Pre-ticked boxes and paid extras, by country
All five countries here require the consumer’s express consent to any payment beyond the price of the main product, and all treat a box the trader pre-selected as no consent. They differ in the consequence: France, Spain, Norway and Austria say the extra payment must be refunded, while the German provision says only that the agreement does not become part of the contract. Austria alone also lists which contract types fall outside the rule.
| Country | Consent needed for an extra payment | Pre-selected option | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Express agreement by the consumer, otherwise the agreement is not effective | Not consent where the consumer would have had to reject a default set by the trader | Extra payments already made must be refunded |
| Germany | The agreement can only be made expressly | In electronic commerce the agreement becomes part of the contract only if the trader did not bring it about by a default setting | |
| Spain | Express consent of the consumer, obtained before the consumer is bound, on an opt-in basis | Consent deduced from default options the consumer must reject is not express consent | The consumer is entitled to a refund of the payment |
| France | Express consent of the consumer, obtained before the contract is made | Consent given by default, with no express opposition to paid options not asked for, is the case the article deals with | The consumer may claim a refund of the sums paid |
| Norway | Express consent of the consumer to any payment beyond the price of the main service, obtained before the contract is made | Consent assumed through standard solutions the consumer must opt out of is not consent | The consumer is entitled to have the extra payment returned |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Konsumentenschutzgesetz § 6c
- The consumer may later make the agreement effective by expressly agreeing to it.
- Paragraph 4 excludes the contracts listed in § 5a Abs. 2 Z 3 to 8, 10 to 12, 14 and 15; the content of that list is not in this table.
kommt nur wirksam zustande, wenn ihr der Verbraucher ausdrücklich zustimmteine vom Unternehmer vorgenommene Voreinstellung ablehnen müsste, diese Ablehnung jedoch unterlässtso hat der Unternehmer dem Verbraucher geleistete zusätzliche Zahlungen zurückzuerstatten Germany
- Rule
- BGB § 312a Abs. 3 and 6
- The statute says the agreement does not become part of the contract; it does not itself mention a refund, so none is shown.
- The rest of the contract stays valid.
Eine Vereinbarung, die auf eine über das vereinbarte Entgelt für die Hauptleistung hinausgehende Zahlung des Verbrauchers gerichtet ist, kann ein Unternehmer mit einem Verbraucher nur ausdrücklich treffenwird eine solche Vereinbarung nur Vertragsbestandteil, wenn der Unternehmer die Vereinbarung nicht durch eine Voreinstellung herbeiführtbleibt der Vertrag im Übrigen wirksam Spain
- Rule
- Texto refundido LGDCU art. 60 bis
- The burden of proving compliance is on the trader.
el empresario deberá obtener su consentimiento expreso para todo pago adicional a la remuneración acordada para la obligación contractual principal del empresarioutilizando opciones por defecto que éste debe rechazar para evitar el pago adicional, el consumidor y usuario tendrá derecho al reembolso de dicho pago France
- Rule
- Code de la consommation art. L121-17
- Covers sale and service contracts; the article also extends to water, gas and electricity supply not sold in a limited volume, district heating and digital content not on a physical medium.
le professionnel s'assure du consentement exprès du consommateur pour tout paiement supplémentaire venant s'ajouter au prix de l'objet principal du contratle consommateur peut prétendre au remboursement des sommes versées au titre de ce paiement supplémentaire Norway
- Rule
- Markedsføringsloven § 11
- Applies in business activity towards consumers.
skal den næringsdrivende innhente forbrukerens uttrykkelige samtykke til enhver betaling utover vederlaget for hovedytelsenstandardløsninger som forbrukeren må velge bort for å unngå tilleggsbetaling, har forbrukeren rett til å få tilbakeført tilleggsbetalingen Countries not in this table yet
Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands and Australia are left out: their ingested consumer statutes do not state a rule on pre-selected paid options (Sweden’s Marknadsföringslag is not ingested). The United Kingdom, Canada and the United States are left out because the relevant consumer statutes are not ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Pre-ticked boxes and paid extras, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/pre-ticked-boxes (reviewed October 25, 2026).
Important Legal Disclaimer
General legal information, not formal legal advice. The information provided on LawAsked does not constitute formal legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. If you require legal assistance, please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.