for distance and off-premises contracts the period does not start before the consumer has been instructed as Art. 246a EGBGB requires, § 356 Abs. 3 Satz 1 BGB, so a defective notice keeps the right alive for a long time, capped as a rule by Satz 2 at twelve months and fourteen days, individual contract types carrying their own rules. Section 312g Abs. 1 BGB grants the right for distance contracts and contracts concluded away from business premises, and Abs. 2 lists the exceptions, among them goods made to the consumer’s specification and sealed goods unsuitable for return once unsealed. One recent addition must be in any current translation: since 19 June 2026, for distance contracts concluded through an online interface, the trader must provide an electronic withdrawal function, § 356a BGB, a clearly labelled and permanently accessible button implementing Directive (EU) 2023/2673. Finally the vocabulary, because German distributes across four words what English often carries with withdraw or cancel: Widerruf for this consumer right, Rücktritt for withdrawing from a contract on a statutory or contractual ground, Kündigung for ending a continuing obligation, Anfechtung for avoiding a declaration on grounds of mistake or deceit. And Widerruf is also the administrative-law act of revoking a lawful decision, held by the revocation entry, so the branch of law decides which institute the word names.

Typical mistakes

  • The period does not begin before proper instruction and is capped at twelve months and fourteen days, § 356 Abs. 3 Satz 2 BGB, so a flat statement that withdrawal ends after fourteen days is wrong wherever the notice was defective.
  • Since 19 June 2026 an online trader must provide the electronic withdrawal function of § 356a BGB, so translations of older shop documentation describe an incomplete duty.
  • Widerruf, Rücktritt, Kündigung and Anfechtung are four different institutes, so rendering cancel or withdraw without deciding which one is meant misstates the ground and the effect.

What matters

Adapting shop documentation for the German market: the text should use Widerruf and Widerrufsfrist, carry the instruction requirement and its long-stop date, and state whether the electronic withdrawal function required since June 2026 is in place.

Authority

  1. § 355 BGB
  2. § 356 BGB
  3. § 356a BGB
  4. § 312g BGB

What the machine misses

Machine renderings of right of withdrawal drift between Rücktrittsrecht and Kündigungsrecht, and the consumer institute is the Widerrufsrecht of § 355 BGB, fourteen days without reasons, stretched to twelve months and fourteen days where the instruction was defective; the wrong word moves the text to a different ground of release and hides the instruction requirement the whole regime turns on.

See what the machine does with this clause →

Examples

the right of withdrawaldas Widerrufsrecht
you may withdraw within fourteen days without giving reasonsSie können binnen vierzehn Tagen ohne Angabe von Gründen widerrufen
the withdrawal perioddie Widerrufsfrist
notice of the right of withdrawaldie Widerrufsbelehrung
Checked 09 Aug 2026 finepost.co.uk/notes/right-of-withdrawal