What is a 'durable medium'?

A durable medium is a means that lets the consumer store information addressed to them personally so it can be accessed for an adequate period and reproduced unchanged — the CJEU and the Consumer Rights Directive both use this test. A plain email that lands in the consumer's inbox qualifies; an on-screen confirmation that disappears on navigation does not.

What must the acknowledgement contain?

The content of the withdrawal (who, which contract/order, what is being withdrawn) and the date and time it was submitted. It must be sent without undue delay.

Is an on-screen 'thank you' page enough?

No. A page that the consumer can't reliably store and reproduce later is not a durable medium. The acknowledgement has to be delivered in a form the consumer keeps — in practice, an email.

How fast does the receipt have to go out?

Without undue delay. In practice that means automatically and immediately on confirmation, not as a manual step a merchant does later.

The durable-medium receipt: what the withdrawal confirmation email must contain

Quick Answer

Short answer: The acknowledgement must be an email (a durable medium the consumer can store and reproduce), sent immediately, containing the content of the withdrawal and the date and time it was submitted. An on-screen confirmation page alone is not enough.

The last step of Art. 11a is easy to under-build. After the consumer confirms, the trader must send an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium, without undue delay, and that acknowledgement must carry the content of the withdrawal and the date and time of submission.

What "durable medium" means

The Consumer Rights Directive and settled CJEU case law use the same test: a durable medium lets the consumer store information addressed to them personally, access it for an adequate period, and reproduce it unchanged. An ordinary email meets this. A transient on-screen "thank you" that vanishes when the shopper navigates away does not — the consumer can't reliably keep it.

What the email has to contain

The content of the withdrawal — who is withdrawing, from which contract/order, and (for a partial withdrawal) which items.
The date and time the withdrawal was submitted. This is the clock that matters if a dispute ever turns on whether the consumer acted within the period.
Enough identification (name, order reference, contact address) that the record stands on its own.

And it has to be fast

"Without undue delay" in practice means automatic and immediate on confirmation — not something a merchant triggers by hand later.

This app sends the acknowledgement automatically the instant the consumer confirms, with the full statement and a precise timestamp, and keeps the same record in your withdrawals log — so the durable-medium copy and your audit copy always match.

This is a compliance walkthrough, not legal advice.

The durable-medium receipt: what the withdrawal confirmation email must contain

What "durable medium" means

What the email has to contain

And it has to be fast

EU Withdrawal does this for you

More guides