Sale of goods

The legal guarantee is the seller’s conformity liability. A commercial guarantee is extra

Direct answer. In the EU, the legal guarantee of conformity is the seller’s liability under Directive (EU) 2019/771 for a lack of conformity that becomes apparent within two years of delivery. Member States may set longer periods. A commercial guarantee is an extra, voluntary undertaking by the seller or producer that does not affect the legal remedies. Article 2(12) defines it. Article 10(1), first sentence, sets the two-year liability. Article 17(2)(a) says those remedies are not affected by the commercial guarantee. Quotes are from the English Official Journal. Article 10(3) is quoted as replaced by Directive (EU) 2024/1799. This page is not legal advice. National durations and transposition vary.

RepairProof EU (Shopify App Store · Write a review): “Manage verified repair requests, issue revision-linked service forms, track progress, and preserve redacted repair records from intake through return.” It does not display the harmonised notice and it does not decide guarantee claims.

Related: CRALedger Duty Records — CRA duty records before an Article 14 incident. Does not file ENISA notifications.

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Checklist before you describe a guarantee

The two-year period is Article 10(1), first sentence. Longer limits are Article 10(3) as replaced, quoted below.
A commercial guarantee is Article 2(12). It is binding under Article 17(1), first sentence, and it must say that legal remedies are not affected, under Article 17(2)(a).
A repair that brings the goods into conformity extends the liability period once, under the new Article 10(2a). The repair directive itself is the right-to-repair guide.
The harmonised notice and the harmonised label are Directive (EU) 2024/825 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960. Artwork stays on the Commission page linked below. This page does not redraw it.
Country periods are not listed here. Use the EUR-Lex national transposition pages linked at the end.

The two definitions, in the articles

Article 10(1), first sentence: “The seller shall be liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists at the time when the goods were delivered and which becomes apparent within two years of that time.”

Article 10(3), as replaced by Article 16(2)(b) of Directive (EU) 2024/1799: “Member States may maintain or introduce longer time limits than those referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 2a.” The original 2019 Official Journal text of Article 10(3) referred to paragraphs 1 and 2. The replacement text is the one quoted.

Article 2(12): “‘commercial guarantee’ means any undertaking by the seller or a producer (the guarantor) to the consumer, in addition to the seller’s legal obligation relating to the guarantee of conformity, to reimburse the price paid or to replace, repair or service goods in any way if they do not meet the specifications or any other requirements not related to conformity set out in the guarantee statement or in the relevant advertising available at the time of, or before the conclusion of the contract”.

Article 17(1), first sentence: “Any commercial guarantee shall be binding on the guarantor under the conditions laid down in the commercial guarantee statement and associated advertising available at the time, or before the conclusion, of the contract.”

Article 17(2) opens: “The commercial guarantee statement shall be provided to the consumer on a durable medium at the latest at the time of the delivery of the goods. The commercial guarantee statement shall be expressed in plain, intelligible language. It shall include the following:” Point (a): “a clear statement that the consumer is entitled by law to remedies from the seller free of charge in the event of a lack of conformity of the goods and that those remedies are not affected by the commercial guarantee”.

Repair extends the liability period once

Article 16 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799 inserts Article 10(2a) into Directive (EU) 2019/771: “Where, in accordance with Article 13(2), repair takes place as the remedy to bring the goods into conformity, the liability period shall be extended once by 12 months.”

Article 21 of Directive (EU) 2024/1799: “Article 16 of this Directive shall not apply to sales contracts concluded before 31 July 2026.” Transposition and the rest of the repair duties are the transposition guide and the right-to-repair guide.

Harmonised notice and harmonised label

Directive (EU) 2024/825, Article 2, inserts Article 22a into Directive 2011/83/EU. Article 22a(1): “In order to ensure that consumers are well informed and can easily understand their rights throughout the Union, a harmonised notice shall be used for the provision of information pursuant to Article 5(1), point (e), and Article 6(1), point (l), and a harmonised label shall be used for the provision of information pursuant to Article 5(1), point (ea), and Article 6(1), point (la).”

Article 22a(3): “The harmonised notice shall contain the main elements of the legal guarantee of conformity, including its minimum duration of two years as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/771 and a general reference to the possibility that the duration of the legal guarantee of conformity is longer under national law.”

The same directive replaces Article 6(1)(l) of Directive 2011/83/EU with: “a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for goods and its main elements, including its minimum duration of two years as provided in Directive (EU) 2019/771, in a prominent manner, using the harmonised notice referred to in Article 22a of this Directive”.

It inserts Article 6(1)(la): “where the producer offers the consumer a commercial guarantee of durability at no additional cost, covering the entire good and with a duration of more than two years, and makes that information available to the trader, the information that that good benefits from such a guarantee, its duration and a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity, in a prominent manner, using the harmonised label referred to in Article 22a”.

The same Article 2 inserts a definition into Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 2(14a): “‘commercial guarantee of durability’ means a producer’s commercial guarantee of durability as referred to in Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, under which the producer is directly liable to the consumer during the entire period of the commercial guarantee of durability for repair or replacement of the goods in accordance with Article 14 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, whenever the goods do not maintain their durability”.

Article 4(1) of Directive (EU) 2024/825: “By 27 March 2026, Member States shall adopt and publish the measures necessary to comply with this Directive.” The next sentence: “They shall apply those measures from 27 September 2026.”

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960, recital 2: “The harmonised notice is a mandatory notice at the point of sale, intended to raise consumer awareness of their legal guarantee rights. In contrast, the harmonised label represents a voluntary commercial guarantee of durability, offered by producers who wish to assure consumers of the durability of their goods.” Article 3: “It shall apply from 27 September 2026.”

Annex I: “For distance contracts concluded through an online interface, the harmonised notice on the legal guarantee of conformity shall be in colour (RGB).”

Annex II: “For distance contracts concluded through an online interface, the harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability shall be in colour.” The same annex: “For distance contracts concluded through an online interface, the harmonised label for the commercial guarantee of durability may be displayed using a nested display, as in the figure below:” And: “If a nested display is used, the harmonised label shall appear in its entirety on the first mouse click, mouse roll-over or tactile screen expansion.” The figure is not copied here. The Commission publishes the notice and the label on this publications page (publication date on that page: 25 September 2025).

Three columns, each from a quoted provision

Legal guarantee, commercial guarantee, and a producer’s commercial guarantee of durability
Question	Legal guarantee of conformity	Commercial guarantee	Producer commercial guarantee of durability
What it is	Article 10(1), first sentence: the seller is liable for a lack of conformity which exists at delivery and becomes apparent within two years.	Article 2(12): an undertaking by the seller or a producer, in addition to the seller’s legal obligation relating to the guarantee of conformity.	Article 2(14a) of Directive 2011/83/EU, as inserted: a producer’s commercial guarantee of durability referred to in Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, under which the producer is directly liable for repair or replacement when the goods do not maintain their durability.
Who is bound	Article 10(1): the seller, to the consumer.	Article 17(1), first sentence: the guarantor, under the statement and associated advertising.	The inserted Article 2(14a): the producer is directly liable to the consumer during the entire period of that guarantee. Article 6(1)(la) applies where the producer offers it at no additional cost, covering the entire good, for more than two years, and makes that information available to the trader.
Period	Article 10(1): within two years of delivery. Article 10(3), as replaced: Member States may maintain or introduce longer time limits than those in paragraphs 1, 2 and 2a. New Article 10(2a): where repair is the remedy under Article 13(2), the liability period is extended once by 12 months.	Article 2(12): the specifications or other requirements set out in the guarantee statement or in the relevant advertising.	Article 6(1)(la): a duration of more than two years. Recital 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960: the harmonised label represents a voluntary commercial guarantee of durability.
Effect on legal remedies	Article 17(2)(a): the consumer’s remedies from the seller are not affected by the commercial guarantee.	Article 2(12): the undertaking is in addition to the seller’s legal obligation. Article 17(2)(a) requires the statement to say that the legal remedies are not affected.	Article 22a(1): the harmonised label is the means of providing the information in Article 6(1)(la). Article 22a(3) keeps the notice on the legal guarantee, including the minimum of two years and a general reference that national law may set a longer duration.

National law

Article 10(3), as replaced, leaves longer time limits to Member States. Article 22a(3) tells the harmonised notice to refer, in general, to the possibility that national law sets a longer duration. This page does not state a country’s period. Transposition measures are on EUR-Lex for Directive (EU) 2019/771, Directive (EU) 2024/1799, and Directive (EU) 2024/825.

What this page is not

Not legal advice, and not a decision on a guarantee claim.
Not a comparison of warranty products. No product is ranked here.
Not the repair-information form. That page is the form checklist.
Not a copy of the harmonised notice or label. Use the Commission publication.

Not legal advice. Confirm the live directives, the implementing regulation, and the national transposition measure before you state a guarantee period or a notice duty. The app manages repair records you enter. It does not display the harmonised notice and it does not decide a guarantee claim.