What should a return request form ask?

The order number and the email on the order, the item and quantity, the date it was received, the reason, the condition it is in, photographs where relevant, and whether the customer wants a refund, an exchange or credit. That is everything needed to approve or decline without a second email.

Why ask for the condition and the reason separately?

Because they decide different things. The reason tells you who pays for the return, and the condition tells you whether the item can go back into stock. Merged into one question, neither answer is reliable enough to act on.

Can we stop returns being requested after the deadline?

Set a rule on the date received field, or close the form to submissions where the purchase date falls outside your window. Declining at the point of submission is far better received than an approval that is reversed two days later.

Return and Exchange Request Form

Handle returns without an email thread, capturing the order number, the reason, the condition, and whether the customer wants a refund, an exchange, or a credit.

About this template

A return handled over email takes four messages: the customer writes in, you ask for the order number, they send a photograph, you ask what they would like instead. This form asks for all of it at once, and a return that arrives complete can be approved in the time it takes to read it.

The reason and the condition are separate questions because they mean different things to the warehouse. Changed my mind on an unopened item goes straight back to stock, while faulty and opened does not, and a form that collapses the two into one dropdown makes that call impossible without opening the parcel. The photograph requirement is flagged on the damaged and faulty paths for the same reason.

The resolution question turns the request into an instruction. Refund, same item, different item, or credit, chosen by the person who actually wants the outcome, so nobody guesses and nobody sends a replacement to a customer who had already bought elsewhere. The collection address only needs filling in when it differs from the delivery one, which for most returns is never.

Add a field for a returns authorisation number if your carrier needs one on the label, and set a rule to close the form to items bought outside your returns window rather than declining them afterwards. Shops with a restocking fee should say so next to the resolution question, where the decision is being made.

Templates are a starting point, not legal or professional advice. Where a form carries consent, medical, or contractual wording, have somebody qualified review it against the rules that apply to you before you publish.

Fields in this template

Order number*Short text
Email address on the order*Email
Your name*Name
Date you received it*Date
Which item are you returning?*Short text
How many?*Number
Size, colour, or variantShort text
Why are you returning it?*Single choice
Condition of the item*Multiple choice
Photographs of the item and packagingFile upload
What would you like?*Single choice
If exchanging, which item instead?Short text
Collection addressAddress
Anything else we should know?Long text

Every field can be renamed, reordered, made optional, or removed once the template is open in the builder.

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Frequently asked questions

What should a return request form ask?: The order number and the email on the order, the item and quantity, the date it was received, the reason, the condition it is in, photographs where relevant, and whether the customer wants a refund, an exchange or credit. That is everything needed to approve or decline without a second email.
Why ask for the condition and the reason separately?: Because they decide different things. The reason tells you who pays for the return, and the condition tells you whether the item can go back into stock. Merged into one question, neither answer is reliable enough to act on.
Can we stop returns being requested after the deadline?: Set a rule on the date received field, or close the form to submissions where the purchase date falls outside your window. Declining at the point of submission is far better received than an approval that is reversed two days later.

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