ODR link clean-up and ADR information check sheet for EU web shops: the ODR platform closed on 20 July 2025, ADR details still required (Regulation (EU) 2024/3228, ADR Directive Article 13) for accountants and web agencies
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What you get: a finished ODR link clean-up and ADR information check sheet in three tabs: a shops tab (one row per client website; a contact scraper fills the status, email and phone counts, you answer five yes/no questions, and one formula writes the fix list with the article for each line); a text finder tab (paste the footer, imprint or terms text and a formula flags old ODR wording in seven languages); and a dates tab. Plus replacement wording and a client email you can copy. Made-up example rows show how it fills in.
Short answer: the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform is gone. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 stopped new complaints on 20 March 2025 and repealed Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 with effect from 20 July 2025 (Articles 1 and 2). The old duty in Article 14 of Regulation 524/2013 to put "an electronic link to the ODR platform" on every EU web shop therefore ended on that date. Many shop footers, imprint pages, terms and order emails still carry the old link and sentence, which now points consumers to a service that no longer exists. What did not end: Article 13 of the ADR Directive 2013/11/EU. A trader that is committed or obliged to use an ADR (out-of-court dispute) entity must still name it, with its website address, on its website and, if applicable, in its terms. Directive (EU) 2025/2647 tightens this wording ("clear, prominent") from 20 September 2028.
Why accountants, bookkeepers and web agencies should look at this now
- It is on almost every older EU shop. From 2016 the link was required for every online trader established in the EU, so shop themes, legal text generators and imprint pages copied it everywhere.
- Old text can now mislead. A sentence like "you can use the EU ODR platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr" invites customers to a closed service. Removing it is a small, clear fix.
- The ADR part is easy to drop by mistake. When someone deletes the ODR paragraph, the ADR entity name the shop is committed to often goes with it. Article 13 of Directive 2013/11/EU still asks for it.
- It is a quick, billable check. Around 15 minutes per client website, with one fix list you can send to the web designer.
Step 1: get the data (one scraper, free during launch)
- Put your client website homepages in a list. Run the Contact Details Scraper with
maxPagesPerSite: 4. It reads the homepage first, then the most contact-like pages (contact, about, impressum, support), and returns one row per site withstatus,pagesScraped,emails,phonesandcounts. By default it keeps only role mailboxes such as info@ or support@; personal addresses are dropped and only counted inpersonalEmailsDropped. - The Actor checks robots.txt and scans each site's terms of service first; sites that forbid crawling are skipped for free and reported with a status such as
blocked-by-terms. It does not read order confirmation emails and does not judge legal text. The ODR and ADR checks are done by hand (columns E to J below), with the text finder tab to speed them up.
Step 2: tab 1, shops (one row per client website)
| Column | What to write | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A. Website | Domain | |
| B. Scraper status | status from the contact scraper (ok, blocked-by-robots, blocked-by-terms ...) | Actor output |
| C. Emails found | counts.emails. If 0 but personalEmailsDropped is above 0, look at the site yourself | Directive 2011/83/EU Art. 6(1)(c) |
| D. Phones found | counts.phones | Art. 6(1)(c) |
| E. Old ODR link or text on the website | Yes/No: footer, imprint, legal notice, FAQ, checkout (use tab 2) | Reg. 2024/3228 Art. 1, 2 |
| F. Old ODR text in terms or order emails | Yes/No: general terms, order confirmation and offer email templates | Reg. 524/2013 Art. 14(2) (repealed) |
| G. Committed or obliged to use an ADR entity | Yes/No/Unknown: ask the client (trade association membership, sector rules, signed ADR scheme) | Directive 2013/11/EU Art. 13(1) |
| H. ADR entity name and web address on website | Yes/No/N/A | Art. 13(1), 13(2) |
| I. ADR information in general terms | Yes/No/N/A | Art. 13(2) |
| J. Complaint reply template mentions ADR | Yes/No/N/A: the letter or email sent when a complaint cannot be settled | Art. 13(3) |
| K. Fix list | Formula below | our working rule |
| L. Result | Formula below: OK / FIX / CHECK BY HAND | our working rule |
K2 (fix list), Google Sheets or Excel 365:
=IF(AND(B2<>"",B2<>"ok"),"CHECK BY HAND (scraper: "&B2&")",
TEXTJOIN("; ",TRUE,
IF(E2="Yes","Remove ODR link and text from website (Reg. 2024/3228)",""),
IF(F2="Yes","Remove ODR text from terms and email templates",""),
IF(AND(B2="ok",C2=0),"No email address found (CRD Art. 6(1)(c))",""),
IF(AND(B2="ok",D2=0),"No phone number found (CRD Art. 6(1)(c))",""),
IF(G2="Unknown","Ask client: committed or obliged to use an ADR entity?",""),
IF(AND(G2="Yes",H2<>"Yes"),"Add ADR entity name and website on website (ADR Art. 13(1)-(2))",""),
IF(AND(G2="Yes",I2<>"Yes"),"Add ADR information to general terms (ADR Art. 13(2))",""),
IF(AND(G2="Yes",J2<>"Yes"),"Add ADR information to complaint reply (ADR Art. 13(3))","")))L2 (result): =IF(LEFT(K2,5)="CHECK","CHECK BY HAND",IF(K2="","OK","FIX"))
Example rows (made up, for illustration only):
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| example-shoes.de | ok | 1 | 1 | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | N/A | N/A | FIX (remove ODR text twice) |
| example-tiles.nl | ok | 2 | 1 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | FIX (add ADR name on site + in complaint reply) |
| example-wine.fr | blocked-by-terms | CHECK BY HAND | ||||||||
| example-bikes.at | ok | 1 | 0 | No | No | Unknown | FIX (phone; ask client about ADR) |
Step 3: tab 2, text finder (paste the page text)
Open the footer, imprint, legal notice and general terms of each site, copy the text and paste it into column B (one page per row, page URL in column A). Paste your order confirmation email template too.
C2:
=IF(B2="","",IF(REGEXMATCH(LOWER(B2),"ec\.europa\.eu/consumers/odr|online dispute resolution|odr platform|odr-plattform|online-streitbeilegung|règlement en ligne des litiges|odr-platform|geschillenbeslechting|resolución de litigios en línea|risoluzione delle controversie online|rozstrzygania sporów online"),"OLD ODR TEXT FOUND: set E or F to Yes","none found"))D2: =IF(B2="","",IF(REGEXMATCH(LOWER(B2),"alternative dispute|schlichtung|streitbeilegungsstelle|médiat|geschillencommissie|arbitraje|conciliazione|adr"),"ADR wording found: check name and web address","no ADR wording"))
The word lists are our suggestions, not legal terms from the regulation. They catch the common English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Polish phrasings; add the wording your clients use. In Excel 365 without REGEXMATCH, use one ISNUMBER(SEARCH("online-streitbeilegung",B2)) per phrase inside OR(...).
Step 4: tab 3, dates
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 20 March 2025 | Submission of complaints to the ODR platform discontinued | Reg. 2024/3228 Art. 2(2) |
| 20 July 2025 | Regulation 524/2013 repealed (link duty in its Art. 14 ends); all case data on the platform deleted at the latest by this date | Reg. 2024/3228 Art. 1, 2(4) |
| 30 December 2025 | Directive (EU) 2025/2647 published in the Official Journal | OJ L, 2025/2647 |
| 20 April 2026 | Commission to have a digital interactive redress tool with the list of ADR entities | Dir. 2013/11/EU Art. 20(8), inserted by Dir. 2025/2647 |
| 20 March 2028 | Member States adopt and publish national rules for Directive 2025/2647 | Dir. 2025/2647 Art. 5(1) |
| 20 September 2028 | National rules apply: ADR information "clear, prominent, comprehensible and easily accessible" on the website and in the general terms; new trader duty to answer an ADR entity within 20 working days (30 in complex cases) | Dir. 2025/2647 Art. 5(1); new Art. 13(2), 5(9) of Dir. 2013/11/EU |
What the law says, in short
- The old link duty. Article 14(1) of Regulation 524/2013 required EU traders selling online, and online marketplaces, to "provide on their websites an electronic link to the ODR platform", and to state their email addresses. Article 14(2) added the link to offer emails and terms for traders committed or obliged to use ADR. Regulation 2024/3228 repealed the whole Regulation with effect from 20 July 2025.
- Why it was closed. Recital 4 of Regulation 2024/3228: only about 200 cases a year across the Union reached an ADR entity through the platform; Recital 6: the platform should be discontinued.
- The ADR duty that stays. Article 13(1) of Directive 2013/11/EU: traders that commit to, or are obliged to use, ADR entities must inform consumers about them, including the website address. Article 13(2): on the website, where one exists, and, if applicable, in the general terms. Article 13(3) (current text): when a complaint made directly to the trader could not be settled, the trader gives that information on paper or another durable medium, saying whether it will use the ADR entity.
- The email still matters. The email duty in the repealed Article 14(1) is gone, but Article 6(1)(c) of the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU still requires contact details before a distance contract, and Article 6(1)(t) requires, where applicable, information on the out-of-court complaint and redress mechanism the trader is subject to and how to access it.
- Other laws still mentioning ODR. Recital 8 of Regulation 2024/3228 notes that references in Directives 2015/2302, 2019/2161 and 2020/1828 were left for a separate act; Directive 2025/2647 makes those amendments (Articles 2 to 4).
Copy-ready wording (our suggestions)
If the client is committed or obliged to use an ADR entity: "We are committed to use [name of ADR entity] ([website address]) to resolve disputes with consumers. You can contact it if we cannot settle your complaint together."
If the client does not use ADR: remove the ODR paragraph. Whether a statement such as "we are not willing or obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings" is required depends on national law; some countries require it. Check before deleting such a sentence.
Client email: "Hello [name], the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform closed in 2025 (Regulation (EU) 2024/3228), so the link and sentence about it on [website] and in your terms are out of date. We found it on: [pages]. Please ask your web designer to remove it. If you are a member of [ADR scheme], keep or add its name and web address. The full list is in the attached sheet. [your name]"
Try it on one client website first
Run the scraper on one site, paste its footer and terms into tab 2, and check the fix list. Then run the rest. Related free sheets: website legal notice check · withdrawal button check · client website contact check · GPSR product page check.
Frequently asked questions
Do EU web shops still need the ODR platform link?
No. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 repealed Regulation (EU) No 524/2013, which contained the link duty, with effect from 20 July 2025, and the platform was discontinued.
Can we delete the whole dispute resolution paragraph?
Only the ODR part, safely. If the trader is committed or obliged to use an ADR entity, Article 13 of Directive 2013/11/EU still requires its name and website address on the website and, where applicable, in the general terms. Some national laws also require a statement when the trader does not take part.
What changes in 2028?
Directive (EU) 2025/2647 must be applied from 20 September 2028. ADR information must then be clear and prominent on the website and in the general terms, and traders contacted by an ADR entity must say within 20 working days whether they will take part, unless participation is mandatory, outcomes do not need their consent, or they already committed contractually.
Not legal advice. The sheet only helps a person find old ODR text and missing ADR details; it does not decide whether a trader is obliged to use ADR, sector rules or national penalties. When in doubt, ask your consumer authority or a lawyer. Spotted an error? Write to mininglife7@gmail.com and we correct it.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 of 19 December 2024 repealing Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 (OJ L, 2024/3228, 30.12.2024): Recitals 3, 4, 6, 8; Articles 1, 2 — eur-lex.europa.eu, CELEX 32024R3228 (read 28 Oct 2026)
- Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 on consumer ODR: Article 14 — CELEX 32013R0524 (read 28 Oct 2026)
- Directive 2013/11/EU on consumer ADR: Articles 13, 14; amendment list — CELEX 32013L0011 (read 28 Oct 2026)
- Directive (EU) 2025/2647 of 16 December 2025 amending Directive 2013/11/EU (OJ L, 2025/2647, 30.12.2025): Article 1 (new Articles 5(9), 13(2), 13(3), 20(8) of Directive 2013/11/EU), Articles 2 to 5 — CELEX 32025L2647 (read 28 Oct 2026)
- Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights: Article 6(1)(c), 6(1)(t) — CELEX 32011L0083 (read 28 Oct 2026)
- Unadhi Actor on Apify Store: Contact Details Scraper (build 0.1.3 README read through the Apify API on 28 Oct 2026)
Unadhi Guides are free, independent explainers. We correct errors as soon as we find them: write to mininglife7@gmail.com.