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how to draft a general terms and conditions uk

How to Draft a Terms and Conditions in the UK

If you're trying to figure out how to draft a general terms and conditions in the UK, you're not alone. Most founders either copy a template from a competitor's website or pay a solicitor more than they budgeted for. Neither approach is ideal. Your T&Cs are a legally binding contract between you and your customers. Get them wrong and you're exposed — whether that's unenforceable payment terms, missing consumer rights disclosures, or GDPR gaps that invite ICO complaints. UK law sets specific requirements depending on whether you're selling to consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B), and whether you're trading online or offline. The Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, and the Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002 all have a say in what your T&Cs must cover. This guide walks you through every clause you need, what the law actually requires, and where you can draft something solid without starting from scratch. We'll also be straight with you about when a solicitor is genuinely worth the cost.

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Why this matters

Most small business owners treat T&Cs as a box-ticking exercise — paste something generic online and hope for the best. The problem is that vague or borrowed T&Cs often don't hold up. Payment terms get disputed. Customers claim refunds you didn't intend to offer. Liability clauses get struck out because they're unfair under UK law. And if you're collecting any customer data, missing the right data processing language puts you in breach of UK GDPR before you've even started. The real pain here isn't drafting — it's not knowing what you're legally required to include, what's optional, and what could actually work against you if it ends up in front of a judge.

The Atornee approach

Atornee isn't a template library and it isn't a law firm. It's an AI legal assistant built specifically for UK businesses. When you use Atornee to generate terms and conditions, it asks you the right questions first — your business model, whether you sell to consumers or businesses, how you deliver your product or service — and then builds a document that reflects your actual situation under UK law. You get something you can read, understand, and use straight away. If the document flags anything that needs a solicitor's eye — say, a complex liability cap or sector-specific regulation — it tells you that too, rather than pretending everything is fine.

What you get

A clause-by-clause breakdown of what UK law requires in general terms and conditions, covering both B2B and B2C scenarios
Plain-English explanations of how the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 affect what you can and cannot include
A practical drafting checklist you can work through before generating or reviewing your document
Honest guidance on which clauses are legally mandatory, which are strongly recommended, and which are optional extras
Clear signposting for when your T&Cs are complex enough to warrant a qualified solicitor's review

Before you sign checklist

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1. Confirm whether your customers are consumers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or both — this determines which statutory protections apply
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2. List every product or service you offer and note how each is delivered (digital, physical, in-person) so your T&Cs cover the right scenarios
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3. Decide on your payment terms, refund policy, and cancellation rights before drafting — these are the clauses most likely to be disputed
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4. Check whether you collect, store, or process any customer personal data — if so, your T&Cs need a data processing or privacy reference aligned with UK GDPR
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5. Review any sector-specific regulations that apply to your industry (e.g. financial services, healthcare, food) as these may impose additional disclosure requirements
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6. Draft or generate your T&Cs, then read every clause yourself — if you cannot explain what a clause means in plain English, it may not be enforceable
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7. If your T&Cs include significant liability caps, IP ownership provisions, or you operate in a regulated sector, have a UK solicitor review the final document before publishing

FAQ

Are terms and conditions legally required in the UK?

Not always, but they are strongly advisable. If you sell goods or services online to consumers, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 require you to provide certain pre-contract information, and having T&Cs is the standard way to do that. Without them, the default rules under UK contract law and consumer protection legislation apply — and those defaults often favour the customer, not you.

What must be included in UK terms and conditions?

At minimum, your T&Cs should cover: who you are and how to contact you, what you're selling and at what price, payment terms, delivery or performance timelines, your returns and refund policy (mandatory for B2C under the Consumer Rights Act 2015), how either party can end the contract, a limitation of liability clause, and a governing law clause specifying England and Wales (or Scotland if applicable). If you collect personal data, you also need a reference to your privacy policy.

Can I just copy terms and conditions from another website?

Technically you can, but it's a bad idea. Copied T&Cs may not reflect your business model, may contain clauses that are unenforceable under UK law, or may be missing provisions specific to your sector. They could also infringe the copyright of the original author. More practically, if a dispute arises, a document that clearly wasn't written for your business will undermine your position.

Do my terms and conditions need to be signed?

Not necessarily. For online businesses, a tick-box or a clear statement that placing an order constitutes acceptance is usually sufficient under UK contract law. What matters is that the customer had a genuine opportunity to read the T&Cs before agreeing. Burying them in a footer with no clear acceptance mechanism is risky — courts have found T&Cs unincorporated into contracts on that basis.

What makes a clause in terms and conditions unenforceable in the UK?

The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 both restrict what you can include. Clauses that exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence are void. Clauses that give you the right to vary the contract unilaterally without good reason, or that disproportionately limit a consumer's statutory rights, are likely to be struck out. Plain language matters too — under the Consumer Rights Act, terms must be transparent and prominent to be binding on consumers.

When should I pay a solicitor to draft my terms and conditions?

If your business operates in a regulated sector (financial services, healthcare, legal services), if you're dealing with high-value contracts, if your T&Cs include complex IP ownership or data processing arrangements, or if you've already had a dispute that exposed a gap in your current document — those are the situations where a solicitor's input is worth the cost. For straightforward B2B or B2C service businesses, a well-structured AI-generated document that you've read and understood is a reasonable starting point.

Related Atornee Guides

Cheap Contract Solicitor Alternative (UK)

Useful if you want to understand the broader options for contract drafting and review beyond T&Cs.

Cheap Solicitor for NDA (UK)

If your T&Cs involve confidential information sharing, pairing them with an NDA is worth considering.

Atornee Use Cases

See how founders in different roles use Atornee to handle contracts and legal documents across their business.

External References

GOV.UK Business and Self-employed

Official UK government guidance on business operations, including consumer contracts and trading standards.

UK Legislation

Primary source for the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, and other statutes referenced in this guide.

ICO Guidance for Organisations

Essential reference for UK GDPR compliance, relevant to any data processing clauses in your T&Cs.

Trust & Verification Policy

Authored By

A

Atornee Editorial Team

UK Contract Research

Reviewed By

C

Compliance Review Desk

UK Business Legal Content QA

Last reviewed on 3/4/2026

"This content is based on analysis of UK contract law, consumer protection legislation, and common drafting issues encountered by small and medium-sized UK businesses. It reflects practical patterns observed across B2B and B2C contract disputes and regulatory guidance from UK statutory bodies."

References & Sources