--- title: "FTC shipping delay notice: what it must say and when to send" description: "Can't ship on time? The FTC Mail Order Rule says offer the buyer a delay or a cancel-and-refund choice before your deadline. What it must say, with dates." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/ftc-shipping-delay-notice/ last_updated: 2026-10-23 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # What must a shipping delay notice say under the FTC rule? If you can't ship within the time your listing promised, or within 30 days if it promised none, the FTC's Mail Order Rule requires you to offer the buyer, before that deadline and without being asked, a choice between agreeing to the delay and cancelling for a prompt refund. The notice must give a definite revised shipping date (or say you can't give one, and why), explain the right to cancel and give a free way to do it; if the new date is 30 days or less past the original deadline the buyer's silence counts as consent, but beyond that the order cancels automatically unless the buyer agrees. General information about federal law, not legal advice. This page quotes the rule and the agency's own guidance; it can't tell you whether your business meets them, and state law and marketplace policies can add more. For your own situation, check with a lawyer. Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435). Checked against the official sources below on Oct 23, 2026. ## The rule, in its own words > “…to fail to offer to the buyer, clearly and conspicuously and without prior demand, an option either to consent to a delay in shipping or to cancel the buyer’s order and receive a prompt refund.” 16 CFR 435.2(b)(1). [eCFR (Office of the Federal Register)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-435); eCFR, up to date as of Oct 21, 2026. > “Said offer shall be made within a reasonable time after the seller first becomes aware of its inability to ship within the applicable time…” 16 CFR 435.2(b)(1). [eCFR (Office of the Federal Register)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-435); eCFR, up to date as of Oct 21, 2026. > “…to fail to furnish the buyer with adequate means, at the seller's expense, to exercise such option or to notify the seller regarding cancellation.” 16 CFR 435.2(b)(3). [eCFR (Office of the Federal Register)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-435); eCFR, up to date as of Oct 21, 2026. > “One important difference: the customer’s silence may not be treated as a consent to delay.” FTC Business Guide, "What Later Notices Must Say". [Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order-merchandise-rule); September 2011, edited January 2025. ## What the first delay notice must include 1. **A definite revised shipping date,** or, if you have no reasonable basis for one, a statement that you can't say how long the delay will be, with the reason for it (435.2(a)(3), 435.2(b)(1)(i)). 2. **The right to cancel:** that the buyer may cancel and get a full, prompt refund instead of waiting. 3. **A free way to cancel:** a means "at the seller's expense", such as a reply to your email or message, a link, or a toll-free number (435.2(b)(3)). 4. **What happens if the buyer says nothing:** with a new date 30 days or less past the original deadline, silence means consent to the delay (435.2(b)(1)(ii)). With a later date or no date, the order is cancelled automatically unless you ship within 30 days of the original deadline or the buyer expressly agrees (435.2(b)(1)(iii)). 5. **For an indefinite delay the buyer agrees to:** that they can still cancel any time before you ship (435.2(b)(1)(iii)(B)). Sample wording (ours, not an official form) We can't ship your order by our stated handling time. We now expect to ship it by **Friday, Nov 20, 2026**. If you don't want to wait, reply "cancel" to this message and we'll cancel the order and refund you in full right away. If you don't cancel before we ship (and before Nov 20), we'll take it that you agree to shipment on or before Nov 20. Sample wording (ours, not an official form) Your item was damaged before it could ship, and we don't know yet when we can replace it. If you don't want to wait, reply "cancel" and we'll refund you in full. If we haven't shipped by **Friday, Dec 4, 2026** and you haven't told us to keep the order, it will be cancelled automatically and refunded. If you ask us to keep it, you can still cancel any time before it ships. ## A worked timeline Listing promise: ships within 2 business days. The buyer pays on Monday, Nov 2, 2026, so the deadline is Wednesday, Nov 4. *One order under 16 CFR 435.2(b) and (c). Illustrative dates.* | Date | What happens | Rule | | --- | --- | --- | | Tue, Nov 3 | You find the item is damaged and order a replacement. You send a delay notice with a new date of Fri, Nov 20: 16 days after the Nov 4 deadline. | 435.2(b)(1)(i)-(ii): the date is within 30 days, so silence counts as consent | | Nov 4 to Nov 17 | The buyer doesn't reply. | Consent to ship by Nov 20 | | Wed, Nov 18 | The replacement is late. Before Nov 20 you send a renewed notice with a new date. | 435.2(b)(2): this time silence means the buyer rejects the delay | | Fri, Nov 20 | No reply and not shipped. | 435.2(c)(3): treat the order as cancelled and send a prompt refund | | By Tue, Dec 1 | Send the refund. Seven working days counted Monday to Friday end Dec 1; the rule doesn't say whether Thanksgiving (Nov 26) counts, so the earlier date is the safe one. | 435.1(b)(1) | Had the first notice said you didn't know when you could ship, the order would cancel automatically unless you shipped, or the buyer agreed to wait, within 30 days of the Nov 4 deadline: by Friday, Dec 4, 2026 (435.2(b)(1)(iii), 435.2(c)(2)). ## How to send it - **Email is fine.** The FTC's guide answers "Yes" to sending the notice to the buyer's email address, and says any means works if you notify the customer reasonably quickly. - **An order-status page alone isn't enough.** The FTC says the method must be reasonably likely to deliver all the required information in time; a status page is "an excellent way to back up notification by another means." - **Early enough to decide.** The buyer must have enough advance notice to make a meaningful choice, and no notice can come later than the original deadline. - **You can always cancel instead.** Notify the buyer and refund within the time the delay notice would have been due (435.2(b)(4)). ## Edge cases - **Substitutes need consent first.** The FTC says the rule gives only two responses to a backorder, a delay the buyer agrees to or a full refund. Shipping a materially different item needs the buyer's express agreement beforehand; the FTC counts differences in design, style, color or fabric, and any feature the listing mentions or shows, as material. See [free gifts, extras and substitutes](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/unordered-merchandise-free-gifts/). - **Renewed notices are different.** In a second or later notice, the buyer's silence can't be treated as consent; without a yes by the old date, the order is cancelled if you can't ship by then (435.2(b)(2)(ii)). - **Asking for more time up front.** With a definite revised date, you may also ask the buyer to agree in advance to a further unforeseen delay; for an indefinite one, the buyer keeps a continuing right to cancel (435.2(b)(1)(iv)). - **Phone notices.** If you call, the FTC suggests keeping the scripts and a log of each call: number, person reached and length. - **No notice, no shipment, no consent.** If you neither ship nor send the delay option by the deadline, you must treat the order as cancelled and refund it (435.2(c)(5)). ## What to do 1. The moment you know an order will be late, decide: can you ship it at all? If not, cancel and refund. 2. If you can, pick a revised date you have a reasonable basis for, and check whether it is more or less than 30 days past the original deadline. 3. Send the notice by email or marketplace message with the new date, the right to cancel, a free way to cancel, and what silence means. 4. Put the date you sent it and the buyer's reply in your order records. 5. If the new date slips, send a renewed notice before it passes and treat silence as cancellation. ## Penalties, as the agency states them The FTC's guide states the consequences this way: > “Merchants who violate the Rule can be sued by the FTC for injunctive relief, monetary civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation…” FTC Business Guide to the Mail Order Rule, "Why You Should Comply with the Rule". [Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order-merchandise-rule); September 2011, edited January 2025. ## Questions ### Can I send the delay notice through the marketplace's messages? The rule doesn't name channels. The FTC says you may use any means, such as phone, mail or email, as long as it reaches the buyer reasonably quickly and is reasonably likely to deliver all the required information within the time the rule allows. ### Does the buyer's silence mean they agree? Only in the first notice, and only when the new date is 30 days or less after the original deadline. For a later date, an unknown date, or any renewed notice, the buyer has to say yes. ### Can I offer store credit instead of a refund? No. The FTC says that when making rule-required refunds you cannot substitute credit toward future purchases, credit vouchers or scrip. See [the refund page](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/ftc-mail-order-refunds/). ## Related questions - [Does the FTC 30-day shipping rule apply to online resellers?](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/ftc-30-day-shipping-rule/) Yes. Ship within the time your listing states, or 30 days if it states none; "shipped" means in the carrier's possession, not a printed label. - [How fast must you refund an order you can't ship?](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/ftc-mail-order-refunds/) Within 7 working days for nearly every payment method, shipping and handling included. Store credit and gift cards don't count. - [Can you put a free gift, extra or substitute in a buyer's box?](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/unordered-merchandise-free-gifts/) Mark a free gift clearly as free. Anything else mailed without a request is the buyer's to keep, and a materially different substitute needs consent first. Also on this site: [USPS holiday shipping deadlines](https://resellerindex.com/rates/usps-holiday-shipping-deadlines-2026/) · [USPS for resellers](https://resellerindex.com/usps/) [All 14 federal rule questions for online resellers](https://resellerindex.com/seller-laws/) ## Sources Every rule, number and date on this page comes from these official pages, each read on Oct 23, 2026; quotes are copied word for word. General information, not legal advice. - [16 CFR Part 435: Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-435) (eCFR (Office of the Federal Register); eCFR, up to date as of Oct 21, 2026) - [FTC: Business Guide to the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order-merchandise-rule) (Federal Trade Commission; September 2011, edited January 2025) Subscribe: https://resellerindex.com/subscribe/ Want these numbers next to your own sales? The Profit Toolkit, $29 once (our own product) One Excel workbook you own: the fee calculators for 7 platforms (not TikTok Shop), USPS Media Mail and Ground Advantage tables, a minimum-price builder, a profit log and a monthly P&L. Instant download; refund within 30 days if it doesn't help. 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