Michaels Return Policy: 60 Days, Photo ID Without a Receipt and a Long List of Exceptions
Michaels gives you 60 days from the date of purchase — two months — to return most items, as long as they are new, unused and in their original packaging. You can return to any Michaels store or through your online account, and refunds go back to your original form of payment, with two quirks: debit card purchases are refunded as cash, and gift-card or gift-receipt purchases come back as a Store Return Card. The exceptions are where this policy bites: gift cards, clearance and cut fabric are not returnable, custom framing is reworked rather than refunded, and online-only costumes have their own deadline. This guide covers the 60-day window, the no-receipt rules, and every exception.
Return Period
60 days from the date of purchase (two months)
Condition
New, unused and in original packaging
No Receipt
Photo ID required; refund at the lowest price in the previous 90 days on a Store Return Card
Customer Care
1-800-MICHAELS (1-800-642-4235)
Return Windows at a Glance
| Category | Return window | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Most items bought in store or on michaels.com | 60 days from purchase | New, unused, original packaging; return to any store or through your online account |
| Online-only costumes and accessory kits | Return 7 days before the holiday | A separate deadline tied to the holiday, not 60 days |
| Cricut products | Unopened, with a receipt only | Opened Cricut products are not returnable |
| Gift cards and prepaid cards | Not returnable | Except where required by law |
| Clearance items | Final sale — not returnable | Clearance cannot be returned or exchanged |
| Opened trading cards | Not returnable | Sealed trading cards follow the standard rules |
| Cut fabric | Final sale | Cut-to-order fabric cannot be returned |
How to Return an Item to Michaels
- Check the calendar first. You have 60 days from the date of purchase — not from delivery and not from the day you opened the box. Online-only costumes and accessory kits are the exception: those must be back 7 days before the holiday.
- Check the condition. The item must be new, unused and in its original packaging. Defective merchandise is the exception to the condition rule — a faulty item can go back even if it is not in perfect packaging.
- Bring your receipt, or be ready to show photo ID. With a receipt, the return follows the standard route. Without one, Michaels will try to look the purchase up — by your Michaels Rewards number for online or in-store purchases, or by the credit or debit card you paid with. If the receipt cannot be found, you will need a valid photo ID, and the refund is the item’s lowest price in the previous 90 days on a Store Return Card.
- Return it to any store, or through your online account. A Michaels.com order can go back to any Michaels store, or you can request the return through your online account. If you cannot request the return through your online account, or you need help, call Customer Care on 1-800-MICHAELS (1-800-642-4235).
- MichaelsPro orders need a Return Authorization first. All returns from a MichaelsPro order require a Return Authorization, obtained through the dedicated support line at 1-833-MIKEPRO (645-3776). Do not ship a MichaelsPro return without one.
- Take the refund in the form Michaels offers. Refunds are issued in the same form as the original payment, except that debit card purchases are refunded as cash and gift-card or gift-receipt purchases are issued a Store Return Card. Michaels does not publish a fixed refund processing time on its returns page.
How Long Do You Have to Return Items to Michaels?
The standard window is 60 days from the date of purchase. It applies to store purchases and Michaels.com orders alike, and it covers returns and exchanges at any Michaels location for the full purchase amount. That is a fair window for craft supplies — two months to decide whether the yarn, the paint or the frame is right.
The deadline that catches people out is the costume rule. Online-only costumes and accessory kits must be returned 7 days prior to the holiday — not 60 days from purchase. A Halloween costume ordered in September has to be back a week before Halloween, however long ago you bought it. The same logic applies to the service exceptions: classes are refundable only up to the start date of the class, parties only up to 7 days before the party date, and custom framing only gets a rework within 14 days of pickup. None of those follow the 60-day clock.
Can You Return Something to Michaels Without a Receipt?
Yes — but it is a narrower route, and it costs you money. All Michaels stores require proof of purchase for returns or exchanges, so the first step is always a receipt look-up. Michaels will make a reasonable attempt to find your receipt: by your Michaels Rewards number for online or in-store purchases, or by the credit or debit card you paid with.
If the receipt cannot be located, you must present a valid photo ID — a U.S., Canada or Mexico driver’s licence, a U.S. state-issued ID, a Canadian Provincial ID, a passport or a U.S. Military ID — and it will be recorded at the time of the return. The refund is then given at the item’s lowest price sold within the previous 90 days, and it comes as a Store Return Card and/or merchandise exchange — not as cash or a card refund. Sample products are excluded from the no-receipt route entirely. And if the item has moved to clearance in Michaels’ system, you are not eligible for a refund of any kind without a receipt.
The lesson is simple: keep the receipt, or make sure the purchase is tied to your Michaels Rewards number. The no-receipt route exists, but it pays the lowest price in 90 days on a store card, which is often much less than what you paid.
Can You Return a Gift You Received?
Yes, with the gift receipt — and the refund comes back as a Store Return Card. Michaels issues a Store Return Card for all purchases made using a gift card or a gift receipt, so a gift return does not put money back on the buyer’s card and does not give you cash. The item must still be new, unused and in its original packaging, and inside the 60 days from the original purchase date.
If you have no gift receipt at all, the no-receipt route applies: photo ID, receipt look-up attempt, and a refund at the lowest price in the previous 90 days on a Store Return Card. If you are giving a Michaels gift, include the gift receipt — it is the difference between a full-value Store Return Card and a lowest-price one.
What Can’t Be Returned to Michaels?
The exceptions list is long, and several of the entries are the items people most often try to return:
- Gift cards and prepaid cards — not returnable or exchangeable, except where required by law
- Clearance items — final sale, not returnable or exchangeable
- Cut fabric — fabric cut to order is final sale
- Opened trading cards — not returnable
- Cricut products — only returnable unopened, with a receipt
- Custom framing — not refunded; reworked at the same store within 14 days of pickup
- Classes — refundable only up to the start date of the class
- Parties — cancellable with a refund up to 7 days before the party date; no refunds within 7 days
- Sample products — excluded from no-receipt returns
- Marketplace and MakerPlace items — products bought from a third-party seller can only be returned to that seller, under that seller’s own return policy. Michaels itself does not process those returns.
Michaels also reserves the right to limit returns or exchanges, so repeated or unusual return patterns can be refused even inside the 60 days.
Does Michaels Charge a Restocking Fee?
No. Michaels’ published policy contains no restocking fee for standard returns, and there is no charge for returning an item to a store. Online returns go through your account or a store drop-off, and the policy does not publish a return shipping fee for Michaels.com orders.
The costs in this policy are not fees — they are value losses. A no-receipt return pays the lowest price in the previous 90 days instead of what you paid. A MichaelsPro return needs a Return Authorization before it can move at all. And a clearance item, a gift card or a piece of cut fabric costs you the whole purchase price, because none of them can go back.
How Are Refunds Issued and How Long Do They Take?
Refunds are issued in the same form as the payment originally used, with three published exceptions:
| Payment method | How the refund arrives |
|---|---|
| Credit card | Refunded to the same credit card |
| Debit card | Refunded as cash |
| Gift card or gift receipt purchase | Issued as a Store Return Card |
| No receipt (receipt not found) | Store Return Card and/or merchandise exchange, at the item’s lowest price in the previous 90 days |
| MichaelsPro order | Refund within 60 days of purchase, once a Return Authorization is issued |
Michaels does not publish a fixed refund processing time on its returns page — there is no official “three to five business days” figure to quote. In-store refunds are handled at the counter; online refunds go back through the original payment method. If a refund has not appeared after a reasonable wait, call Customer Care on 1-800-MICHAELS (1-800-642-4235) with your receipt or order number.
Does Michaels Extend Returns for the Holidays?
No — and the costume deadline makes this one easy to get wrong. As of 11 November 2026, Michaels has published no extended holiday return window on its official returns page. The standard 60 days from purchase applies in December exactly as it does in June.
What Michaels does publish is the opposite of an extension for one category: online-only costumes and accessory kits must be returned 7 days prior to the holiday. A Halloween costume bought in October has to be back a week before Halloween, and the same logic applies to other holiday costumes. For ordinary craft supplies bought as Christmas gifts, the 60 days from purchase is usually enough — a gift bought on 1 December can go back until the end of January — but keep the receipt with the gift, because the no-receipt route pays the lowest price in 90 days.
Is Returning Different for Store and Online Purchases?
The 60-day window is the same, but the mechanics differ. A store purchase can be returned or exchanged at any Michaels location for the full purchase amount within 60 days, with the receipt. A Michaels.com order can be returned to any Michaels store, or through your online account — but online orders are return-only in practice: to get a different item, you return the first one and place a new order, because the published policy describes online returns, not online exchanges.
Third-party purchases are a separate case entirely. Products bought from a Marketplace or MakerPlace seller can only be returned to that seller, under that seller’s own return policy — Michaels does not process those returns, and the 60-day rule does not apply to them. Check whose storefront you bought from before you start a return.
Michaels Contact Options
| Option | Details |
|---|---|
| Customer Care (phone) | 1-800-MICHAELS (1-800-642-4235) — for online return requests and general help |
| MichaelsPro support | 1-833-MIKEPRO (645-3776) — Return Authorizations for MichaelsPro orders |
| Customer care (email) | custhelp@michaels.com |
| Customer care page | michaels.com/customercare — FAQs, online return policy and returns help |
| In store | Any Michaels store accepts returns and exchanges of store and online purchases |
| Michaels Rewards look-up | Give your Rewards number at the counter for receipt look-up on no-receipt returns |
Michaels on Social Media
Facebook · Instagram · Pinterest · X (Twitter) · YouTube. These are Michaels’ official profiles — its Instagram account is a verified business account with more than 2 million followers. Michaels does not handle returns through social media — for anything about an order, use Customer Care or the contact table above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Guides
Conclusion
Michaels’ return policy is fair on time and fussy on detail: 60 days from purchase, returns to any store or through your online account, and refunds to your original payment method. The detail is where the money is lost — no receipt means photo ID and the lowest price in 90 days on a store card, debit refunds come back as cash, gift receipts become Store Return Cards, and the exceptions list quietly removes gift cards, clearance, cut fabric, opened trading cards and Cricut products from the policy altogether. Keep the receipt or tie the purchase to your Michaels Rewards number, check the costume deadline before Halloween, and remember that custom framing gets a rework, not a refund. Do those things and a Michaels return is straightforward.
Disclaimer: Policy Return is an independent guide and is not affiliated with Michaels. Return policies can change at any time; always confirm the current policy on Michaels’ official website before making a return.
Checked against Michaels’ published policy on 11 November 2026. Policies change; the retailer’s official page is the final word.
