Order Confirmation Email: 6 Templates
Six order confirmation emails to send the moment checkout completes: a standard order, an honest delivery window, digital access, a preorder, a cross-sell and a payment that has not cleared. Each answers the four questions customers check first: did it go through, what did I buy, what did I pay and what happens next. Below the variants: what the rules expect in the US, EU and UK, do's and don'ts, three extra scenarios and a free Word file.
Made by Anatolii Ulitovskyi 
Fact-checked by RH Fardin Updated 1. Order confirmed
When to useSend immediately after checkout -- within seconds, not as part of a nightly batch.
Subject
Your brand order order number is confirmed
Hi customer name,
Thanks for your order -- we have got it, and we are getting it ready now.
Order number: order number
What you ordered: items
Total charged: total
We will email you again the moment it ships, with tracking so you can follow it the whole way.
Spotted a mistake, or need to change the address? Just reply to this email in the next few hours and we will fix it before it leaves us.
Thanks again,
The brand team
Why it works
Everything the customer is anxious about -- did it go through, what did I buy, what did it cost -- is answered above the fold and in plain language. Naming the next email removes the urge to chase, and the reply invitation catches address errors while they are still cheap to fix.
2. Confirmation plus shipping estimate
When to useSend at checkout when you can give an honest delivery window.
Subject
Order order number confirmed -- arriving eta
Hi customer name,
Your order is in and we are packing it. Here is everything in one place.
Order number: order number
Items: items
Delivering to: address
Estimated arrival: eta
That estimate includes the time it takes us to pack and hand it over, so it is the real window rather than the optimistic one. We will send tracking as soon as it is on its way.
If address is not right, reply now and we will catch it before it ships.
Best,
The brand team
Why it works
It answers the when question in the subject line, so the customer gets what they need without opening anything. Showing the address invites a correction at the only moment it is free, and framing eta as the honest window buys credibility for every future estimate you send.
3. Digital or subscription confirmation
When to useSend immediately after payment, with access details included.
Subject
You are in -- your brand plan is active
Hi customer name,
Payment went through and plan is live on your account right now. No waiting.
To get started: access step
Reference: order number
Next billing date: renewal date. We will remind you a few days before, and you can cancel any time from your account without emailing anyone or sitting on hold.
If anything does not load or look right, reply to this email -- a real person reads it.
Welcome aboard,
The brand team
Why it works
Digital customers worry about two things: can I actually get in, and when will you charge me again. This answers both before they ask. Saying cancellation is self-serve reduces the anxiety that drives chargebacks, and it costs you nothing to be upfront about it.
4. Preorder or backorder confirmation
When to useSend at checkout for any item that is not in your hands yet.
Subject
Preorder confirmed: order number -- shipping ship date
Hi customer name,
Your preorder is locked in. Being straight with you up front: items is not in stock yet, so this one involves a wait.
Order number: order number
Expected to ship: ship date
You are in the queue in the order you paid, so you will get yours as soon as we have them. If ship date moves -- and sometimes it does -- we will email you rather than let you find out by wondering.
Either way, expect an update from us by update date.
Want to cancel while you wait? Reply and we will refund you in full, no questions.
Thanks for your patience,
The brand team
Why it works
The subject line stops the order from being remembered as a normal one. Admitting the date might slip before it slips means a delay is a kept promise rather than a broken one, and the open refund offer converts resentment into trust.
5. Confirmation plus cross-sell
When to useSend at checkout when there is an obvious companion to what they bought.
Subject
Order order number confirmed
Hi customer name,
All confirmed -- thanks for your order.
Order number: order number
Items: items
Arriving: eta. Tracking follows as soon as it ships.
One thing worth knowing
Most people who buy items end up wanting addon within a month or so. If you add it before this order ships, it goes in the same box and you are not paying twice for delivery.
No pressure at all -- if you do not need it, ignore this and your order is on its way regardless.
Best,
The brand team
Why it works
The confirmation is complete and unconditional before anything is sold, so the email never feels like a trick. The suggestion is justified by other customers' behaviour rather than your margin, and the same-box logic is a real reason to act now instead of manufactured urgency.
6. Payment-pending confirmation
When to useSend at checkout when the money has not actually landed yet.
Subject
Order order number received -- waiting on payment
Hi customer name,
We have got your order and it is safely reserved. One thing to flag before you start watching the door.
Order number: order number
Items: items
Your payment by payment method has not cleared yet. That is completely normal and usually takes clear time. Nothing ships until it lands, so the clock on delivery starts then rather than today.
You do not need to do anything. We will email you the moment it clears, and again when it ships. If it does not clear at all, we will tell you that too -- with what to do next.
Questions? Just reply.
Best,
The brand team
Why it works
The subject line refuses to overstate the situation, which prevents the customer from building a delivery expectation on a payment that may fail. Explaining that the delivery clock starts at clearing, not ordering, kills the where is my order email before it is written.
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How to use
How to use this template
- 1
Pick the closest variant. Choose by the situation, not only by the channel.
- 2
Replace every placeholder in brackets. If you cannot fill one, ask the customer one short question first.
- 3
Save the final wording where your team works: your CRM, your help desk, or saved replies and the knowledge base in CRMsoftware.pro.
- 4
Review the results every week. Drop the variants that confuse people and improve the ones that work.
Rules by market
What an order confirmation should say in the US, EU and UK
A plain-language summary for store owners, checked on October 27, 2026. It is not legal advice: your own terms and the law where your customer lives decide.
United States
- If you state a shipping time, the FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Rule requires a reasonable basis for it. If you state none, you must be able to ship within 30 days of a completed order.
- If you cannot ship on time, you must offer the customer the choice to accept the delay or cancel for a prompt refund, with a revised shipping date.
- Most refunds after such a cancellation are due within seven working days, so say how the refund will reach the customer.
- Show the total actually charged, with tax and shipping, so the email matches the card statement.
EU and UK
- Confirm the contract on a durable medium, such as an email, within a reasonable time and at the latest at delivery.
- Repeat the key terms: who sells, items, total price, delivery costs and how the 14-day right of withdrawal works.
- Unless you agreed another date, deliver within 30 days. If you miss it, the customer can set an extra deadline and then cancel for a refund.
- Use the customer's local currency and the same total they saw at checkout.
Sources checked on October 27, 2026: FTC, Business Guide to the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule; European Commission, Your Europe: Shipping and delivery.
Do and don't
How to write an order confirmation email that prevents the "did it go through?" ticket
Do
- Send it within seconds of checkout, not in a nightly batch.
- Put the order number in the subject line so it can be found with inbox search.
- List items, prices, shipping and the total exactly as in the cart.
- Say what happens next and when: "Tracking follows when the parcel leaves us."
- Give one way to change the address or cancel: a reply or a phone number.
Don't
- "Order received" with no number or total
- Promotions above the order details
- A delivery date you do not control
- "Confirmed" while the payment is pending
- A no-reply sender address
3 more situations
Short order confirmation templates for cases the tabs do not cover
Copy, then replace the fields in brackets.
Click and collect
Subject: Order [order number] confirmed: pick up from [store] after [ready time]
Hi [customer name], your order is confirmed and reserved at [store], [store address]. We will email you when it is ready, usually by [ready time]. Bring this email or your order number; we hold orders for [hold days] days.
Order that needs a quick check
Subject: Order [order number] received: one quick question
Hi [customer name], thanks for your order. Before we pack it, we need to confirm [detail to check]. Reply with [what you need] or call [phone] by [time], and we will ship the same day.
SMS confirmation (one 160-character part)
[brand]: order [order number] confirmed, total [total]. Tracking follows by text when it ships. Reply STOP to opt out.
Keep it under 160 GSM-7 characters with your real values in place, or the text is split into 153-character parts.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I use these templates commercially?
Yes. Copy, edit, and use them in your business, client work, CRM, help desk, or CRMsoftware.pro workspace.
Is an order confirmation email required by law?
In the EU and UK, a distance sale has to be confirmed on a durable medium, such as an email, within a reasonable time and at the latest at delivery. In the US there is no general duty to send one, but the FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Rule expects a reasonable basis for any shipping time you state, so the confirmation is the natural place to state it honestly.
What if the order cannot ship on the date in the confirmation?
Tell the customer before that date passes. Under the US FTC rule you must offer the choice to accept the delay or cancel for a prompt refund, with a revised date. In the EU the customer can set you an extra deadline and then cancel. The shipping delay email templates cover both.
Should the confirmation come from a no-reply address?
No. The first variant invites customers to reply with address corrections, which only works if someone reads the replies. A reply-able address also catches changes before the order ships, when they are still cheap to fix.
What has to be in an order confirmation email?
The order number, what they bought, what they were charged, and what happens next. Everything else is optional. If a customer has to scroll or squint to find those four things, the email has failed at the one job it had.
How quickly should an order confirmation go out?
Within seconds of checkout. The confirmation is what tells the customer their money went somewhere real. A gap of even a few minutes creates doubt, and doubt creates a support ticket or a duplicate order you then have to refund.
Should you put marketing in an order confirmation email?
One relevant suggestion is fine, placed after the order details are fully confirmed. Confirmations get opened far more than campaigns, which tempts people to overload them -- but an email that buries the order number under promotions damages trust worth more than the click.
What is the difference between an order confirmation email and a shipping confirmation?
The order confirmation says we have your money and your order. The shipping confirmation says it has left the building, here is the tracking. Send both. Merging them leaves the customer with no acknowledgement during the gap between paying and packing.
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