In 2016, the EU Commission’s ODR platform for out-of-court dispute resolution was created. Since then, online companies have been required to provide a link to this platform on their websites. This resulted in a massive wave of warning letters. Now the good news: the platform – and with it the obligation to link to it – is being abolished. What does this mean for you?
Background
The ODR platform and the underlying ODR Regulation (Regulation 524/2013) are one of the pillars of an out-of-court dispute resolution system. The second pillar is the ADR Directive (Directive 2013/11/EU), which was promulgated on the same day.
The directive lays the groundwork for EU member states to establish national arbitration bodies that consumers can turn to when they have problems with a company.
These arbitration bodies are supposed to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively (for the consumer), thus making court proceedings unnecessary. This directive remains in place.
The ODR platform is intended to offer consumers the opportunity to turn to an arbitration board in the event of cross-border problems. The ODR platform itself did not carry out any arbitration. It merely forwarded incoming complaints to the respective company or the respective competent national arbitration board.
Only 2% of all complaints submitted via the platform were even forwarded to a national conciliation body – which means 200 complaints per year.
The usefulness of this platform has been criticized from the outset.
Abolition of the ODR platform on July 20, 2025
Now the ODR platform will be abolished on July 20, 2025, as regulated by Regulation 2024/3228, published on December 30, 2024. In connection with this, the obligation for online businesses to link to this platform will also be eliminated.
Complaints will no longer be accepted after March 20, 2025
Article 2 (2) of Regulation 2024/3228 stipulates that complaints will no longer be accepted on the ODR platform after March 20, 2025.
From that date onwards, consumers will no longer be able to submit complaints.
The information requirement regarding the ODR platform will remain in place until July 20, 2025
However, online businesses will still be required to provide information regarding the ODR platform until July 20, 2025. However, this information requirement will no longer provide any added value after March 20, as consumers will no longer be able to use the platform after that date.
Depending on how companies currently fulfill their information obligation, this notice would have to be adapted. If the notice explicitly states that consumers can use the ODR platform to file a complaint, this information would be incorrect as of March 20.
As of July 20, 2025, the reference to the ODR platform should be removed from the website and from the terms and conditions (and all other places).
Note on participation in conciliation proceedings must continue to be given!
The information on the OS platform is to be distinguished from the information on whether the company is willing or obliged to participate in out-of-court dispute resolution in Germany. This information requirement arises from Section 36 German Verbraucherstreitbeilegungsgesetz (VSBG) and the ADR Directive mentioned above and remains in force!
Currently, the imprint and terms and conditions often contain texts like this on German Websites:
We are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.”
The first sentence must therefore be removed from July 20, 2025. However, the second sentence must remain! However, changes are also pending here. The Federal Ministry of Justice has had a draft bill [only in German] since October 2024, according to which this second information requirement is also to be largely abolished. However, due to the early parliamentary elections, it is questionable whether this change will still come about.
Consider terminating cease-and-desist declarations
In the early years of the ODR platform, there were numerous written warnings on this topic, for example because the platform was not referred to at all or the link was not clickable. As a result of these written warnings, many companies issued a cease-and-desist declaration. This obliges them – to put it simply – to link to the platform for all time.
Despite the abolition of the platform, the obligation under the cease-and-desist declaration continues to apply, as this is a contract.
Companies that have issued a cease-and-desist declaration on the subject should have it checked whether it can be terminated.
Conclusion
It is to be welcomed that the ODR platform is finally being abolished. This results in the following to-do list for online companies:
- Adjusting the imprint and terms and conditions
- Checking cease-and-desist declarations
If you have issued a cease-and-desist declaration, it is essential to check whether it can be terminated. We would be happy to support you in implementing these tasks.