What must terms of purchase and terms of use contain?
If you sell goods or services online, the customer needs to be able to read the terms before buying — what applies to price, delivery, payment and the right of withdrawal, and who they are actually buying from. There is no single "terms of purchase act"; the requirements come from several directions and together land in a terms document that must be findable. Here we go through what needs to be in it, and the misses we most often measure.
What does the law say?
The requirements on terms of purchase and terms of use come from several laws at once. The Swedish E-commerce Act (2002:562) section 8 requires anyone selling or marketing online to make the company name, geographical address, email address and company registration number easy to find. The Price Information Act requires correct and clear price information — including VAT when you sell to consumers. The Distance Contracts Act requires that the customer is informed before the purchase about the right of withdrawal, delivery and payment.
On top of that come the dispute resolution rules: the Swedish Act (2015:671) on alternative dispute resolution requires traders who have committed — or are obliged — to participate in alternative dispute resolution to inform about the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN). In practice, online retailers selling to consumers are expected to tell customers that a dissatisfied customer can turn to ARN.
None of these laws requires a document titled "Terms of purchase". But the information must exist and be findable before the purchase — and in practice, a single, linked terms document is the easiest way to satisfy several of the requirements at once.
Who is covered?
The company information requirements in the E-commerce Act apply broadly — anyone selling or marketing online, whether the customers are consumers or businesses. The consumer protection rules — right of withdrawal, price information with VAT, ARN information — apply to sales to consumers. If you sell only to businesses the requirements are lighter, but the company information must still be findable.
If you sell to both businesses and consumers, the consumer rules apply to the consumer side — it is not enough that the terms were written with the business customer in mind.
The ODR platform no longer exists — update your terms
Many terms still contain a reference to the EU's online dispute resolution platform, ODR. That platform was shut down in July 2025 — the link leads to something that no longer exists, and the obligation to refer to it is gone.
A leftover ODR link is not just incorrect information for the customer. It is also a clear signal — to customers, and to us when we scan — that the terms haven't been maintained for a while. Refer to ARN instead.
Common issues we see
- Terms are missing entirely, even though the website sells goods or services — the customer gets no chance to read what applies before the purchase.
- The company registration number — or the address, or the email address — cannot be found anywhere on the website.
- Prices are stated excluding VAT to consumers, or in a way that makes the total unclear.
- ARN is not mentioned at all — the customer never learns that out-of-court dispute resolution exists.
- A dead ODR link remains in the terms, often for years.
How CompliantHQ tests this
On websites that sell, the scanner verifies that terms of purchase or terms of use exist and are findable at all. We check that the terms inform about ARN when sales are directed at consumers, and flag dead references to the discontinued ODR platform. We also look for the statutory company information — name, address and email — on the website's policy, terms and contact pages.
In addition, our compliance AI reads the terms text and reviews that the price information is correct and complete — for example that consumer prices are not stated excluding VAT without a clear total. The AI review is always presented as an assessment to verify against your own terms, never as a confirmed violation.
How to fix it
- Publish a single terms of purchase/use document and link it where customers look — the footer and the checkout are the standard places.
- Make sure the company name, geographical address, email address and company registration number are easy to find, for example in the footer or on a contact page.
- State consumer prices including VAT, and make sure the customer sees the total with any fees before confirming the purchase.
- Add a sentence stating that a consumer can turn to the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN, arn.se) in case of a dispute.
- Remove any references to the EU's discontinued ODR platform.
- Describe the right of withdrawal, the delivery terms and the payment options so the customer knows what applies before buying.
What the check covers
- That sites selling something have purchase or user terms that can be found.
- That the terms tell a dissatisfied customer they can turn to the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN). Applies to sites selling to consumers.
- That the terms no longer reference the EU's ODR dispute platform — it shut down in July 2025, so the reference points to something that no longer exists.
- That company name, address and email are easy to find on the site — a legal requirement for businesses selling or marketing online.
- The AI reviews that the price information in the terms is correct and complete. Applies to selling sites.
Common questions
Are terms of purchase a legal requirement?
No law requires a document called exactly "terms of purchase". But the information that must be available before a consumer purchase — right of withdrawal, delivery, payment, clear prices and company details — in practice requires a findable terms document. Without one, you fall short of several requirements at once.
Must the company registration number be on the website?
Yes — section 8 of the Swedish E-commerce Act requires the company name, geographical address, email address and registration number to be easy to find for anyone selling or marketing online. The footer or a contact page is enough, as long as the details are actually there.
Is it enough that VAT shows in the checkout?
What matters is that the consumer sees the total price including VAT before confirming the purchase. If the checkout shows it clearly, the terms document does not need to repeat every figure — but the terms must not contradict the checkout or state prices excluding VAT without the total being clear.
What do I do with the ODR link in our terms?
Remove it. The EU's ODR platform was shut down in July 2025, so the reference points to something that no longer exists. Refer instead to the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN, arn.se) for out-of-court dispute resolution.
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