How to Record Which Terms and Conditions a Customer Accepted in WooCommerce
When a customer places an order in WooCommerce, they are normally required to tick the “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions” checkbox.
But what happens if your store’s terms and conditions change after that purchase?
If a dispute arises months later, you need to be able to establish which version of the terms and conditions was in force when the customer placed the order and exactly what it said.
By default, WooCommerce does not preserve an independently verifiable, versioned copy of those terms for every purchase.
In this guide, we’ll explain what information you should keep and how to automate the process with Sellat Proof for WooCommerce, a free plugin available in the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
What does WooCommerce record when a customer accepts the terms and conditions?
WooCommerce allows store owners to require customers to accept the terms and conditions during checkout.
However, recording an acceptance and preserving the exact text displayed at that moment are two different things.
Consider this example:
- A customer places an order and accepts your store’s terms and conditions.
- Two months later, you update your returns policy.
- Some time afterwards, the customer raises a dispute about that order.
- You need to retrieve the terms that applied when the customer purchased, not the current version.
If you only keep an internal acceptance record, reconstructing the exact text available at the time and demonstrating that it has not been altered can be difficult.
What information should you keep for each WooCommerce order?
To maintain reliable evidence of terms and conditions acceptance in an online store, it is useful to preserve:
- Order information: order number, date, products and amounts.
- Terms and conditions version: the specific document in force during checkout.
- Original text: a copy of that version, even if the terms change later.
- Privacy policy: the version displayed during the purchase process.
- Proof of date and integrity: a way to verify that the record existed and has not been modified afterwards.
Keeping this information does not prove that someone actually read every clause. It does, however, preserve verifiable evidence of the acceptance recorded by the store and the terms that were in force.
How to record accepted terms and conditions in WooCommerce with a plugin
Sellat Proof for WooCommerce automates the recording of orders and the version history of your store’s legal pages.
The plugin is available free of charge on WordPress.org and connects to Sellat to generate independently verifiable digital proof.
Step 1. Install Sellat Proof for WooCommerce
From your WordPress administration dashboard:
- Go to Plugins → Add New.
- Search for Sellat Proof for WooCommerce.
- Install and activate the plugin.
You can also access the official plugin listing directly:
Install Sellat Proof for WooCommerce from WordPress.org
Step 2. Connect your WooCommerce store to Sellat
In your WordPress dashboard, open WooCommerce → Sellat and click Connect with Sellat.
Sign in to your Sellat account or create a free account, confirm the connection and return to your store. The plugin connects automatically, without requiring you to copy an API key.
Step 3. Select the legal pages to protect
The plugin initially selects the terms and conditions page and privacy policy configured in WooCommerce.
You can also select other legal pages, such as your returns or shipping policies.
Whenever the content of a monitored page changes, the plugin records a new version and preserves its exact text.
Step 4. Record WooCommerce orders automatically
When an order is confirmed, the plugin records its details and links them to the versions of the legal terms in force at checkout.
Orders placed using bank transfer are also recorded while awaiting payment. The plugin does not need to wait for the transfer to arrive.
Processing takes place in the background using Action Scheduler, so customers never have to wait for Sellat during checkout.
How can you prove that the accepted terms were not changed afterwards?
Sellat uses SHA-256 cryptographic hashes to create verifiable evidence of data integrity.
A cryptographic hash acts like a digital fingerprint of a specific version of a document or record. If the content changes, its hash changes too.
Sellat anchors these fingerprints on Polygon and Bitcoin, using OpenTimestamps for the Bitcoin proof.
With the free account, orders are grouped into one daily proof for your store. Each order retains its individual record and the information needed to verify that it was included in that day’s proof.
From WooCommerce, you can download an evidence package containing:
- The order record.
- The exact text of the applicable terms and conditions.
- The public cryptographic proof.
- Instructions for checking everything with standard tools.
The downloaded evidence can be verified independently, without relying on Sellat’s servers.
Is customer personal data published on the blockchain?
No. Only cryptographic fingerprints are published on public networks, never customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses.
The standard order record includes a hash of the customer’s email address rather than the email address itself. This allows the email to be checked against the record later without storing it directly in that record.
The relevant records, legal terms and proof information are preserved so they can be retrieved when needed.
Qualified eIDAS timestamps for individual WooCommerce orders
In addition to the standard Polygon and Bitcoin proofs, Sellat allows you to manually add a qualified eIDAS electronic timestamp to a specific order.
Under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, a qualified electronic timestamp benefits from a legal presumption of the accuracy of the date and time it indicates and the integrity of the associated data.
This provides an additional level of evidential support for orders where it may be particularly valuable.
Every Sellat account includes one free qualified timestamp credit. Additional credits can be purchased individually or in packs.
A qualified timestamp does not guarantee the outcome of a dispute or automatically make an online store compliant with every applicable law.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sellat Proof for WooCommerce free?
Yes. The free account includes legal page version history and daily protection of WooCommerce orders. Additional qualified timestamps use paid credits.
What happens if I change my terms and conditions?
The plugin preserves the previous version and its exact text. Earlier orders remain linked to the version that was in force when they were placed.
Does the plugin work with WooCommerce Checkout Blocks?
Yes. The plugin supports classic checkout, WooCommerce Cart and Checkout Blocks, and High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS).
What happens if Sellat is unavailable when a customer places an order?
Checkout continues normally. The plugin retains the order awaiting protection and retries the operation later.
Can I access my proof if I stop using Sellat?
Finalized proof packages can be downloaded and verified using standard tools. Your store also retains local copies of the records and completed proofs.
Protect your WooCommerce orders and legal terms
Recording acceptance of your terms and conditions is useful. Preserving the exact text that applied to each order, together with independently verifiable evidence of its date and integrity, provides a more complete record of each purchase.
Sellat Proof for WooCommerce automates this process without changing the customer’s usual checkout experience.
Install Sellat Proof for WooCommerce for free
You can also learn more about how Sellat works with WooCommerce and explore the available proof options.