General terms and conditions update 2026: Is your company legally ready?

In practice, general terms and conditions often turn out to be the first document that is critically examined by a judge in the event of a conflict. Especially clauses on payment terms, collection costs, liability and termination are under pressure. If these clauses are incorrectly worded or not demonstrably declared applicable, they can be set aside in whole or in part.

Many business owners assume that "old" terms and conditions are still valid, as long as they are included. That assumption is legally incorrect. Judges look not only at the content, but also at the way in which terms and conditions were offered, the comprehensibility for the other party and the relationship between parties (B2B or consumer).

Major risks arise particularly with:

• Incorrect or missing delivery of terms and conditions
• Overly broad liability exclusions
• Collection and interest clauses that do not comply with consumer law
• Notice or termination clauses deemed unreasonable

As a result, the very provisions you think you can fall back on do not offer protection. This leads to legal uncertainty, additional discussion and a considerably weaker position when a dispute escalates. Want to know what happens if such a discussion eventually ends up in court? Then read how a court proceeding proceeds in outline.

General terms and conditions are not just an attachment to your offer. The rules are in Book 6 of the Civil Code. Important is article 6:233 of the Civil Code. This states that a provision in your terms and conditions is voidable if:

• That provision is unreasonably onerous to your client, or
• Your customer had no real chance to read the terms before the contract was formed

Do you work with consumers? Then two more articles play a big role:

• Article 6:236 BW - the black list of prohibited provisions
• Article 6:237 BW - the gray list of provisions that are unreasonable

Judges are using these lists more and more actively. Consumers are better informed and seek help more quickly when conflicts arise. Outdated terms then fall through more quickly.

Do you have many consumers as customers and do you make agreements about payment terms, collection costs or subscriptions? In that case it is smart to compare your terms and conditions with current information, for example from our knowledge base articles on statutory payment terms and calculating collection costs.

The black and gray list in the Civil Code are specifically designed to protect consumers. Many older general terms and conditions touch on exactly these sensitive points without you realizing it.

The blacklist includes provisions that are always unreasonable. Examples are:

• Complete exclusion of liability for intentional or gross misconduct
• Completely excluding the right to rescission
• Agreements where only your reading of the facts counts as evidence

The gray list contains provisions that are presumptively unreasonable. You must then prove that they are still reasonable in your situation. Consider:

• Unilateral modification clauses without clear limits
• Very long or unreasonable notice periods
• Automatic renewal of subscriptions without clear information

Are you still using standard texts from years ago, or have you ever copied terms and conditions from another party? Then chances are they contain provisions that fall under these lists. In litigation, a judge can invalidate those provisions without much discussion.

Want to do a first check yourself? Compare your terms with the most recent explanation in our article on legal interest and debt collection in 2026. If you are also dealing with difficult or uncertain payers, our article on doubtful debtors will give you additional guidance on how to limit risks.

Many risks are not in the content of your terms and conditions, but in how you use them. The law requires that your customer has had a reasonable opportunity to read the terms and conditions before or at the conclusion of the contract.

In 2026specifically, that means:

• Just a reference on your invoice is not enough
• For online contracts, terms and conditions must be easily accessible digitally
• A clear and working link to the terms and conditions is necessary

Do you sell online services, subscriptions or work with a customer portal? If so, you must be able to show that your customer was able to review the terms and conditions before clicking "agree. Relying on the idea that someone is "bound to know" your terms and conditions is legally very vulnerable.

In practice, we often see that companies have already modernized their processes for invoicing and collection, but have never adjusted the legal basis accordingly. Would you like us to look with you at how your general terms and conditions and your collection process run together? Then you can always contact us. If you also work with registered mail or physical letters, then our article Sending a registered letter will help you to set up that part of your process legally as well.

There is another problem in business relationships: the battle of forms. You send offers with your terms and conditions. Your customer sends purchase orders with his own terms and conditions. Both parties declare their own terms and conditions applicable. The question then becomes: which set really applies?

According to established case law, it is often the case that the party that first clearly declared its own terms and conditions to apply has an advantage. But if the other party explicitly rejects your terms and conditions, that can tilt the balance again.

Many older general terms and conditions do not take this into account. A good, up-to-date set of terms and conditions therefore includes, for example:

• A clear rejection of purchasing or other terms and conditions of the other party
• A provision on what happens in case of conflicting agreements
• Clear rules for repeated transactions with the same customer

Do you work a lot with larger parties, tenders or framework agreements? Then it is extra important that your general terms and conditions are legally sharp and consistent with the way you buy and sell. In our article on outstanding invoices you can read how to combine this with tight debtor management.

Towards 2026, European rules on revocation and cancellation will become stricter. The gist: a consumer must be able to terminate a subscription taken out online as easily as he took it out.

This is especially touching:

• Subscriptions to digital services
• Ongoing service contracts
• Memberships with automatic renewal

Do your terms and conditions still contain rules about written notice by letter, complicated forms or long notice periods? Then you run the risk that those provisions conflict with the new rules. Again, what used to be "usual" is now often no longer legally tenable.

Want to make sure your termination and renewal policy is correct? Compare your terms and conditions with recent case law or have them reviewed thoroughly. You can read more about the position of consumers with online purchases in our article web store gives no money back. That helps you to better align your conditions with what is legally expected of you.

Almost every set of general terms and conditions contains provisions on payment terms, interest and collection costs. That is precisely where things often go wrong in 2026.

For consumers, the Collection Costs Act applies. You are not allowed to agree higher percentages than the law allows. You are also obliged to send a proper fortnightly letter before you are allowed to charge costs. We have a separate page about the WIK letter and a tool to calculate collection costs. In our explanation of reminder costs you can read step by step what you can and cannot charge.

In business relationships, you have more freedom, but even there judges look more critically at unreasonably high interest rates or vague charges. Unclear or excessive provisions are more likely to be mitigated or disapplied.

In addition, many older terms and conditions still contain far-reaching limitations of liability, such as:

• Complete exclusion of liability regardless of fault
• Limitations to token amounts that do not fit the damages
• Clauses that don't match your real services (e.g., SaaS versus physical delivery)

These clauses give false security. On paper it looks like you are covering risks, but in a procedure it often turns out that the provision is annulled or mitigated. Then you are still empty-handed.

A brief legal MOT of your terms and conditions ensures that provisions on interest, fees and liability are in line with current law, case law and your business model.

Terms and conditions are not a formality. They define how you deal with risks, payments, mistakes, cancellations and conflicts. In 2026, that legal basis only becomes more important.

A legal MOT for your terms and conditions means, for example:

• Testing against current legislation and recent case law
• Differentiate between business and consumer agreements
• Connect to your digital services, subscriptions and portals
• Clear agreements on payment, collection and termination

Many business owners don't discover that their terms and conditions are outdated or too general until a serious dispute arises. By then it is actually too late. By checking now and updating where necessary, you strengthen your position in disputes, collections and negotiations.

Want us to look at the debt collection side of your terms with you? You can file online in just a few minutes through debt collection filing. If you would prefer to spar about your situation first, you can always contact us. If you want to get an idea of when it is smart to hire an agency, read about hiring a collection agency. Together we will make sure your terms and conditions and collection process are ready for 2026.