Just to warn you, Shopify has shared an important EU compliance update.
From June 19, 2026, merchants selling to EU customers may need to provide a visible electronic withdrawal button/link so customers can request cancellation directly from the store, without logging in.
More details here:
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/compliance/legal/eu-right-of-withdrawal
Thanks for sharing this @Sam_Tim. I’ll mark this thread as “solved” just for now, but if anyone has any questions please feel free to ping me here.
In the following help article, there are instructions on how to use new Shopify features to comply with the new EU rules: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/managing-orders/returns/return-rules#eu-right-of-withdrawal
However, like mentioned before in this thread and in the linked help article, customers need to be able to submit the withdrawal request with having to log in: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/compliance/legal/eu-right-of-withdrawal#:~:text=accessible%20without%20a%20customer%20needing%20to%20log%20in%20to%20your%20store
What is the plan from Shopify how to handle this?
Quick implementation note for anyone building this for clients before the deadline:
The link does not have to be a separate page - Shopify’s Help Center example uses a contact form with a pre-filled “Right of withdrawal” subject, which is fully compliant under article 11 of the Consumer Rights Directive. That is the lowest-friction option for stores on a tight timeline.
For Plus stores using checkout extensions, you can add it as a checkout-block link in the footer-content extension target rather than touching theme code.
Two things to watch out for:
Stores selling to multiple EU countries will also need the localised version of the form text for at least the language of each storefront. Translate & Adapt handles this if you are on Plus; otherwise the manual translation route in the Translate app works.
Hey @SimJoSt - fair question for sure.
From Shopify’s perspective here, the most important distinction is between making the withdrawal entry point easy to find and confirming that the person submitting the request has access to the relevant order.
With Shopify’s native flow, merchants can add a visible link on their storefront that takes customers to their orders/customer accounts area. From there, the withdrawal action is tied to the customer’s order details. To submit the request, the flow uses the same identifier associated with the order. For email-based orders, that means entering the email address and confirming access with a verification code. For phone-only orders, customers can access the order status page from their SMS order confirmation link and submit from that partially authenticated order context.
So our perspective is that this verification step is there to confirm order access using the same identifier tied to the order. It isn’t meant to require a traditional password-based account login before a customer can use the withdrawal function.
That said, merchants aren’t required to use Shopify’s native setup specifically. They can use Shopify’s return/cancellation rules, a third-party app, or their own withdrawal form/process, depending on what fits their business. Ultimately, each merchant should review their full setup with their own legal advisor to confirm it meets their obligations.
Hope this helps clarify the thinking on our end here.
Thank you for the reply.
While I understand that logic, I still urge Shopify to update the official phrasing in the docs.
Some chambers of commerce have specifically issued instructions to not require a login or verification step, before being able to access the withdrawal feature.
And as far as I know, the withdrawal requirement came, as the spirit is to make withdrawal as easy as placing an order, which is possible without login/registration in most stores.
What do you mean by this?
I am aware of the EU requirement and that post.
Is there something specific you wanted to point my attention to?
@SimJoSt the help article appears to have been revised - the current version frames the requirement as a visible withdrawal link “such as from their account or order status page,” and the no-login text fragment you linked no longer resolves.
If you want a strictly login-free channel on top, the contact-form approach mentioned above (order number + email, pre-filled withdrawal subject) covers it. And note the docs now state EU refunds must be processed within 14 days of the request. As always, confirm with legal counsel.