Below is a warranty policy template you can copy section by section. The wording in each quote box is ready to use once you swap the brackets for your own details. It's written for brands that sell physical products made of parts, like espresso machines, 3D printers, e-bikes and power tools.
The order follows how claims actually reach your team. Which product, which part, how long ago it was bought, and what went wrong. If the policy answers those four questions clearly, your support team can apply it without asking a manager. That's the real test. A warranty policy isn't for the lawyer who reads it once. It's for the person who applies it fifty times a week.
1. What's covered, and for how long
Name the product, then the period. If parts wear at different rates, give each one its own period. A pump and a grinder burr don't last the same time, and a policy that pretends they do will be argued over.
The [Product name] is covered against defects in materials and workmanship for [12] months from the date of delivery. The following parts are covered for a different period: [part], [months]; [part], [months]. Consumable parts, listed in section 4, are not covered once used.
When does the clock start?
Pick the order date, the ship date or the delivery date, and write down which. Delivery date is the fairest to customers, but you need tracking data to prove it. Order date is easy to check and unfair to someone whose parcel sat in customs for three weeks. It matters most for claims that arrive a few days either side of the cut-off, which is exactly when customers argue.
Are replacement parts covered for a new period?
This one catches almost everyone. You send a new pump in month 10 of a 12-month warranty. Is that pump covered for two months, or twelve? Decide now, or every agent will decide differently.
Replacement parts are covered for the rest of the original warranty period or [90] days, whichever is longer.
2. What counts as a defect
Keep the covered part short. A part that fails under normal use, inside the warranty period. Then list what isn't covered, so nobody has to interpret a paragraph at 5pm on a Friday.
Not covered: damage from misuse, accidents, modification, use that goes against the manual, or normal wear.
Be careful with third-party parts
If you sell in the US, you generally can't void a warranty just because someone used another brand's filament, filter or battery. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act blocks that kind of condition unless you give the required part away free. You can still decline a claim when the third-party part actually caused the failure. Write it that way instead.
The same goes for "warranty void if removed" stickers. The FTC has sent warning letters to brands that use them.
3. What you'll do when a claim is approved
This is the section customers actually read. Say whether you'll repair it, send a part, replace the product or refund. Say who pays shipping each way. And say whether you send the new part straight away or wait for the old one to come back.
If a covered part fails, we'll send a replacement part at no cost, with instructions, or arrange a repair. We may ask for photos or a short video first. We don't ask for the failed part back unless we say so when we approve the claim.
A tip from the support side. Sending the part first means you lose a few failed parts you'd have liked to inspect. Waiting for returns adds a week or more to every claim, plus the angry email in the middle. For cheap parts, sending first usually works out cheaper. Ask for the failed part back only when you actually plan to look at it.
4. Consumables and wear parts
List them by name and part number. Gaskets, filters, burrs, blades, nozzles, batteries. Anything designed to wear out. A customer who saw the list before buying won't feel cheated later.
Decide what happens when a wear part fails early, too. A gasket that splits in month two isn't normal wear. Calling that a defect is fair, and writing it down stops each agent making their own call.
5. How to make a claim
Give one route, in steps. Where to go, what to have ready, and what happens next, with rough timings.
Go to [your help center address] and open a warranty claim. You'll need your order number or the product's serial number, a description of the problem, and a photo or video if you can take one. We confirm receipt straight away, review within [2] working days, and email you at every step until the replacement arrives.
Don't offer email, phone and a form all at once. Customers will pick the one you least want, and every claim that arrives by email needs a reply asking for the order number.
6. Do customers need to register?
If registering changes the cover, say exactly how. If you register products automatically from the order, say that, so customers don't worry about a step they never had to take.
Think twice before making cover depend on registration. Customers who never filled in the card feel tricked. And in the US, a warranty labelled "full" can't require it at all.
7. Consumer law, and selling in other countries
Your warranty sits on top of the customer's legal rights. It can't take them away, and those rights vary a lot by country. In the EU, sellers owe a legal guarantee of at least two years. In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act gives customers up to six years to bring some claims. One sentence covers you everywhere.
This warranty is in addition to your rights under consumer law, which it doesn't affect.
The US has two rules worth knowing. A written warranty on a product over $10 has to be labelled "full" or "limited", and nearly every hardware brand's is limited. Over $15, customers must be able to read it before they buy, so link the policy from the product page, not just the footer.
If you sell in several countries, say which version applies to which delivery address. And have a lawyer read your final draft. This template is a starting point, not legal advice.
Mistakes that cause the most arguments
- Per-part periods that only live in the policy PDF. Put them where your team sees them when a claim arrives.
- Changing the policy without dating it. A claim is judged by the policy in force when the product was bought, so keep every old version.
- Not recording why. Write one sentence on why each claim was approved or declined. Read them once a month and you'll spot your next product fix.
- Promising timings you can't keep. "Reviewed within 2 working days" should be true in your worst week, not your best.
In Docutize, the periods in section 1 live on each product and part, so cover is checked per part on every claim, and the claim route in section 5 is your help center's claim wizard. How warranty claims work.