What Legal Obligations Apply to Selling Online

Selling online in France involves several cumulative legal obligations: complete legal notices, terms of sale accessible before purchase, clear pre-contractual information on price and timelines, a 14-day right of withdrawal for individuals, and compliant invoicing including applicable VAT. This article provides a general framework and does not replace legal advice tailored to your situation.

The real problem: the technical setup doesn't cover legal compliance

Many ecommerce project owners think that a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce, by providing checkboxes and template pages, automatically guarantees their store's legal compliance. That's not the case. These tools provide a technical framework, but the content (exact legal notices, terms of sale suited to your business, correct pre-contractual information) remains entirely your responsibility, and a poorly worded checkbox doesn't carry the same legal weight as text that's actually compliant with your situation.

The real compliance work, then, doesn't happen in the choice of platform, but in drafting and regularly updating the store's legal content, ideally with the help of a legal professional.

Disclaimer

This article presents a general, informational overview based on the framework applicable in France and the European Union. It does not constitute legal advice and does not replace the opinion of a lawyer or accountant, who alone can accurately assess your situation and ensure compliance suited to your business.

Mandatory legal notices

Every professional ecommerce site must display legal notices clearly identifying the seller: company name or personal name, legal form, registered address, SIRET number, share capital where applicable, contact details (email and/or phone), and for regulated activities, the required professional information (registration number, professional insurance). This information must be easily accessible, generally via a link present on every page of the site.

Pre-contractual information

Before a customer confirms a purchase, the law requires clearly communicating certain information: the essential characteristics of the product or service, the total price including taxes and additional fees, payment, delivery and fulfillment terms, the existence and terms of the right of withdrawal, and the duration of any commitment where applicable. This information must be visible before the order is confirmed, not only in terms of sale accessible elsewhere on the site.

Terms of sale (T&Cs)

Terms of sale formalize the rules of the commercial relationship: ordering terms, payment, delivery, warranties, return and refund procedures, and dispute handling. They must be accessible before the order is confirmed, in a version the customer can view and keep. The precise content of terms of sale depends heavily on the industry and deserves to be drafted or reviewed by a professional.

The right of withdrawal

For distance selling to individuals, a 14-day withdrawal period generally applies from receipt of the goods or conclusion of the contract for a service, subject to exceptions provided by law: custom-made or personalized goods, perishable goods, digital content already downloaded with the consumer's agreement, or services already fully performed with their agreement. The exact terms of application vary depending on the nature of the product or service sold and deserve to be checked precisely.

VAT and invoicing

Every sale must result in compliant invoicing, notably indicating the applicable VAT rate. For distance sales within the European Union, threshold rules determine from what sales volume the VAT of the customer's destination country applies rather than that of the seller's country. These rules evolve and depend on the precise profile of the business: an accountant remains the best resource for applying them correctly.

Personal data (GDPR)

An online store necessarily collects personal data (identity, address, purchase history). GDPR requires informing customers of how this data is used, securing its storage, and allowing them to exercise their rights (access, correction, deletion). A clear privacy policy, distinct from the terms of sale, is generally expected.

Consumer mediation

Any professional who sells to consumers must allow free access to a consumer mediator in case of an unresolved dispute with a customer, and communicate their contact details, generally in the terms of sale and legal notices. This mechanism comes before any legal action and aims to facilitate amicable resolution of disagreements between a seller and their customer, making it an obligation not to overlook in the site's structure.

Deliveries and timelines

Regulation also governs delivery commitments: the seller must indicate a delivery date or timeframe before the order is confirmed, and honor that commitment or else offer a reasonable additional delay, followed by a refund in case of persistent non-compliance. This obligation ties into pre-contractual information but deserves the same rigor as other points, since delivery-related disputes are among the most common in ecommerce.

What to remember

• Legal obligations for selling online are cumulative: legal notices, terms of sale, pre-contractual information, right of withdrawal, compliant invoicing, GDPR.
• An ecommerce platform provides technical tools but doesn't guarantee the compliance of the legal content you put there.
• The 14-day right of withdrawal includes specific exceptions (custom, perishable, already-performed services) that must be checked case by case.
• Applicable VAT depends on intra-EU distance selling thresholds that evolve and deserve an accountant's opinion.
• This article gives a general framework: precise compliance for your store requires a lawyer or accountant.

Building a progressive compliance checklist

For a project owner discovering all these obligations, the most effective approach is to address them in order of risk rather than trying to cover everything perfectly from day one: legal notices and pre-contractual information as top priority, then terms of sale suited to the actual business, then checking the right of withdrawal applicable to each product category, then correctly configuring VAT. This progressive approach, validated at each step by a competent professional, reduces risk without paralyzing the project launch while waiting for theoretically perfect compliance before going live.

Frequently asked questions

What legal notices are mandatory on an ecommerce site? Full identity of the seller, contact details, legal status, and for regulated activities, the professional registration number, easily accessible from every page.

Does an individual who resells occasionally have to meet these obligations? Regulation primarily targets regular professional activity. Beyond a certain volume or regularity, however, the activity can be reclassified as commercial.

What's the risk of not meeting these obligations? Penalties vary: administrative fines, customer claims, or even legal action in cases of serious breach. Tailored legal support helps precisely assess your exposure.

Does a store built with Shopify or WooCommerce automatically meet these obligations? No, these platforms provide technical tools but drafting and updating legal content remains your responsibility.

In summary

An online store's legal compliance requires attention distinct from the site's technical construction, and can't be improvised from generic templates found online. Support for setting up your site can incorporate the necessary pages, but legal validation of the content should always go through a legal professional competent for your business.