Electronic cancellation function (cancellation button) and IONOS shops
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Starting on June 19, 2026, businesses must provide an electronic cancellation function for contracts ordered online in accordance with Section 356a of the German Civil Code (BGB). This is intended to allow consumers to cancel online contracts just as easily as they entered into them.
This article explains who is affected, how the function is integrated into your IONOS shop, and what steps you need to take to set it up.
Please Note
IONOS does not provide legal advice and assumes no liability for the completeness or accuracy of this article’s content. If you have specific questions, please contact your legal counsel.
What exactly changes under the law?
- Consumers must be given an additional electronic cancellation function alongside the existing cancellation options.
- The electronic cancellation function must be permanently available and easy to access.
- After the cancellation is submitted, the consumer must automatically receive an acknowledgement of receipt.
- Your legal texts—cancellation policy and privacy policy—must be updated.
Who is affected?
You are required to provide an electronic cancellation function if you enable end consumers (B2C) in the EU to enter into distance contracts. These contracts must be concluded via an online user interface (website or app) and be subject to a statutory right of cancellation.
You are not affected if you sell exclusively to business customers (B2B) or if the contracts you offer are not subject to the right of cancellation. If in doubt, consult your legal counsel to determine whether this applies to you.
Consequences of non-compliance
If the electronic cancellation function is not implemented, you may face warning letters and fines.
Instructions for IONOS shops
Detailed articles containing further information are available for the following IONOS shops:
- Shop as part of the MyWebsite Now website builder (from 2022)
- Shop as part of the MyWebsite Creator website builder (2017–2022)
- Shop (MyShop) as part of the MyWebsite website builder (2008–2017)
- Online Shop as a standalone contract (from 2017)
- eShop as a standalone contract (up to 2017)
The following two products are used in environments to which IONOS has no access, e.g. within your own content management system. You will therefore need to integrate a withdrawal form yourself.
As an additional service, IONOS is working on a solution to enable easy integration via both products. This solution is currently still undergoing quality testing.
- eCommerce Plugin
- Social Buy Button
Please note: If you use a different shop system, e.g. Magento or a shop plugin for WordPress, you can find information on implementing the electronic withdrawal function from the respective provider.
Note
You can find details of your contracts in your IONOS account. If you have any further questions about determining your shop version, IONOS IONOS Customer Support can assist you.
Updating legal texts
The following legal texts on your website must be updated:
- Cancellation policy: Must include a reference to the electronic cancellation function and must be adapted to the respective sales channel. If you use multiple online sales channels, a separate cancellation policy is required for each channel.
- Privacy policy: Must be supplemented with information about the processing of personal data in connection with the electronic cancellation function.
Electronic cancellation function in the order confirmation
It is not sufficient to provide an electronic cancellation function only via a link in your order confirmation. The function must be easily accessible on the online user interface (website or app).
What applies when selling through multiple sales channels?
A customised cancellation policy must be used for each channel. In the case of online marketplaces, the marketplace operator is generally responsible for the technical implementation of the cancellation function.