Your return policy used to be a box you ticked. In 2026, it’s a compliance surface — and one of the most common reasons stores get suspended.
As of June 2026, Google raised the bar. A return policy that simply says “returns accepted within 30 days” is no longer enough if you sell anything beyond simple physical goods. If your catalog includes digital products, subscriptions, or anything with a restocking fee, your policy now has to say so explicitly. Stay generic, and you risk product disapprovals — or a full account suspension.
Return and shipping policy issues already account for roughly 18% of Merchant Center suspensions in Europe. This update widens the net. Here’s exactly what Google now expects, and how to write a policy that survives review.
The baseline every merchant still has to meet
Before the 2026 specifics, the fundamentals haven’t changed — and most disapprovals still come from missing one of them. Google requires every Shopping merchant to:
- Maintain a publicly accessible return policy page on your website, reachable without logging in.
- Offer a return window of at least 30 days after delivery for standard products.
- Submit a matching return policy inside Merchant Center under Shipping and returns.
- Publish the policy in the language of every country you target.
- Keep the website policy and the Merchant Center policy identical at all times.
That last point is where misrepresentation suspensions are born. The moment your website says one thing and your Merchant Center entry says another, Google’s parser sees a contradiction — and contradictions in this category are treated as deception, not a typo. Our 2026 misrepresentation suspension guide breaks down how these mismatches escalate.
A complete policy has to spell out five things: the return window, the return procedure (the actual steps to start a return), the return costs (free, customer-paid, or shared — with the amount), the refund method, and the conditions (product condition and whether original packaging is required).
Now the three areas the 2026 update forces you to address directly.
1. Digital goods
The rule most stores get wrong: you can’t just declare digital products non-returnable and move on.
Google accepts that digital downloads and software licenses are non-returnable once accessed or downloaded. That’s reasonable, and allowed. But your policy has to state that condition explicitly rather than leaving a blanket “no returns” that reads as a refusal to honor consumer rights.
Write it as a clear, conditional rule. Name the product type — downloads, license keys, digital access — and state that returns are unavailable once the item has been downloaded or accessed, while making clear you still handle defective or non-functioning digital goods. A policy that offers a remedy for a broken download reads as fair. A flat “all digital sales final” reads as a red flag.
2. Subscriptions
If you sell anything recurring — memberships, subscription boxes, SaaS access, auto-refill orders — your return policy now has to address cancellation, not just returns.
Google wants shoppers to see, before they buy, how the recurring relationship ends. Your policy should cover how to cancel, when cancellation takes effect (immediately, or at the end of the current billing cycle), whether any refund applies to the current period, and what happens to partial or unused time. Silence here is now a disapproval risk, because a subscription with no visible exit is exactly the kind of “hard to cancel” experience Google is trying to stamp out.
Keep the subscription terms consistent with whatever your billing system actually does. If your checkout charges monthly but your policy implies annual refunds, that mismatch is another misrepresentation trigger.
3. Restocking fees
Restocking fees are allowed — but only if you’re upfront about them.
A restocking fee is an amount you deduct from a customer’s refund to cover receiving, inspecting, repackaging, and re-shelving a returned item. Google’s concern isn’t that you charge one; it’s that shoppers get surprised by it. So your policy has to disclose the fee clearly: the amount or percentage, which products it applies to, and when it’s waived — most importantly, that it does not apply when an item arrives defective or not as described.
This connects to a specific error you’ll see in Merchant Center: the “cost of return” issue, which fires when Google can’t find clear return costs in your policy. Vague or missing fee information is the usual cause. Spell the numbers out and the error clears.
Where the policy has to live
Accessibility is a requirement, not a nicety. Google expects your return policy to be easy to find, and its parser looks for it in predictable places. Link to the return policy page from the footer of your homepage, product pages, cart, and checkout. Keep it on its own dedicated page — don’t bundle returns, privacy, and terms into one giant document, because that confuses the automated parser and can get your policy marked “rejected.”
Make it machine-readable: structured data
Google reads your policy two ways — by parsing the page text, and by reading structured data if you provide it. Providing it removes ambiguity.
Add MerchantReturnPolicy structured data (JSON-LD) to your store, either site-wide or per product for items with different terms. Since March 2025, that markup must include the return_policy_country field, which tells Google exactly which policy applies to which country. For products that don’t follow your default policy — made-to-order items, clearance, hygiene-sensitive goods — use the return_policy_label attribute in your feed to attach an exception policy instead of forcing one rule across everything.
One caution on parsing: Google’s system keys off specific phrasing. Use plain, standard terms like “30 days” and “cost of return.” Clever or unusual wording is more likely to be misread, which shows up as a rejected return policy status.
The “no returns” trap
A blanket “no returns” policy is one of the fastest ways to get disapproved — even if it’s genuinely true for your business.
Sell made-to-order or custom products? You still can’t apply a flat no-returns rule. Google requires a default return policy plus an exception policy for the custom items, both clearly visible, and you must still accept returns for defective or incorrect items. “No returns, only exchanges” is acceptable only if it’s explicit and consistent across your website, your feed, and Merchant Center. The theme repeats: offer a remedy for your own mistakes, disclose everything, and keep every surface saying the same thing.
Your 2026 return-policy compliance checklist
Before your next review, confirm:
- A dedicated, login-free return policy page exists and is linked in your footer sitewide.
- The window is at least 30 days for standard goods, stated in plain language.
- The Merchant Center entry matches the website policy word-for-word in intent.
- Digital goods are addressed as a stated condition, with a remedy for defective items.
- Subscription cancellation terms are spelled out — how, when, and what’s refunded.
- Restocking fees disclose amount, scope, and the defective-item waiver.
- MerchantReturnPolicy structured data is present, including return_policy_country.
- Exceptions use return_policy_label rather than a blanket rule.
- The policy is published in every targeted country’s language.
Why this matters more in restricted niches
If you sell in a tightly scoped category — supplements, healthcare, research peptides — return policy compliance carries extra weight. These accounts already sit under closer scrutiny, so a weak or contradictory return policy is more likely to tip an already-watched account into review. Getting the boring paperwork exactly right is part of how sensitive-vertical stores stay live; it’s the same discipline that keeps research peptide brands running on Google Ads without suspension.
A strong return policy isn’t just defense. Compliant, well-structured policies unlock return annotations in your Shopping listings and can contribute to a top-quality store badge — turning a compliance requirement into a conversion advantage.
Related 2026 Merchant Center updates
Return policy is one piece of a busy compliance year. Google is consolidating its Shopping policies in September 2026, and the Content API for Shopping shuts down on August 18, 2026. For proof that compliance and growth go together, see how one brand scaled to $1.5M without a Google Ads ban.
iComChain helps ecommerce brands build Merchant Center return policies that pass review and stay compliant through updates like this one. If your policy hasn’t been checked against the 2026 rules, book a free 15-minute consultation and we’ll audit it with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google require a 30-day return window for Shopping ads?
Google’s setup guide lets you configure the exact window — a set number of days after delivery, a lifetime policy, or no returns — so you’ll see a range of options in the interface rather than one fixed number. For standard physical goods, treat 30 days after delivery as your baseline. Anything shorter invites questions, and whatever you publish has to match what you’ve submitted in Merchant Center. Google is also explicit that your policy must cover general cases such as buyer’s remorse, not only defective or incorrect items. The details are in Google’s return policy setup guide.
Can I charge a restocking fee and still advertise on Google Shopping?
Yes. Restocking fees are allowed. What causes problems is a fee the shopper only discovers after they’ve asked for a refund. Disclose it up front: the amount or percentage, which products it applies to, and when you waive it — defective, damaged or incorrectly shipped items shouldn’t carry one. Google’s return policy data model includes a dedicated restockingFee field that accepts either a flat amount or a percentage of the item price, so you can declare the fee directly instead of leaving it buried in prose. See the online return policy fields.
How should I word a return policy for digital downloads?
Don’t write a blanket “no returns.” State the condition instead: digital products are non-returnable once the file has been downloaded or the licence key has been issued or accessed. That’s a condition a reviewer can actually evaluate, and it fits Google’s expectation that your policy covers general cases rather than reading as a refusal. Then add the remedy. If a file is corrupt, the wrong item, or won’t activate, say plainly that you’ll replace it or refund it. A policy describing when returns don’t apply reads very differently from one refusing returns outright.
Does my return policy have to cover subscription cancellations?
If you sell anything recurring — memberships, subscription boxes, SaaS seats, auto-refill orders — then yes, treat cancellation as part of the same document. Shoppers need to see how the recurring relationship ends before they buy, not after. Cover four things: how someone cancels, when the cancellation takes effect (immediately, or at the end of the current billing cycle), whether any part of the current period is refunded, and what happens to items already shipped. Google asks for policies that are clear, conspicuous and accessible without logging in, and a cancellation path hidden inside an account dashboard fails that test.
Can I run a no-returns policy if everything I sell is made to order?
Not as a flat rule. A blanket no-returns policy is one of the quickest routes to disapproval, even when it genuinely reflects how you operate. The structure that works is a default return policy for your standard catalogue plus a clearly stated exception for the custom or made-to-order items, both visible on the same page. You still have to accept returns for defective, damaged or incorrectly shipped goods regardless of customisation. Google’s own examples of commonly non-returnable items — personal care products, safety equipment, engraved or customised production — are exceptions carved out of a policy, not a substitute for having one.
Does the return policy in Merchant Center have to match the one on my website?
Yes, and mismatches are a common cause of review trouble. Google asks for policies that are consistent in Merchant Center and across your website — footer, returns page, banners — and notes that policies you upload and verify take precedence over what it collects from your site. So a stale page paired with a fresh Merchant Center entry reads as a contradiction. They don’t have to be word-for-word identical, but the return window, the restocking fee, who pays return shipping and the exceptions all need to say the same thing in both places.
Do I need return policy structured data, or is a policy page enough?
The page is the requirement. Structured data is what removes ambiguity. MerchantReturnPolicy markup states your terms directly instead of asking a parser to infer them from prose. Google’s documentation asks for either country-specific details — applicableCountry plus a returnPolicyCategory — or a merchantReturnLink pointing at your policy page, and merchantReturnDays becomes required once you declare a finite return window. Restocking fee and return-country properties are supported too, and filling them in leaves a reviewer less to guess at. Apply it site-wide, or per product where terms genuinely differ. See the structured data reference.