Guarantees: What traders need to consider from 2026

New mandatory information on guarantees of conformity and durability is coming – with harmonised labels that must be clearly visible both online and in store.

From 27 September 2026, the EU legislature will require B2C traders when selling goods to provide their customers with better information about the legal guarantee of conformity as well as any commercial guarantee of durability offered by producers. In future, traders will have to use uniform EU-wide templates: the "harmonised notice" of the legal guarantee of conformity and the "harmonised label" of the commercial guarantee of durability.

Information requirements derived from EmpCo Directive

The new information requirements are part of the "Empowering Consumers Directive" ("EmpCo" for short; officially Directive (EU) 2024/825 amending Directives 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU as regards empowering consumers for the green transition through better protection against unfair practices and through better information).

This not only contains additions to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive regarding "green claims", but also provides for changes with regard to the pre-contractual information requirements set out in the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83). The aim is to enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions and thus contribute to more sustainable consumption patterns.

Layout for harmonised notice and label defined

With the Implementing Regulation of 25 September 2025, the European Commission has now defined the design and content of the harmonised notice and label with binding effect and is therefore on time according to its own schedule.

Update March 2026: EmpCo transposition in Germany completed

The EmpCo Directive has to be transposed into national law by the Member States by 27 September 2026 at the latest.  In Germany, the relevant legislative procedures have already been completed: the amendments to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive have been implemented through an amendment to the Unfair Competition Act (UWG), which comes into force on 27 September 2026. The part of the EmpCo that amends the Consumer Rights Directive has been (very much in line with the Directive) transposed into German law by the Act Amending Consumer Contract and Insurance Contract Law as well as Medical Treatment Contract Law. The new information requirements will be included in the catalogues of pre-contractual information requirements for consumer contracts in accordance with Article 246 and Article 246a section 1 Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (EGBGB) as of 27 September 2026.

Brief overview: The new mandatory information

1. Legal guarantee of conformity

As of 27 September 2026 traders must inform their customers in a clear and comprehensible manner about the existence of a legal guarantee of conformity for goods, including its main elements, before concluding a contract with them. The main elements include the minimum duration of the legal guarantee of conformity of two years and a general indication that this minimum duration may be longer depending on the national law of the EU Member State (such as in the Netherlands). This information must be displayed in a prominent manner using the following EU harmonised notice:

2. Guarantee of durability

If a producer grants a commercial guarantee of durability for the entire product at no additional cost and with a duration of more than two years and makes this information available to the trader (e.g. through corresponding information on the packaging of the goods), the trader must inform the consumer about the guarantee. In contrast to previous case law from the ECJ, the trader can no longer decide for itself whether it will advertise with the guarantee and then decide whether to inform customers accordingly or not.

This guarantee information must be displayed in a prominent manner using the following EU harmonised label:

For distance contracts concluded via an online user interface, the label can also be displayed in a nested format:

In addition, the trader must also point out using the harmonised notice that the legal guarantee of conformity exists to prevent consumers from confusing the commercial guarantee of durability and the legal guarantee of conformity.

What goods are affected?

To begin with, this affects all "goods" within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Directive, i.e. tangible movable items including goods with digital elements (such as smartphones). For digital content and digital services (digital products), there is still only an obligation to refer to the existence of a legal guarantee of conformity or the existence and the conditions of after-sales services and commercial guarantees.

Contracts that are the subject of everyday transactions and are fulfilled immediately upon conclusion of the contract are excluded from the information requirement (according to German law). Conversely, the increased information requirement should therefore apply to everyday transactions that are not fulfilled immediately (contracts for delivery or with payment in instalments and online purchases).

Where and how does the notice have to be placed?

1. Offline (in-store)

The harmonised notice of the legal guarantee of conformity must be clearly visible in the sales area in stores, e.g. as an eye-catching poster on a wall in the shop or next to the checkout counter.

The harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability must be positioned in the vicinity of the product, e.g. directly on the goods or packaging or on the shelf where the goods are placed.

2. Online (web store, marketplace, app)

In online retail, the harmonised notice must be displayed as a general reminder on the website of the trader selling the goods. The harmonised label should be visible in the online shop directly next to the image of the goods.

Risks in the event of non-compliance

The technical/design implementation should be completed by summer 2026 at the latest to ensure full compliance by the deadline of 27 September 2026. Traders should therefore check to what extent the products they sell are covered by a producer's warranty and what information the producer provides in this regard (e.g. on the packaging, in the instructions for use).

Failure to comply with the new information requirements (e.g. missing, insufficient or not clearly visible information) can result in costly and resource-intensive warnings from consumer protection organisations or competitors. In addition, substantial fines may be imposed for widespread infringements according to the Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws or the respective implementing act.

There is also an increased risk of consumers being misled in cases where any guarantees are not intended to apply to the entire product and/or for a period of more than two years. In this respect, the EmpCo Directive clarifies that other types of commercial guarantees and after-sales services are still allowed, but must not confuse consumers with regard to the commercial guarantee of durability with the mandatory harmonised label. Against this background, guarantees and customer services that are not directly affected by the information requirements of the EmpCo Directive (or the implementing act) should therefore also be examined.