Geo-Blocking Rules: Selling Across EU Borders
The EU Geo-Blocking Regulation says you cannot treat shoppers differently just because of where in the EU they live or which passport they hold. That sounds like it forces you to ship everywhere, but it does not. This explainer shows what the rules ban, what they allow and how to set up your store so customers from other EU countries can buy on fair terms. It is general information, not legal advice, so check the official guidance or an adviser for your situation.
Key takeaways
- The Geo-Blocking Regulation (EU) 2018/302 has applied since 3 December 2018.
- You may not block or automatically redirect EU customers based on nationality or residence, or apply different general conditions to them.
- It does not oblige you to deliver to every EU country.
- Within the payment methods you accept, you cannot discriminate based on the country of the card or account.
- Copyrighted digital content is partly excluded.
Imagine a shopper in Belgium who finds your store, clicks through and is bounced to a different version of the site with higher prices, or simply sees "not available in your country". Before the Geo-Blocking Regulation, that was common. The EU decided that, inside the single market, online shops should not wall off customers based on where they come from.
For small sellers, the rules are less dramatic than they first sound. You keep control over where you deliver, which prices you set per country store and which payment methods you offer. What you lose is the ability to treat EU customers worse simply because of their nationality, residence or place of establishment.
What the Geo-Blocking Regulation covers
The regulation applies to traders who sell goods or services to customers in the EU. It protects consumers and, in many cases, businesses buying as end users. It targets three main practices:
- Blocking access to your online interface, such as your website or app, based on the customer's nationality, residence or location.
- Redirecting customers automatically to a different country version of your store without their consent.
- Applying different general conditions of access, such as prices or terms, based on those same factors, in the situations the regulation covers.
What it does not cover
The regulation does not make you sell everywhere. It does not set your prices or force price harmonization between countries. It does not apply in the same way to all digital content: services whose main feature is giving access to copyrighted works, such as streaming music or e-books, are partly excluded. Some sectors, such as certain transport and financial services, are also outside it.
Access and redirects: the rules in practice
You may run separate country stores, such as a German site and a French site, with different prices, ranges and promotions. What you cannot do is force a visitor into one of them based on their location.
- Blocking: you cannot stop a visitor from viewing your store because their IP address is in another EU country.
- Redirects: you may suggest a local store, for example with a banner, but the visitor must be able to choose. If they agree to be redirected, the original version must remain easy to reach.
- Exceptions: blocking or redirecting can be allowed where it is necessary to comply with a legal requirement, for example when a product cannot legally be sold in a certain country. Be ready to explain the reason.
Pro tip
Replace automatic geo-redirects with a small, dismissible banner such as "Shopping from Austria? Visit our Austrian store." Remember the visitor's choice. It respects the rules and is usually a better experience than an unexpected jump to another site.
Selling on the same terms as local customers
The heart of the regulation is equal treatment in specific situations. In each of them, you must accept customers from other EU countries on the same general conditions as local customers in the store they chose.
| Situation | What you must do | What you do not have to do |
|---|---|---|
| Goods delivered to a country you serve, or collected at an agreed place | Let any EU customer buy on that store's terms, as long as delivery is to an address or pickup point you already serve | Deliver to the customer's home country if you do not normally ship there |
| Electronically supplied services, such as cloud hosting or website builders | Offer the same terms regardless of the customer's country | Change your services for each country |
| Services received at your physical location, such as event tickets or hotel stays | Accept bookings from all EU customers on the same terms | Provide the service elsewhere |
For physical goods, this means a customer in Portugal can buy from your Spanish store at Spanish prices if they arrange delivery to an address in Spain or collect the order there, even if you do not ship to Portugal. You are not obliged to deliver to Portugal, and you are not obliged to comply with Portuguese product labeling or rules just because a Portuguese resident bought from you.
Common mistake
Rejecting orders because the billing address is in a country you do not ship to. If the delivery address is in a country you serve, the customer's home country should not, on its own, be a reason to refuse the order.
Payments: no discrimination by country
The regulation also covers payment. You remain free to choose which payment methods you accept. Once you accept a method, you cannot reject a payment, or apply different conditions to it, just because the card was issued or the account is held in another EU country.
For example, if you accept a particular card brand and category, you should accept the same type of card issued in another EU country. If you accept SEPA Direct Debit, you should not reject a customer because their account is with a bank in a different SEPA country. You can still use strong customer authentication and fraud checks, and you can delay delivery until payment is confirmed, as long as you treat customers consistently.
Example
Imagine a small Dutch shop that sells garden tools and ships only within the Netherlands and Belgium. A customer living in Germany wants to buy a pair of pruning shears for her sister in Utrecht. She pays with a credit card issued by a German bank. Under the geo-blocking rules, the shop should accept the order on the same terms as for Dutch customers, since delivery is to an address it serves, and it should not refuse the German card if it accepts that card type from Dutch customers.
How to audit your store
Most geo-blocking problems come from default settings in ecommerce platforms, plugins or fraud tools. A short audit can find them.
- Test access from other countries. Use a VPN or ask contacts abroad to check whether your store loads and whether anything is blocked.
- Review redirects. Look at your platform's localization and geolocation settings. Switch automatic redirects to suggestions.
- Check checkout rules. Make sure the billing country does not block an order when the delivery address is in a country you serve.
- Check payment settings. Review fraud and payment rules that block cards or accounts from certain EU countries without a specific reason.
- Read your terms. Make sure your general terms do not exclude customers from other EU countries in situations covered by the regulation.
- Document exceptions. Where a product cannot be sold to certain countries for legal reasons, note the law and the reason.
What you can still do
- Choose which countries you deliver to
- Run separate country stores with different prices
- Decide which payment methods you accept
- Suggest a local store with a banner
What you should avoid
- Blocking visitors by IP or country
- Forced redirects without consent
- Refusing orders by nationality or residence
- Rejecting accepted cards because of issuing country
Your geo-blocking action plan
- Check that your store loads for visitors from other EU countries
- Turn automatic country redirects into optional suggestions
- Let customers from any EU country order for delivery to areas you serve
- Review fraud and payment rules for country-based card or account blocks
- Check your terms for clauses excluding customers by nationality or residence
- Write down any legal reason for restricting a product in a country
- Explain clearly on your shipping page where you deliver
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to ship to every EU country?
No. The regulation does not oblige you to deliver everywhere. It requires you to accept customers from other EU countries on the same terms when delivery is to a place you already serve, or when they collect the goods as agreed.
Can I charge different prices in different country stores?
Generally yes. You can have different prices in different stores. What you cannot do is stop a customer from buying in the store of their choice on that store's terms because of their nationality or residence, in the situations covered.
Does this apply to UK or US sellers?
The regulation applies to traders who sell to customers in the EU, and it can cover traders based outside the EU who operate in the EU market. Check the European Commission's guidance and get advice if you are unsure whether it applies to your setup.
What about e-books, music and video?
Services whose main feature is providing access to copyrighted works, such as streaming or e-books, are partly excluded from the regulation. Other digital services, such as cloud storage or website hosting, are covered.
Related reading
The bottom line
The EU geo-blocking rules come down to fairness: let EU customers see your store, choose which version they use and buy on the same terms as locals when delivery goes to an area you serve. You still decide where you ship, which prices each store has and which payment methods you accept.
A quick audit of redirects, checkout rules and payment filters fixes most problems. This article is general information rather than legal advice, and rules and guidance can change, so check the European Commission's Your Europe pages, your national consumer authority or an adviser if your store has unusual restrictions.
