Short answer
EU consumers normally have 14 days to withdraw from a distance or off-premises contract without giving a reason. National law may use a 30-day period for contracts concluded during specified unsolicited home visits or sales excursions. The clock usually starts at contract conclusion for services and non-tangible digital content, and at physical possession for goods. Starting a paid service immediately does not automatically remove the right: the consumer must expressly request early performance and may owe a proportionate amount if they withdraw.
For a service that places the consumer under an obligation to pay, the right is lost after full performance only where performance began with prior express consent and acknowledgement of that consequence. For paid non-tangible digital content, loss when supply begins depends on prior express consent, acknowledgement and contract confirmation. The Directive also covers some digital-content or digital-service contracts paid for with personal data rather than money, but the additional paid-contract formalities are not framed identically. Goods genuinely made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised are excepted even if production has not begun. A transparently priced subscription normally creates one right at initial conclusion, not a fresh right at each automatic extension.
Incomplete withdrawal information can extend the period and can prevent the trader charging for early performance.
The default 14-day rule
Article 9 of Directive 2011/83/EU gives a consumer:
“a period of 14 days to withdraw from a distance or off-premises contract, without giving any reason”. —
For a service contract or non-tangible digital-content contract, the period starts when the contract is concluded. For goods, it generally begins when the consumer or nominated third party obtains physical possession, with special rules for split deliveries and regular deliveries.
Member States may extend the period to 30 days for contracts concluded during unsolicited visits to a consumer's home or excursions organised to promote or sell products. This is a national option introduced by Directive (EU) 2019/2161, not a universal 30-day rule, so the applicable national implementation must be checked.
The trader must explain the conditions, time limit, procedure and model form before the consumer is bound. If the required withdrawal information is omitted, Article 10 can extend the period by as much as 12 months. The consumer may use the model form but any unequivocal statement is sufficient; keeping evidence of timely dispatch is prudent.
Services that begin immediately
A consumer can ask a trader to begin a service during the 14-day period. For a distance contract that places the consumer under an obligation to pay, Article 8(8) requires an express request and acknowledgement that full performance will end the right. A pre-ticked box or a clause buried in general terms is not a reliable substitute.
If the consumer then withdraws, Article 14(3) normally requires payment:
“in proportion to what has been provided until the time the consumer has informed the trader of the exercise of the right of withdrawal, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.” —
The agreed total price is the starting point; if excessive, use market value. In PE Digital, the Court said the ordinary calculation is pro rata temporis. A trader may charge the whole price of a component immediately supplied only where the contract expressly treats it as a separate, separately priced service.
If the trader failed to obtain the required request or failed to inform the consumer about proportionate payment, Article 14(4) protects the consumer from that cost.
When does full performance end the right?
For a service contract that places the consumer under an obligation to pay, Article 16(a) removes the withdrawal right only after the service has been fully performed, where performance began with the consumer's prior express consent and acknowledgement that the right would be lost upon full performance. The exception also covers a service without a payment obligation after full performance, but the Directive does not attach those additional paid-contract formalities to it.
Partial performance is different. The consumer may still withdraw during the period and, if the early-start requirements were met, pay the proportionate amount. A trader cannot convert “start now” into immediate loss of the entire right where performance remains ongoing.
Digital content is not the same as a digital service
Digital content means data produced and supplied digitally, such as software, games, music, video or text. Article 16(m) creates an exception for non-tangible digital content once performance begins. Where the contract places the consumer under an obligation to pay, the exception additionally requires prior express consent to begin during the withdrawal period, acknowledgement that the right is thereby lost, and the required contract confirmation.
Classification matters. A subscription delivered online may still be a service, even if it produces reports or displays data. In PE Digital, an automatically generated personality report within an online dating service did not turn the overall service into non-tangible digital content for Article 16(m). Traders should classify the real main performance and any separable components rather than call every online product a download.
Streaming classification remains under judicial consideration. In a February 2026 Opinion in pending Case C-234/25, Sky Österreich, Advocate General Szpunar proposed that a streaming subscription offering live, on-demand and downloaded viewing from a provider's server is not “digital content” for Article 16(m). That would leave the service rules applicable. The Opinion is not a judgment and does not bind the Court, so the eventual ruling must be checked.
If the prescribed consent, acknowledgement or confirmation is missing, Article 14(4) can prevent charging for supplied non-tangible digital content after withdrawal.
Free trials, renewals and subscriptions
In Sofatutor, a subscription began with a 30-day free trial, converted to a paid period and automatically renewed unless cancelled. The Court held that Article 9 generally provides the withdrawal right once, at contract conclusion—not again at the free-to-paid conversion or every fixed-term extension—provided the consumer was informed clearly, comprehensibly and explicitly at the outset that payment would follow the trial.
That transparency condition is crucial. If the consumer was not properly informed about the price after the free period, a new withdrawal right may arise when the contract becomes chargeable. Separate later contract changes may also require their own assessment. Withdrawal is distinct from contractual cancellation: a subscription may provide a termination right even when the harmonised 14-day withdrawal period has ended.
Personalised and made-to-order goods
Article 16(c) excepts:
“goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised”. —
The definition covers non-prefabricated goods made from the consumer's individual choice or decision. A unique engraved item or tailor-made dimensions may qualify; selecting standard stock options does not necessarily do so.
In Möbel Kraft, the Court held that the exception can apply even where the trader has not started producing the bespoke item and could still avoid economic loss. The exception is inherent in the contract for genuinely specified or personalised goods; making the right depend on undisclosed production progress would leave the consumer unable to know their position when contracting.
Because exceptions are interpreted strictly, the trader should identify the concrete specification that makes resale impracticable rather than apply a blanket “made to order” label.
A practical classification checklist
- Is the contract distance or off-premises, and does a sector exclusion apply?
- Is the main object goods, a service, non-tangible digital content or a mixed contract?
- When did the 14-day period start, and was complete withdrawal information supplied?
- Did the consumer expressly request early service performance?
- For full performance or digital content, were prior express consent and acknowledgement obtained and confirmed?
- If a service was partly supplied, what proportionate amount follows from the agreed price or market value?
- Were post-trial prices and automatic extensions clear at initial conclusion?
- Are goods genuinely non-prefabricated to individual specifications or clearly personalised?
- Does a separate contractual cancellation right remain after statutory withdrawal expires?
Conclusion
The 14-day right is the default, and exceptions depend on contract type and precise formal conditions. An early-started service usually preserves withdrawal with proportionate payment; full performance and non-tangible digital content require specific consent and acknowledgement rules. Transparent subscriptions do not reset withdrawal at every renewal, while unclear free-to-paid pricing may change the result. Genuine personalised goods are excepted from the outset, but a trader's label cannot turn standard inventory into bespoke production.
Sources
This article provides general legal information, not advice for a specific matter. Laws, facts and procedural deadlines may change the result. Follow the linked primary sources and obtain local advice before acting.