{
  "type": "problem",
  "slug": "recall-notice-wording",
  "lang": "en",
  "url": "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/recall-notice-wording/",
  "markdown": "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/recall-notice-wording.md",
  "title": "We do not know how to word the recall notice",
  "description": "The elements a GPSR recall notice must contain, the words it must not use, the language rule, and the Commission's template in Regulation (EU) 2024/1435.",
  "answer": "Article 36 of the General Product Safety Regulation fixes the recall notice: the headline 'Product safety recall', a clear description of the product with picture, brand and identification numbers, a clear description of the hazard, what consumers must do including stopping use immediately, the remedies, a free phone number or online service, and encouragement to share it. Terms such as 'voluntary' or 'precautionary' must be avoided. Use the Commission's template.",
  "theme": {
    "id": "incidents-recalls",
    "label": "Incidents, recalls and authorities"
  },
  "roles": [
    {
      "id": "manufacturer",
      "label": "Manufacturer"
    },
    {
      "id": "importer",
      "label": "Importer"
    }
  ],
  "regulations": [
    "GPSR"
  ],
  "path": [
    "recall-manager"
  ],
  "trigger": "You have decided to recall and someone has to write the text that goes to consumers, retailers and the website",
  "keep": null,
  "why": [
    {
      "text": "Before the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the wording of a recall was a matter of company style. Since 13 December 2024 it is a matter of law. Where information on a product safety recall is given to consumers in writing, it takes the form of a recall notice (Article 36(1)), and Article 36(2) lists what that notice must contain: a headline consisting of the words 'Product safety recall'; a clear description of the product with picture, name, brand, identification numbers and, if available, when, where and by whom it was sold; a clear description of the hazard; a clear description of the action consumers should take, including an instruction to stop using the product immediately; the remedies available under Article 37; a free phone number or interactive online service; and encouragement to share the information.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The same paragraph rules out the habits that made older notices ineffective. The hazard must be described without elements that decrease the consumer's perception of the risk, and the regulation names them: 'voluntary', 'precautionary', 'discretionary', 'in rare situations', 'in specific situations', and any indication that no accidents have been reported. The notice must be one consumers can easily understand, available in the language or languages of the Member States where the product was made available.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The Commission was given the task of setting out a template, in a format that lets operators create a notice easily and in accessible formats for persons with disabilities (Article 36(3)). It did so in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435, which applies from the same date as the GPSR and whose recitals stress that information carried only in a picture, such as the identification of the affected products, must also be spelled out to be machine-readable.",
      "sources": [
        2
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The remedies described in the notice come from Article 37: an effective, cost-free and timely remedy, with a choice between at least two of repair, replacement and refund, no shipping costs for the consumer, collection of products that are not portable, and a refund whenever repair or replacement is not completed within a reasonable time. Repair by the consumer counts only where it can be carried out easily and safely and the notice provides for it.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Where an operator's own action is inadequate, the market surveillance authority can require the recall and alert the public itself (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 16). The Commission's Safety Gate pages carry the template as a download and the practical advice that consumers respond to a clear hazard, clear instructions and a simple, speedy remedy.",
      "sources": [
        3,
        4
      ]
    }
  ],
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Start from the template, not from a blank page",
      "text": "The Commission has laid down the template for a recall notice in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435 and publishes it on its website. It is meant to make compliance with Articles 35 and 36 easier and more uniform. Fill it in per product and per market; a notice that starts as a press release tends to lose the mandatory parts.",
      "item": "recall-manager"
    },
    {
      "name": "Describe the product so a consumer can find it",
      "text": "Picture, name and brand; the identification numbers such as batch or serial number and, if applicable, a graphical indication of where to find them on the product; and, if available, when, where and by whom the product was sold."
    },
    {
      "name": "Describe the hazard without softening it",
      "text": "State clearly what can happen and to whom. The notice must avoid anything that lowers the consumer's perception of the risk: terms such as 'voluntary', 'precautionary', 'discretionary', 'in rare situations' or 'in specific situations', and any statement that no accidents have been reported."
    },
    {
      "name": "Tell consumers what to do and what they get",
      "text": "A clear instruction to stop using the product immediately, then the action to take, and the remedies on offer: as a rule a choice of at least two of repair, replacement and refund, cost-free and without significant inconvenience. Disposal by the consumer may only be asked for where the consumer can do it easily and safely, and it does not remove the right to a refund or replacement."
    },
    {
      "name": "Add the contact channel and the language versions",
      "text": "A free phone number or an interactive online service where consumers get more information in the relevant official languages, and an encouragement to share the notice with others. The notice must be available in the language or languages of each Member State where the product was made available, and in accessible formats; information shown only in a picture should also be spelled out in text (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435, recital 5)."
    }
  ],
  "documents": [
    {
      "name": "The recall notice per market",
      "from": "The economic operator responsible for the recall, on the Commission's template",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 36; Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435, Article 1"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pictures and identification numbers of the affected units",
      "from": "Your product data and packaging",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 36(2)(b)"
    },
    {
      "name": "The hazard description",
      "from": "Your risk assessment",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 36(2)(c)"
    },
    {
      "name": "The remedy offer",
      "from": "The economic operator responsible for the recall",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 37"
    }
  ],
  "risks": [
    {
      "title": "The authority rewrites the message for you",
      "text": "The authority can require the operator to recall the product immediately and alert the public to the risk, and where the operator fails to act, it ensures the recall and informs the public itself (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 16(3)(c) and 16(5)).",
      "source": 3
    },
    {
      "title": "The remedy you offer does not end your obligation",
      "text": "The consumer is always entitled to a refund when the operator has not completed the repair or replacement within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience (GPSR Article 37(2)).",
      "source": 1
    },
    {
      "title": "Penalties under national law",
      "text": "Each Member State lays down effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for infringements of the regulation (GPSR Article 44).",
      "source": 1
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Is the template mandatory?",
      "a": "The elements are mandatory: Article 36(2) of the GPSR lists what every written recall notice must contain. The template itself is established by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435 (Article 1), adopted under Article 36(3) GPSR, and published on the Commission's website; the Commission's Safety Gate pages call it the recommended template. Using it is the plainest way to show that every Article 36(2) element is there."
    },
    {
      "q": "May we write that no accidents have been reported?",
      "a": "No. Indicating that there have been no reported accidents is listed among the elements that may decrease consumers' perception of the risk and must be avoided (GPSR Article 36(2)(c))."
    },
    {
      "q": "May we call it a voluntary or precautionary recall?",
      "a": "No. 'Voluntary', 'precautionary', 'discretionary', 'in rare situations' and 'in specific situations' are named in the regulation as terms to avoid (GPSR Article 36(2)(c)). The headline is 'Product safety recall'."
    },
    {
      "q": "Which languages does the notice need?",
      "a": "The language or languages of the Member State or States where the product was made available on the market (GPSR Article 36(2))."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do we have to offer a refund?",
      "a": "You offer a choice between at least two of repair, replacement and an adequate refund of at least the price paid, unless the other remedies would be impossible or disproportionate (GPSR Article 37(2)). The notice must describe the remedies on offer (Article 36(2)(e))."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety",
      "publisher": "EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/988/oj",
      "accessed": "2026-09-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1435 laying down the template for a recall notice",
      "publisher": "EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1435/oj",
      "accessed": "2026-09-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products",
      "publisher": "EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1020/oj",
      "accessed": "2026-09-27"
    },
    {
      "title": "Safety Gate — recalls of dangerous products and the recommended template for a recall notice",
      "publisher": "European Commission",
      "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate/#/screen/pages/effectiveRecalls",
      "accessed": "2026-09-27"
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "recall",
    "reach-the-buyers",
    "withdrawal-or-recall",
    "supplier-recalled"
  ],
  "reviewer": "Conphora compliance team",
  "reviewedAt": "2026-09-30",
  "notice": "General information, not legal advice."
}