How to Save Terms and Conditions Acceptance at WooCommerce Checkout

To save terms and conditions acceptance at WooCommerce checkout, hook into woocommerce_checkout_update_order_meta to store the customer’s checkbox choice against the order, then display it on the single order admin screen — giving you a record you can point to if a dispute over accepted terms ever comes up.

Why Save Consent Instead of Just Requiring It

• WooCommerce requires the checkbox to be ticked before checkout completes, but doesn’t store that fact anywhere by default
• A stored record protects you if a customer later disputes having agreed to your terms
• It’s useful for order audits, especially for stores in regulated industries

Step 1: Save the Acceptance as Order Meta

/** Save Terms and Conditions checkbox acceptance to the order (HPOS-compatible) */
add_action( 'woocommerce_checkout_update_order_meta', 'save_terms_acceptance_to_order' );

function save_terms_acceptance_to_order( $order_id ) {
    if ( ! empty( $_POST['terms'] ) ) {
        $order = wc_get_order( $order_id );
        $order->update_meta_data( '_terms_accepted', 'yes' );
        $order->save();
    }
}

Using $order->update_meta_data() and $order->save() (rather than update_post_meta() directly) keeps this compatible with High-Performance Order Storage, since HPOS stores order data outside the standard posts table.

Step 2: Display It on the Order Admin Screen

add_action( 'woocommerce_admin_order_data_after_billing_address', 'display_terms_acceptance_on_order_admin' );

function display_terms_acceptance_on_order_admin( $order ) {
    $accepted = $order->get_meta( '_terms_accepted' );
    echo '<p><strong>Terms & Conditions:</strong> ' . ( 'yes' === $accepted ? 'Accepted' : 'Not recorded' ) . '</p>';
}

Troubleshooting

The Meta Value Never Saves

WooCommerce’s default checkout field name for the terms checkbox is terms — if you’re using a custom checkout field name or the block-based checkout, confirm the actual POST key matches what your snippet checks for.

Old Snippets Using update_post_meta() Stopped Saving

If you migrated to High-Performance Order Storage, direct update_post_meta( $order_id, ... ) calls may no longer persist reliably — switch to the $order->update_meta_data() and $order->save() pattern shown above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Saving terms and conditions acceptance at WooCommerce checkout takes one meta-save hook and one admin-display hook — using the order object’s own methods rather than raw post meta keeps the record reliable across both legacy and HPOS order storage.

See also How to Show Per-Product Terms and Conditions at WooCommerce Checkout. Then read How to Display and Save a WordPress User Field at WooCommerce Checkout.

Prefer no code? All-in-One Utilities Woo Add-on adds over 50 WooCommerce features, so you can switch them on without code.