Return and refund policy requirements for Google Merchant Center
By Terry Ecom · Last reviewed 2026-09-25 · Source: Google Merchant Center Help
“We have a returns page” is not the requirement. The audit asks for a refund policy a customer can act on — and Shopify’s default template states almost none of the terms that matter.
What Google published
The website audit for Misrepresentation and “Website needs improvement” asks for explicit links to shipping, refund and privacy policies. The fully-functional-store article lists a return policy among the pages a site must contain.
Editorial requirements go further: business information a customer cannot act on — contact, shipping or FAQ copy that answers nothing — is itself a problem. A refund page with no numbers on it is that failure mode.
What Google’s return-policy article adds
Merchant Center Help has a separate article on setting up return policies, and it is more specific than the audit list. It asks for clear and conspicuous return and refund information on the website, and sets four requirements:
- The policy covers ordinary returns such as a change of mind, not only defective products.
- Anyone can read it without logging in, signing up or entering personal information.
- It is consistent between Merchant Center and everywhere it appears on the site — the article names the footer, the returns page and web banners.
- The site states how returns and refunds work: the time frame, the return method and any return fees.
A vague policy and an actionable one
The first version below is close to what many stores publish. The second states each fact a reviewer looks for. The numbers are illustrations, not recommendations — Google does not publish a minimum return window.
Vague
We want you to love your order. If something isn’t right, contact our support team and we’ll do our best to help.
Actionable
You can return unused items within 30 days of delivery for any reason. To start a return, email returns@yourstore.com with your order number and we will send a prepaid label for UK orders; international customers pay return postage. Refunds go to the original payment method within 5 business days of the item reaching us. There is no restocking fee. We exchange sizes free of charge.
The facts the page has to state
A reviewer opening your refund policy should be able to answer these without emailing you. GMC Scout reads the policy HTML for exactly these operational facts:
- Return window — how many days after delivery a return is accepted.
- Who pays return shipping — you or the customer.
- Refund processing time — how long after you receive the item the money moves.
- Restocking fee — the amount, or an explicit statement that there is none.
- Exchanges — whether you accept them at all.
Where this goes wrong on Shopify
Shopify generates a refund policy at /policies/refund-policy. Generated is not the same as customised: the default text is a template with the specifics left out, and shipping it unedited is one of the most common storefront gaps we see.
The second common miss is placement. A hand-built /pages/returns duplicate can drift out of sync with the /policies/ version, and a policy linked only from the homepage footer is harder for a reviewer to reach from a product page. Link the canonical policy from the footer on every template.
The third is contradiction. An announcement bar that says “Free 30-day returns” above a policy that says 14 days with return postage paid by the customer is exactly the inconsistency Google’s article asks you to avoid. Check the bar, product-page accordions, FAQ page and any /pages/ copy against the policy itself.
If you entered a return policy in Merchant Center
Entering one is optional. If you do not, Google says it may work out your policy from the website. If you do, Google verifies it before using it, the status shows as Verified, Pending or Rejected, and a verified policy takes precedence over what Google collected from the site.
The Merchant Center form asks for the same facts as the list above — whether you accept returns, exchanges, the return window, the return method, any restocking fee and the refund processing time. Whatever you enter there has to match the page.
What GMC Scout flags
Scout checks whether the returns policy exists at all, then reads it for the five facts above — return window, return shipping cost, refund processing time, restocking fee and exchanges are each a separate check, so a page that exists but says nothing still fails several.
It also reports where the policy lives, because a non-standard location is a discoverability problem rather than a missing page. We read what is published on the storefront; we cannot confirm you honour the policy in practice, and we do not compare it with the return policy in your Merchant Center account.
Checklist before you request review
- The refund policy is linked from the footer on every page and opens without logging in.
- It states a return window in days, or says plainly that returns are not accepted.
- It says whether change-of-mind returns are accepted, not only faulty items.
- It explains how to start a return and how the item comes back.
- It says who pays return postage.
- It states any restocking fee, or that there is none.
- It says how long a refund takes and where the money goes.
- It says whether exchanges are accepted.
- Banners, product-page FAQs and any /pages/ duplicate say the same thing as the policy.
- If you entered a return policy in Merchant Center, it matches the page and its status is not Rejected.
If Merchant Center has already flagged your store
FAQ
Is a 14-day return window long enough?
Google does not publish a minimum return window we can cite. The requirement is that your policy states the window clearly. Consumer law in your market may set a floor — that is a separate obligation from the Merchant Center audit.
Do returns and refunds need separate pages?
No. One policy page is fine as long as it is linked explicitly and covers the terms. What fails is a page that exists but defers every number to a support email.
Does Shopify’s auto-generated refund policy pass?
Only once you edit it. The generated template is a skeleton, and template copy with the specifics missing is exactly what the editorial requirements flag.
Can I sell with a no-returns policy?
Merchant Center’s return-policy form has a “No, I don’t accept returns” option, so the setting exists. Google’s article still asks that the policy be clear and cover ordinary cases, so say it plainly on the page rather than leaving the question unanswered. Consumer law in your market may not allow it for online sales — that is a separate obligation from Merchant Center.
Sources
Related guides
Check which of these facts your refund policy actually states.
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