Price display: rules to follow

Verified 02 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The prices of products and services are freely set by professionals. However, these prices must be subject to a readable and comprehensible displayand follow certain rules so as not to mislead the consumer.

Customer price information is obligatory whatever the mode of sale (in store, on the internet, at home, etc.) and whatever the place of sale (shop, department store, outdoor stall, fair, lounge, etc.).

The trader may inform the customer by means of marking, labeling, display or any other appropriate means. The price is expressed in euros inclusive of all taxes (including VAT).

Please note

The customer must be able to know the price before concluding the sales contract. without having to ask.

The trader must also inform the customer of all additional costs known in advance (file costs, delivery costs, postage costs, contractual costs). If these additional costs cannot be calculated in advance, the trader must nevertheless inform the customer of their existence and their chargeability.

In addition, where the advertised price does not include an element or service essential to the use or purpose of the product or service offered, this particularity must be explicitly stated (e.g. battery and charger not included).

Whether it is a product or a service, additional rules shall apply to the display of prices.

Displaying the Price of a Product

Price must be indicated on the product itself by means of a label or on a sign placed in the direct vicinity of the product so that there is no uncertainty as to the product to which it relates.

The products, whether identical or not, sold at the same price and displayed together in public view may give rise to the indication of a single price.

If a product is visible from the outside (window displays, displays), the customer must be able to know the price without having to enter the store. If this product is displayed in the shop window and inside the shop, its price must be marked in both places.

Please note

There's no no derogation for second-hand products.

For the majority of food, hygiene and maintenance products prepackaged (list available on Legifrance), the customer must be informed of the unit price (price per kilogram, liter, etc.) and the net quantity delivered, in addition to the selling price.

In addition, for products sold in batches, the display must show the selling price, the batch composition and the price of each product in the batch (if different).

The obligation to indicate the price also applies to products not visible to customers because they would be stored in boxes (e.g. shoes), in drawers (e.g. hosiery, hardware) or in an ancillary store in the store.

However, this obligation is waived for products which are not yet available for sale, in particular because they have not yet been taken out of their packaging or because they are in reserves independent of the store.

Display the price of a service

The list of services provided and their price must be indicated legibly in the place dedicated to welcoming customers. The services offered to the public must be displayed externally readable.

Where the trader has a wide range of services which cannot be listed on a simple poster, he may make available to customers a single document detailing all its services (e.g. a catalog).

Where the price of the service cannot be calculated in advance, the trader must provide the method of calculation or a sufficiently detailed estimate to the customer who requests it.

In addition, if the trader charges for a quotation, he must inform the customers before the realization of the project.

For certain products or services (fuel, books, insurance), the display of prices is the subject of specific rules. For example, tolerance is allowed towards the insurer when there are too many rates, because of the existence of a plurality of situations. The insurer is not required to post all its rates but must provide its customers with a price and guarantee information sheet before the contract is concluded.

Additional rules apply when the trader carries out a promotion on a product. All price reduction announcements must show:

  • The applied reduction to the product. The trader is free to determine how to display this reduction, e.g. an absolute value (- EUR 10), a percentage (- 15 %), a strikethrough price, etc.). If the trader has never offered for sale the product that he wishes to market on promotion, he may use as a reference price the price recently charged in another store or on another online sales site.
  • The reference price of the product, i.e. the price charged for at least 30 days before the reduction. In the case of successive price reductions, the reference price shall be that applied before the application of the first price reduction.

Professionals are advised to keep a proof of reference price (note, voucher, receipt, etc.) in case of control of the DGCCRF: titleContent or consumer protest.

Please note

You have to distinguish promotions and sales that obey a different regulation. For example, outside of legal balance periods, the resale at a loss and the use of the word " balance(s) or its derivatives are prohibited.

The product benefiting from a reduction must be available throughout the promotion period. If the product is no longer in stock, the trader must replenish his supplies. However, the trader may limit his offer to a specific number of products. In this case, it must clearly indicate the number of products that will benefit from the offer.

Furthermore, the advantage offered during a promotion is necessarily temporary. A promotional offer that is systematically renewed until it is permanent would constitute a deceptive marketing practice likely to mislead the consumer.

In case of doubt on the display of its prices, the professional can to seek the opinion of the administration, this is called the " rescripts consumption ”.

A prescription is a procedure enabling a trader to have a formal position from the administration on how to inform the consumer about prices in his shop or on his website. This opinion commits the administration.

To obtain this prescription, the trader must contact the DGCCRF: titleContent via sound online contact form, selecting the steps in the following order:

  1. Administrative procedures
  2. Business Demands
  3. Get a price display prescription

The trader must then forward the cerfa no. 15787 completed and one photo of his prices display (in-store or on its website).

Ask the DGCCRF for advice on how you can inform the consumer about prices

Failure to provide information on prices shall be punished by fine of €3,000 for individual entrepreneurs or €15,000 for businesses.

If the information supplied is likely to mislead the customer about the price (e.g. a notional discount), the trader may see his criminal liability committed to deceptive marketing practice. This offense is punishable by 2 years imprisonment and €300,000 fines (individual contractors) or €1,500 000 fines (businesses).