Writing a refund and return policy customers understand
A generated draft gets you most of the way. The rest is knowing what a clear policy needs, how to write it so it prevents tickets instead of causing them, and where the policy plugs into the way you handle support.
What should a refund policy include?
A good refund policy answers the questions a customer has before they have to email you. Miss one and you get a ticket; cover them all and most people never need to ask. These are the parts almost every policy is built from.
How long someone has to ask. The single most-searched line in any policy — lead with it.
What state an item has to be in, or what counts as eligible. Vague here means disputes later.
Customer, you, or free over a threshold. People decide whether to bother based on this one line.
Any restocking fee and what can't be refunded at all. Say it up front, not after they've asked.
The exact step — an email, a form, a portal link. An answer with no next step generates a ticket.
Original payment method, how many days, and the bank-clearing caveat. Removes the "where's my refund?" follow-up.
Refund policy examples by business type
The same six questions get different answers depending on what you sell. These are the policies this tool generates for each business type, so you can read the wording before you build your own. Copy any of them and change the specifics.
Physical goods
A 30-day window, the customer pays return shipping, no restocking fee. The default shape for a store shipping goods.
# Refund & Return Policy _Last updated: [date]_ We want you to be happy with your order. If something isn't right, here's exactly how returns and refunds work. ## How long you have You can return eligible items within **30 days** of delivery for a full refund. Items should be in their original condition and packaging. ## How to request a refund To request a refund, email us at [support@yourcompany.com] with your order number and a short note about what went wrong. We'll reply within [X] business days and walk you through the next step. ## Return shipping Customers cover the cost of return shipping unless the item arrived faulty or we sent the wrong thing, in which case we pay. We'll send instructions when your request is approved. ## What isn't refundable Some items can't be refunded: - Final-sale items - Gift cards - Personalized or made-to-order pieces ## How refunds are issued Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within [X] business days of us receiving the return. Depending on your bank, it can take a few more days to appear on your statement. ## Questions Not sure whether your order qualifies? Email [support@yourcompany.com] before you buy or return — we're happy to help. --- _This policy is a starting point, not legal advice. Refund and consumer rights vary by country, state, and the kind of product you sell — have a professional review it before you publish._
Digital products
Nothing ships back, so the policy turns on whether the file was downloaded. A 14-day window is the common default.
# Refund & Return Policy _Last updated: [date]_ Because digital products are delivered instantly and can't be returned, here's exactly when a refund is and isn't available. ## How long you have You can return eligible items within **14 days** of delivery for a full refund. Items should be in their original condition. ## How to request a refund To request a refund, email us at [support@yourcompany.com] with your order number and a short note about what went wrong. We'll reply within [X] business days and walk you through the next step. ## What isn't refundable Some items can't be refunded: - Files that have already been downloaded - Redeemed license keys ## How refunds are issued Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within [X] business days of us receiving the return. Depending on your bank, it can take a few more days to appear on your statement. ## Questions Not sure whether your order qualifies? Email [support@yourcompany.com] before you buy or return — we're happy to help. --- _This policy is a starting point, not legal advice. Refund and consumer rights vary by country, state, and the kind of product you sell — have a professional review it before you publish._
SaaS subscription
The subscription case. This doubles as a cancellation policy: it says what happens to access and to the current billing period.
# Refund & Return Policy _Last updated: [date]_ Here's how billing, cancellations, and refunds work on your subscription, in plain language. ## How long you have You can request a refund within **30 days** of your most recent payment. Cancel any time and you won't be billed again; you'll keep access until the end of the period you've already paid for. ## How to request a refund To request a refund, email us at [support@yourcompany.com] with your order number and a short note about what went wrong. We'll reply within [X] business days and walk you through the next step. ## How refunds are issued Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within [X] business days of us receiving the return. Depending on your bank, it can take a few more days to appear on your statement. ## Questions Not sure whether your order qualifies? Email [support@yourcompany.com] before you buy or return — we're happy to help. --- _This policy is a starting point, not legal advice. Refund and consumer rights vary by country, state, and the kind of product you sell — have a professional review it before you publish._
Services
Work already delivered is the dividing line, so the policy prorates rather than refunding in full.
# Refund & Return Policy _Last updated: [date]_ Here's how refunds work for the services we provide, including work that's already underway. ## How long you have You can request a refund within **14 days** of your purchase. Once work has started, we refund the portion that hasn't been delivered yet; completed work is non-refundable. ## How to request a refund To request a refund, email us at [support@yourcompany.com] with your order number and a short note about what went wrong. We'll reply within [X] business days and walk you through the next step. ## What isn't refundable Some items can't be refunded: - Work already delivered - Third-party costs already paid on your behalf ## How refunds are issued Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within [X] business days of us receiving the return. Depending on your bank, it can take a few more days to appear on your statement. ## Questions Not sure whether your order qualifies? Email [support@yourcompany.com] before you buy or return — we're happy to help. --- _This policy is a starting point, not legal advice. Refund and consumer rights vary by country, state, and the kind of product you sell — have a professional review it before you publish._
Return policy vs. refund policy vs. cancellation policy
Customers use the three words interchangeably, which is why most businesses cover all three in one document. They answer different questions:
Covers sending a physical item back — the condition it has to be in, who pays the shipping, and how long the customer has. Only applies if there is something to ship.
Covers getting money back, which may or may not require a return. A digital product or a service can be refunded without anything being returned.
Covers stopping a subscription or a service before it renews or finishes. The question is usually about access and the current billing period, not about money already paid.
The builder above adapts to whichever you need: pick Physical goods and you get return-shipping language, pick SaaS subscription and you get cancellation and billing-period language instead.
No refund policy: when “all sales final” works
A no-refund policy is legitimate for some products — custom work, redeemed licences, services already delivered — but it is never absolute. Most countries and many US states give customers a right to a refund for goods that arrive faulty, damaged, or not as described, whatever your policy says. A no-refund policy that pretends otherwise is unenforceable and reads as hostile.
The version that holds up is specific about what is final and explicit about what still gets fixed. Select No refunds as your window in the builder and you get this:
# Refund & Return Policy _Last updated: [date]_ Because digital products are delivered instantly and can't be returned, here's exactly when a refund is and isn't available. ## How long you have All sales at [Your Business] are final, and we don't offer refunds once an order is placed. If your purchase arrives faulty, damaged, or not as described, contact us and we'll make it right. ## How to request a refund To request a refund, email us at [support@yourcompany.com] with your order number and a short note about what went wrong. We'll reply within [X] business days and walk you through the next step. ## Questions Not sure whether your order qualifies? Email [support@yourcompany.com] before you buy or return — we're happy to help. --- _This policy is a starting point, not legal advice. Refund and consumer rights vary by country, state, and the kind of product you sell — have a professional review it before you publish._
If you are choosing this because refunds are eating your margin, the cheaper fix is usually upstream: clearer product descriptions, honest delivery estimates, and answers to the pre-purchase questions where customers are already looking.
How to write a return policy that prevents tickets
Same policy, two ways of saying it. The first sounds reassuring and tells the customer nothing, so they email to find out. The second answers the question, so they don't.
The line in your policy
“How long does a refund take?”
The ticket-generating version
“Refunds are processed as quickly as possible. Please allow some time for the amount to be returned to your account.”
The version that ends the question
Approved refunds go back to your original payment method within 5 business days of us receiving the return. Depending on your bank, it can take a few more days to show up on your statement.
Six habits that make a refund policy land
A generated draft gets you about 80% of the way. These are the habits that close the gap, whatever you sell.
The number of days is the thing people came to find. Put it in the first line, not the fourth paragraph.
"You can return it within 30 days" beats "the buyer may, within the stipulated period, initiate a return." Write like a person.
"Within 5 business days" and "a 15% restocking fee" beat "promptly" and "a small fee." Numbers end arguments.
Final-sale and non-refundable items belong before checkout, not in the reply to an angry email.
An email, a form, a portal. One route, stated once, beats "contact us" with no destination.
Consumer rights vary by region, and this tool isn't legal advice. A quick professional read is cheap insurance.
Once your policy is written, it's only useful if customers can find it. Publish it as a help center article people can search, and let an AI agent answer “where's my refund?” from it automatically.
Refund policy and your support workflow
A copy-paste policy is the right starting point. But a policy buried in a footer can't be searched, can't answer inside the chat widget, and goes stale the moment you change a term. Here's where the document ends and the workflow begins.
| Capability | Policy doc | Selvo Help Center |
|---|---|---|
| Writing the policy | ||
| Assembles a clear, copy-paste policy | ||
| Stays accurate when your terms change | Re-build and re-paste | Edit once, live everywhere |
| Covers the edge cases | Clause library to bolt on | Each its own article |
| How customers find the answer | ||
| Customers search the policy | ||
| Has its own shareable, linkable page | ||
| Answers "where's my refund?" in the chat widget | ||
| An AI agent answers from your policy 24/7 | ||
| Upkeep & cost | ||
| One place to update when a term changes | ||
| Shows you what customers actually ask | ||
| Price | Free | Included with Selvo |
