Skip to content
All trust seals

EHI „Geprüfter Online-Shop“

Issued by EHI Retail Institute GmbH in Cologne. The seal has existed since 1999 and covers over 200 individual criteria.

The test takes one click. A genuine seal leads to a page of the issuer, and that page names your shop.

Genuine seal

Clicking the seal opens:

The address starts with the issuer’s domain and names the shop. The placeholder in square brackets stands for the value that appears at this position in a real certificate.

Image without a link

Clicking the seal opens:

Nothing. The seal is only an image

Anyone can place the logo on a page. Without a link there is no proof, and the shop cannot back up the seal.

Schematic illustration. The logo is shown for recognition only, the shop in the diagram is made up.

At a glance

What sets EHI „Geprüfter Online-Shop“ apart from the other seals: who issues it, what is checked behind it and how you recognise the proof.

IssuerEHI Retail Institute GmbH, Cologne
Since, region1999, DE
TypeShop certification
ProofAccording to EHI, the address of every genuine certificate starts like this. If another domain appears there, the certificate is not from EHI.

How to check whether it’s genuine

A genuine certificate sits at a cert.ehi-siegel.de address (via HTTPS) and is assigned to the specific shop.

  1. Click the seal. It must lead to a certificate on cert.ehi-siegel.de.
  2. Additionally look the shop up in the official EHI list of audited shops.
  3. If the shop is missing from the list even though it displays the logo, that points to unauthorised use.
EHI: verify the seal’s authenticity

Verification route with the issuer: EHI Retail Institute GmbH, Cologne

List of certified shops
EHI: list of all seal holders

Addresses retrieved on 2 October 2026. Source: EHI: verify the seal

What this seal checks

over 200 individual criteria

  • Complete legal texts: terms and conditions, withdrawal notice with sample form, privacy policy, imprint
  • No illegal goods or products harmful to minors (distribution and youth protection)
  • Product presentation and prices including all additional costs
  • Secure, transparent payment terms and an encrypted ordering process
  • Clear order guidance with immediate confirmation by email and a price breakdown
  • Complaint management: response to customer enquiries within 3 working days

Process

After registration, EHI produces an individual audit report listing shortcomings within a maximum of 10 working days. EHI awards the seal once all requirements are met. Re-certification follows every year.

Known forgery patterns

How the EHI „Geprüfter Online-Shop“ seal is misused in shops.

  1. The EHI logo is copied without the shop ever having been certified.
  2. The shop is then missing from the official EHI list, and the click leads to no certificate on cert.ehi-siegel.de.

Four checks apply to every seal, regardless of the provider. To the checks

Context on this seal

Stiftung Warentest assessment
In the Stiftung Warentest test, EHI refused to certify a deliberately flawed test shop.
Cost for merchants
Chargeable for retailers: a one-off setup fee of €75 plus an annual fee based on revenue (from €909/year according to the official EHI price list). A paid seal is no proof of authenticity. What counts is a valid certificate with the issuer.

Is a shop entitled to carry this seal?

The shop check detects known seals and asks the issuer whether a valid certification exists. On top come the rest of the 39 check modules, each finding with its reasoning.

More trust seals

View all seals
Dennis Bölling, Founder · QAD SoftUpdated

Sources