Withdrawal period calculator
The most common mistake is the start date: people count from the order, but for goods what matters is the day they arrive. This calculator puts the contract type, the counting rules of Regulation 1182/71 and the weekend rule together – and shows the provision behind every step.
The calculator needs JavaScript. Every rule it applies is set out below, so the case can be worked through by hand.
Why there is no country selector here
The German and French versions of this calculator let you pick a region, because both count public holidays towards the end of the period. This page covers the single market, and there the answer is not one calendar but twenty-seven.
Article 3(4) of Regulation 1182/71 does shift a deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday to the next working day — but which days are public holidays is a matter for the Member State concerned, and often for the region within it. Bavaria shifts on Corpus Christi, Berlin does not.
So this calculator shifts over Saturdays and Sundays, which hold everywhere, and says so in the result instead of guessing a calendar. Where a national holiday falls on the end date, the period runs one day longer than shown here.
What it calculates with
| Provision | What it sets |
|---|---|
| Art. 9(2) Directive 2011/83/EU | The period is 14 days. |
| Art. 9(2)(b) Directive 2011/83/EU | For a sale of goods the period starts when the goods are received; with several deliveries, with the last one. |
| Art. 9(2)(a) Directive 2011/83/EU | For services and digital content it starts when the contract is concluded. |
| Art. 10(1) Directive 2011/83/EU | Without a proper instruction the period does not start; it expires after 12 months and 14 days at the latest. |
| Art. 3(1) Regulation 1182/71 | The day of the event itself does not count – counting starts the following day. |
| Art. 3(2) Regulation 1182/71 | The period ends at the close of its last day. |
| Art. 3(4) Regulation 1182/71 | If the end falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it moves to the next working day. |
Member States may go further than the directive in places, and a few do. Where the national rule differs, the national rule wins — the country overview says which country transposed the electronic withdrawal function and when.
Why the start date is the real difficulty
Everything else is calendar arithmetic – the provision is clear and a calculator does it reliably. The day the parcel reached the customer, though, is a date the store does not know by itself: it sits in the carrier's tracking, not in the order.
That is why this calculator works with the date you enter and does not claim to know it. Where that date is missing, any calculation is an estimate – and then an honest "unclear" is worth more than false certainty.
Not legal advice. The calculator carefully models the standard case under the directive and does not replace a lawyer's review of your case. Special cases – goods made to the consumer's specifications, or performance beginning early for digital content – follow their own rules, and national law may differ.