Herroepingsknop & Bedenktijd for WooCommerce

Since 19 June 2026, a withdrawal button is legally required for almost every webshop that sells online to consumers (EU Directive 2023/2673; in the Netherlands article 6:230oa of the Civil Code, enforced by the ACM; in France the Code de la consommation, enforced by the DGCCRF). Customers must be able to withdraw their order within the cooling-off period in a few clicks, in the same digital environment where they placed the order. A reference to a PDF or an email address is no longer enough.

Herroepingsknop & Bedenktijd delivers exactly that button for WooCommerce, known internationally as the EU withdrawal button and in France as the bouton de rétractation. Customers withdraw through a form on your site and through a secure withdrawal page where they verify with their order number and email address, even without an account (guest orders). You handle every request in a clear dashboard, with automatic emails to the customer and the administrator.

Why this plugin: most solutions lean on generic “EU Directive 2023/2673” jargon or only work for logged-in customers. This is the withdrawal button that fully serves both Dutch and French, with a working guest flow and the correct legal framework per country. A French webshop (locale fr_FR) automatically gets the mandatory label “Renoncer au contrat ici”. It works with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) and puts no personal data in links, only a secure token.

Included in the free version

• Legally required withdrawal button, in line with the 14-day cooling-off period.
• Withdrawal form via a shortcode, plus a secure withdrawal page with verification by order number and email address.
• Personal, secure withdrawal link in the order email and on the thank-you page.
• Works without a customer account, including guest orders.
• Withdrawal per individual product or for the entire order.
• Dashboard with statuses (pending, processed, rejected) and one-click handling.
• Automatic emails to the customer and the administrator when a new request comes in.
• Automatic cleanup of old requests after a configurable retention period.
• No personal data in links, only a secure token.
• Compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS).
• Available in Dutch and French.

Bedenktijd Pro

The premium version adds automation and extra handling:

• Automatic exclusions per product, variant or category (perishable, made-to-order, personalised, opened hygiene product, digital after download).
• B2B block: business orders automatically kept outside the consumer right of withdrawal.
• Rejection email with a reason to the customer.
• Withdrawal button in My Account for logged-in customers.
• GDPR: integration with WordPress’s privacy export and erasure tools.

More information and the premium version: Bedenktijd Pro on de-regelneef.nl

Multilingual: Dutch and French

The plugin is available in Dutch and French. A French webshop (locale fr_FR) automatically gets the legally required label “Renoncer au contrat ici” and the confirmation “Confirmer la rétractation”. A translation file is included.

Who is this for

For WooCommerce webshops that sell to consumers and that, since 19 June 2026, are required to offer a withdrawal button. Enforced by the ACM (Netherlands) and the DGCCRF (France); failing to inform correctly can extend the customer’s cooling-off period to up to twelve months.

1. Upload the plugin via Plugins, Add New, Upload Plugin, or upload the folder to wp-content/plugins/.
2. Activate the plugin via the Plugins menu.
3. A withdrawal page (titled “Herroeping”) containing the withdrawal form is created automatically (shortcode [drn_bedenktijd_formulier]).
4. Open the Bedenktijd menu in the admin area and go to Settings to configure the cooling-off period, the retention period and any exclusions.

Is a withdrawal button the same as a return button?

No. A return (RMA) is about physically sending a product back; a withdrawal is the legal cancellation of the purchase within the statutory cooling-off period. This plugin delivers the legally required withdrawal, not return or RMA handling.

Is a withdrawal button mandatory for my WooCommerce webshop?

Since 19 June 2026, yes, for almost every webshop that sells online to consumers and to which the right of withdrawal applies. The size of your webshop does not matter. If you sell exclusively to businesses, the consumer right of withdrawal does not apply.

Is the plugin free?

Yes. The free version contains the working withdrawal button, the secure link in the order email and on the thank-you page, the form, the withdrawal page with verification, the dashboard, the emails to customer and administrator, automatic cleanup, HPOS support and both Dutch and French. Bedenktijd Pro adds automatic exclusions, the B2B block, the rejection email with a reason, the My Account button and the GDPR export.

What do I risk without a correct withdrawal button?

If you do not inform customers correctly, the cooling-off period extends to up to twelve months. Enforcement is by the ACM (Netherlands) and the DGCCRF (France, with a fine of up to 75,000 euro).

From when is the withdrawal button mandatory?

Since 19 June 2026, based on EU Directive 2023/2673. In the Netherlands it is implemented in the Civil Code, in France in the Code de la consommation (mandatory label “Renoncer au contrat ici”).

Does the withdrawal button also work for guest orders, without an account?

Yes, and that is deliberately the core. A mandatory login screen does not meet the requirement. The plugin works for guest orders through a withdrawal page where the customer verifies with order number and email address, and every customer receives a secure withdrawal link in the order email and on the thank-you page. This is the difference with plugins that only work for logged-in customers.

Does this plugin provide the bouton de rétractation (droit de rétractation) for a French webshop?

Yes. On a French webshop (locale fr_FR) the plugin automatically shows the legally required French label “Renoncer au contrat ici” and the confirmation “Confirmer la rétractation”.

Which products can I exclude from withdrawal?

Products that may be legally excluded, such as perishable goods, made-to-order items, personalised articles, opened hygiene products and digital products after download. Automatic exclusion per product, variant or category is part of Bedenktijd Pro.

Are business (B2B) orders handled as well?

That is up to you. With the B2B block in Bedenktijd Pro, orders from business customers are automatically kept outside the consumer right of withdrawal, recognised by a filled-in company name.

How does the plugin handle the GDPR?

Withdrawal requests are automatically cleaned up after a configurable retention period (365 days by default) through a daily task. The links contain no personal data, only a secure token. Bedenktijd Pro additionally integrates with WordPress’s privacy export and erasure tools.

What happens when the plugin is deleted?

By default your data is kept. If you enable the “Delete data” option, the database table, the settings and the scheduled task are removed when the plugin is deleted.

1.0.9

• Added a full English translation (en_US and en_GB), so shops running in English now show English texts instead of the Dutch source strings. French (fr_FR) remains included.

1.0.8

• The plugin no longer contains any premium code or premium loading logic. All functionality in this plugin is free and fully working.
• The secure withdrawal link in the order email and on the thank-you page is now part of the free plugin, enabled by default.
• Premium features (automatic exclusions, B2B block, rejection email, My Account button, GDPR integration) live in a separate plugin that extends this one through public hooks and is distributed outside WordPress.org.

1.0.7

• The free version is now fully self-contained: the third-party licensing SDK has been removed from the free build. The premium features remain available in Bedenktijd Pro.
• In the free version, the admin texts shown when rejecting a request no longer refer to the rejection email (that belongs to Bedenktijd Pro).
• Automatic cleanup now only removes handled (processed or rejected) withdrawals; pending requests are kept.
• Duplicate withdrawals for the same order are prevented (unique index per order), also on double clicks or simultaneous submission.
• The withdrawal page temporarily blocks a visitor after too many failed verifications (order number + email), to prevent brute-forcing.
• Added “Requires Plugins: woocommerce” so WordPress recognises the WooCommerce dependency, and an uninstall cleanup that respects the “Delete data” option.
• French translation updated and the translation files regenerated for the free version.

1.0.6

• Name and presentation sharpened: “Herroepingsknop & Bedenktijd for WooCommerce”, clearer short description, rewritten description and expanded FAQ (free versus Pro, return versus withdrawal, guest orders, French terms).

1.0.5

• The free version no longer contains non-functional premium settings: withdrawal links in the email and on the thank-you page, the B2B block and automatic exclusions have been moved entirely to Bedenktijd Pro.
• Automatic cleanup of old requests based on the retention period now also works in the free version.
• Tested with WordPress 7.0; readme and labels refined.

1.0.4

• French translation added, with the legally required label “Renoncer au contrat ici”.

1.0.3

• Free and premium versions cleanly separated.

1.0.0

• First release: withdrawal form via shortcode, secure withdrawal page, admin overview with statuses, emails to customer and administrator, automatic cleanup, HPOS support.