Door-to-door canvassing: rules to follow

Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Doorstep selling, also called door to door or off-premises sales, consists of moving to customers' homes or at their place of work to sell products or services. Doorstep selling is subject to a specific regulations, consumer protection.

Door-to-door canvassing can be carried out by salaried door-to-door sellers or by Independent Home Vendors (VDIs).

The canvassing at home consists of soliciting a client in a place that is not normally intended for trade to sell him products or services. The customer can be requested at his home, on its workplace or during a excursion organized by the vendor (e.g., trip with sightseeing tours).

Door-to-door canvassing involves simultaneous physical presence the seller and the customer, unlike distance selling (e-commerce, for example).

The home seller plays the role ofintermediate between the customer-consumer and the direct sales company whose products he distributes (examples: ready-to-wear, jewelry, cosmetics, household appliances, windows, insulation, solar panels, electricity, gas).

The independent home seller (VDI) exercises autonomously, without subordination link with the company that uses his services. Labor law is not applicable to it. It should not be confused with the home seller employee who has an employment contract and enjoys the status of VRP.

Door-to-door canvassing is a business practice strictly framed by law. Thus, canvassing at home excludes the following cases:

Sale by telephone or internet (specific distance selling scheme)
Sale in markets, fairs, or any place usually intended for trade
Sale of certain products: health services, foodstuffs, gambling or financial products (banks, savings, insurance).

Warning

Doorstep selling is forbidden where the consumer has clearly and unambiguously indicated that he does not wish to be visited. Contravening this prohibition is punishable by1 year imprisonment and €150,000 of fine. It is also forbidden to make a purchase from another independent home seller.

Before taking the order, the home seller must provide the customer with a pre-contractual information document.

The document must contain the following information :

Identity of the seller (postal address, email and telephone)
Identity of the company whose products it distributes (address of the registered office, SIRET number, share capital, corporate form)
Characteristics of the good or service sold
Unit price of products and overall price to be paid all taxes included
Prices and payment terms (and interest rate in case of sale on credit)
The date or time within which the seller commits to deliver the goods or perform the service
Cost of shipping or commissioning
Withdrawal conditions (terms of return, deadline, possible costs and standard form)
Legal or commercial guarantees
Availability of spare parts
Mediator of consumption competent in case of dispute.

This information must be communicated to you in a legible and comprehensible manner, on one durable support. The document must be time-stamped and signed by the customer.

Warning

The home seller who does not respect this obligation to provide prior information is subject to €15,000 of fine for a natural person or €75,000 for a legal person. He must therefore be able to prove that he has indeed given the information to the customer.

Where the solicitation concerns public aid, the seller cannot falsely claim to be acting on behalf of a public body. This practice is a offense punished by 2 years in prison and €300,000 of a fine.

Before signing the contract, the seller must indicate to the consumer in a legible and comprehensible manner, on a durable support, whether or not it holds such a label or quality sign for the categories of work concerned, accompanied by a evidence issued by an approved body to issue quality labels and signs. Where appropriate, the seller must inform the consumer of the consequences of not holding the label or the quality sign on the receipt of the financial aid to which he is entitled.

 Those obligations add to existing rules on advance information.

Warning

Unsolicited canvassing by phone, SMS, email or via social networks in the areas of energy renovation and adaptation of housing to disability and old age is prohibited. This ban is extended to all sectors from 11 August 2026.

At the conclusion of the order form, the home seller must give his customer a dated copy of the contract on one durable support. The contract must be signed by the two parties.

The contract must contain the mandatory particulars following:

Identity of the seller (postal address, email and telephone)
Identity of the company whose products it distributes (address of the registered office, SIRET number, share capital, corporate form)
Characteristics of the good or service sold
Unit price of products and overall price to be paid all taxes included
Prices and payment terms (and interest rate in case of sale on credit)
The date or time within which the seller commits to deliver the goods or perform the service
Cost of shipping or commissioning
Withdrawal conditions (return terms, deadline, possible costs and standard form)
Legal or commercial guarantees
Availability of spare parts
Mediator of consumption competent in case of dispute.

The contract is not valid if he doesn't mention all that information. In addition, the contract must also be accompanied by a standard withdrawal form.

Warning

The home seller who does not issue a contract or who delivers a non-compliant contract to the customer incurred 2 years in prison and €150,000 of fine. Even if he does not submit the standard withdrawal form.

The home seller cannot receive any payment or no consideration on the part of the customer before the expiry of a 7 days delayfrom the conclusion of the contract.

Thus, the home seller cannot receive deposits, checks or bank debit authorizations. It is also prohibited to provide a service before the expiry of that period.

In either case, the contract is not valid if the home seller receives the payment without respecting this deadline.

Warning

The home seller who does not respect this period of 7 days incurs 2 years in prison and €150,000 of fine.

However, the home seller may collect the payment, without respecting the 7-day deadline, in the following cases:

Subscription to a newspaper devoted to political information (daily, monthly or fortnightly)
Contract for the provision of services to the person (concluded with an approved body)
Contract concluded during a meeting organized by the seller at his home or at the home of a customer
Contract for repair work to be carried out urgently at the customer's home at his request.

The right of withdrawal allows the customer cancel the contract in a 14 days, without having to justify its decision and without incurring any other costs (apart from any return costs). The deadline is short from the following day the receipt of the goods or the conclusion of the contract for the provision of services.

If the home seller does not provide information on the right of withdrawal, the withdrawal period is extended by 12 months from the expiry of the initial 14-day period. When the communication of the information occurs during this extension, the right of withdrawal expires after 14 days from the day on which the customer received the information.

Please note

This right also applies to the sale of goods discounted and goods used.

The home seller has the obligation to mention the existence of this right to the customer, specifying the conditions, the time and the modalities of exercise (whether or not he pays the return costs). It must also provide a standard withdrawal form.

When informed of the customer's decision to withdraw, the seller has a period of 14 days to make the refund of the total amount paid.

The customer may request that the provision of services be carried out before the end of the withdrawal period. The seller must collect his express request on a durable support.

Warning

The home seller who does not communicate or does not respect the right of withdrawal incurs €15,000 of fine for a natural person or €75,000 for a legal person.

However, certain products or services are not subject to the right of withdrawal and therefore cannot be reimbursed. This is particularly the case for the following products:

Custom product: it has been made especially for the customer (tailor-made for example)
Product likely to deteriorate rapidly
CD, DVD or computer software if unsealed by the customer
Product that has been unsealed by the customer after delivery and cannot be returned for reasons of hygiene or health protection
Newspapers, periodicals or magazines (except for subscription contracts for these publications)
Provision of accommodation service, transportation of goods, car rental, catering or leisure activity provided on a specified date
Maintenance or repair work to be carried out urgently at the customer's home and expressly requested by him
The provision of a service fully performed before the end of the withdrawal period, provided that the consumer has given his prior consent and has waived the exercise of his right of withdrawal. The seller must also respect the 7-day period, specific to home sales, during which he cannot perform any service and receive no payment
Digital content without material support, the execution of which began before the end of the withdrawal period, provided that the customer has given his prior consent and has waived the exercise of his right of withdrawal