California does not make stores give refunds. It makes them tell you if they will not. A California retailer that limits refunds has to post that policy where a shopper can actually see it, and a store that stays silent owes the buyer the purchase price on a return attempted within thirty days of the sale. That one rule is why signage at the register matters more in California than it does in most other states.
California Civil Code § 1723 covers any retail seller in the state whose policy is not to give full cash or credit refunds, or not to allow equal exchanges, for at least seven days after purchase. That seller has to display the policy conspicuously — on signs at each cash register and sales counter, at each public entrance, on tags attached to the goods, or on its order forms. The display has to say what the store actually does: cash refund, store credit or exchange, the time limit, which merchandise it covers, and any other conditions.
The consequence is the part shoppers rarely know. Under § 1723(c) a store that violates the section is liable to the buyer for the amount of the purchase if the buyer returns, or attempts to return, the goods on or before the thirtieth day after purchase. The section also carries the remedies of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
It is not universal. Subsection (b) exempts food, plants, flowers, perishables, goods marked "as is" or "all sales final", goods used or damaged after purchase, customized goods received as ordered, goods not returned in their original package, and goods that cannot be resold for health reasons.
Every display method the statute names is a physical one, so treat this as a rule about California storefronts. We found no authority extending it to an online checkout, and we are not going to claim one.
Most complaints about California shops are not about the product. They are about what happened when someone tried to bring it back, or about a charge that appeared after the sale. Both are visible before you pay if you look.
None of this is legal advice. California Civil Code § 1723 has been amended before and its application to any particular sale depends on facts we cannot see, so check the current statute or ask the California Attorney General’s office before relying on it.
No. California does not require a refund policy. It requires disclosure of a restrictive one. Civil Code § 1723 says a retailer whose policy is not to give full cash or credit refunds, or not to allow equal exchanges, for at least seven days after purchase must display that policy conspicuously at the register, the entrance, on tags or on its order forms.
Under § 1723(c) a store that violates the section is liable to the buyer for the amount of the purchase if the buyer returns, or attempts to return, the goods on or before the thirtieth day after purchase. The section also carries the remedies of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Keep your receipt and make the attempt inside that window.
Subsection (b) exempts food, plants, flowers and perishable goods, anything marked as is or all sales final, goods used or damaged after purchase, customized goods received as ordered, goods not returned in their original package, and goods that cannot be resold for health reasons.
Every display method the statute names is physical: cash registers, sales counters, public entrances, tags, order forms. We found no authority extending § 1723 to an e-commerce checkout, so treat an online purchase as governed by the seller's own posted return terms and read them before you buy.