The Legal Guarantee Label and GARAN Label from 27 September 2026: What Your Online Shop Needs to Know

The Legal Guarantee Label and GARAN Label from 27 September 2026: What Your Online Shop Needs to Know

From 27 September 2026, new information obligations apply when you sell goods to consumers. They involve two labels, and right now people are mixing them up everywhere. One affects you in any case, the other probably not at all. Here’s what applies to your Jimdo Shop, what we’ve taken care of for you, and what’s up to you in the rare cases where it applies.

Key points at a glance

• From 27 September 2026, two new EU labels apply to selling goods to consumers.
• The legal guarantee label is always mandatory. The GARAN label only applies to an extended manufacturer guarantee of more than two years.
• Text, colours and layout are fixed EU-wide. You can’t use your own wording.
• In a Jimdo Shop with the Store plan, the legal guarantee label is built in automatically. You don’t have to do anything.
• If the GARAN label affects you at all, you fill it in and upload it yourself as a product image.
• The labels don’t apply to online courses, consulting services, food and everyday goods, or pure B2B shops. There’s no size threshold for small shops, though.

Two labels, two completely different obligations

The legal guarantee label reminds your customers of the statutory guarantee. These rights exist anyway, and the label just makes them visible. It applies to every sale of goods to consumers. That includes used goods, and even a shop with five products.

The GARAN guarantee label is something else. It shows that a manufacturer voluntarily gives an extended durability guarantee for a specific product. It’s product-specific and doesn’t affect most small shops.

	Legal guarantee label	GARAN guarantee label
What it’s about	Your statutory guarantee. A reminder of rights your customers already have.	A voluntary durability guarantee from the manufacturer for a specific product, longer than two years.
Who it applies to	Everyone who sells goods to consumers. Always.	Only if a manufacturer guarantee meets the four conditions (see below).
Where it goes	In the order process: on the product page or in a central spot in the cart or checkout. Plus a PDF in the order confirmation.	Only on the relevant product detail page.
Cart as an alternative	Yes, allowed.	No. The label is product-specific.
Content	Fixed text and image, used unchanged.	A template you fill in with brand, model and guarantee period.
After the purchase	Together with the other mandatory information on a durable medium, e.g. as a PDF by email.	Together with the other mandatory information on a durable medium, e.g. as a PDF by email. The full guarantee terms also apply (Section 479 BGB).
In your Jimdo Shop	Built in automatically. You don’t have to do anything.	You upload the completed label as a product image and send it to your customers separately by email.

The legal guarantee label: it affects you in any case

The EU sets the text, colours and layout uniformly. You can’t use your own wording, and in an online shop the label has to appear in colour. The legal basis is Art. 246a § 1(1) No. 11 EGBGB together with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960.

Where the legal guarantee label belongs

Your customers need to see the label where they make the buying decision. That can be the product page or a central spot in the cart or checkout, in each case before the order is placed. A link in the footer with no connection to the order process isn’t enough, and neither are your terms and conditions. After the purchase, the mandatory information also has to be provided on a durable medium (Section 312f(2) BGB).

What Jimdo does for you

Since 14 September 2026, the legal guarantee label has been built into your shop in three places:

• as a permanent link in the footer
• as a link in the order process, next to your terms and conditions and cancellation policy
• as a PDF attached to every order confirmation

In each place it appears in colour, unchanged and in your website’s language, with a QR code and a text link to the EU portal “Your Europe”.

If you have a Jimdo Shop with the Store plan, this is included. There’s no extra cost, no add-on and nothing to set up.

The GARAN guarantee label: only for a genuine manufacturer guarantee

The label only becomes mandatory if all four points apply:

1. A manufacturer gives the guarantee, not you as the seller.
2. It costs your customers nothing.
3. It covers the whole product, not just individual parts.
4. It runs for more than two years. A guarantee of exactly two years doesn’t need the label.

If you make your products yourself, offer services, or your suppliers don’t give this kind of guarantee, the label doesn’t affect you. So for most Jimdo Shops, there’s no GARAN label obligation.

Where the GARAN label belongs

The label goes on the relevant product detail page, and only there. The cart isn’t an allowed alternative here, because the label carries product-specific details: brand, model and guarantee period. You can also mention the guarantee in the order process, but that doesn’t replace showing it on the product. The legal basis is Art. 246a § 1(1) No. 11a EGBGB. You’ll find the template in Annex II of the Implementing Regulation.

How to add it to your Jimdo Shop

1. Get the guarantee details from the manufacturer: brand, model name and duration.
2. Create the label with the European Commission’s official template and enter these details. The blank template isn’t enough.
3. Upload the finished file as a product image for the relevant product. You can’t currently add images to the product description, so the product image is the way to do it.
4. Make sure the label stays in colour and is easy to read.

That meets the legal requirement for this label. For the guarantee label, a layered display is explicitly allowed, where the full label only appears on first click or mouse-over.

The point many people miss

If you advertise with a guarantee, you must also provide the full guarantee terms under Section 479 BGB. The label counts as advertising with a guarantee. The terms must cover:

• duration
• territorial scope
• content
• exclusions
• name and address of the guarantor

They must be viewable before the purchase, and provided on a durable medium after it. Without these terms, you can’t use the label in a legally compliant way. Get them from the manufacturer along with the guarantee details.

Exceptions: turnover doesn’t protect you, but the type of goods sometimes does

At its core, only two groups are exempt: food and everyday goods, and pure B2B shops. There’s no size threshold for small shops.

Unlike the German Accessibility Act (BFSG), the EmpCo Directive has no threshold for micro-businesses. The obligations apply to sole traders and side-business sellers just as they do to large shops. Breaches involve pre-contractual information obligations. They can lead to warning letters under competition law, from competitors and from consumer protection associations.

The labels don’t apply to online courses or other consulting services.

Your checklist

• Legal guarantee label: nothing to do if you have a Jimdo Shop with the Store plan. Look at the last step before the order button and you’ll see it.
• Check whether any of your suppliers gives a free durability guarantee of more than two years for a product you sell.
• If so, request the guarantee details and guarantee terms from the manufacturer.
• Fill in the label using the Commission’s template and upload it as a product image.
• Add the guarantee terms to your shop so they’re viewable before the purchase.
• After each order, send the GARAN label to your customers as a PDF, together with the invoice if you like.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between the legal guarantee label and the GARAN label?
The legal guarantee label reminds customers of the statutory guarantee and is mandatory for every sale of goods to consumers. The GARAN label covers a voluntary manufacturer guarantee for a specific product. It’s only mandatory when such a guarantee actually exists.

Does the legal guarantee label apply to me as a small shop?
Yes. There’s no size threshold. The obligation applies to sole traders and side-business sellers just as it does to large shops. The only exemptions are food and everyday goods, and pure B2B shops.

Do I need to do anything for the legal guarantee label in my Jimdo Shop?
No. With a Jimdo Shop with the Store plan, the label is built in automatically. It appears in the footer, in the order process and as a PDF in the order confirmation, at no extra cost and with no setup.

When do I have to show the GARAN label?
Only if a manufacturer gives a voluntary durability guarantee for a product that meets three conditions: it costs your customers nothing, covers the whole product, and runs for more than two years. In that case, you show the completed label on the product detail page.

Are there exceptions to the label obligation?
At its core, food and everyday goods and pure B2B shops are exempt. Services and online courses aren’t affected either. There’s no exception for small shops or micro-businesses.

Please note
This article doesn’t replace legal advice for your shop