There is no universal return window that every store should copy. Your policy must state the terms your business actually offers, and country-specific consumer law may add separate obligations. Get qualified legal advice for those obligations.
Official Google guidance
Google’s website requirements identify missing return or refund information as a website quality concern. Its shipping and return configuration guide advises merchants to keep policies accessible and consistent, and to clearly explain the return timeframe, method, and fees. Google’s online store URL requirements also ask merchants to disclose purchase conditions.
What shoppers should be able to find
- Which items can be returned, exchanged, or refunded, including relevant exclusions.
- The timeframe and how it is calculated, using the actual rule your business follows.
- How to request a return, where items go, and who pays return shipping.
- How refunds are issued and any actual processing conditions.
- Shipping destinations, costs, handling times, and delivery estimates.
- Any region or product limitations that materially affect a purchase.
Keep the policy and checkout aligned
Compare policy text with product pages, cart, checkout, customer emails, and Merchant Center shipping and return settings. A free-shipping banner that conflicts with checkout, or a return promise the business cannot honor, creates confusion even if a separate policy page looks complete.
Industry practice and our recommendation
Keep a single canonical policy page and link to it from the footer and relevant purchase steps. Record who owns policy changes and revisit them when fulfillment, countries, or fees change. This is an operational recommendation; Google’s source pages remain the authority for Google requirements.
Read the website checklist, review website compliance support, and visit the FAQ.
Official sources
Shipping and return configuration · Editorial requirements · Online store URL requirements