Short answer. Almost certainly not. Accepting goods does not automatically waive the seller's warranty, but if you discovered a defect and failed to notify the seller within a reasonable time, the law cuts off the seller's liability. The notice requirement is what preserves your right to pursue a warranty claim after acceptance.
What the law says
In the absence of express or implied agreement of the parties, acceptance of the goods by the buyer shall not discharge the seller from liability in damages or other legal remedy for breach of any promise or warranty in the contract of sale. But, if, after acceptance of the goods, the buyer fails to give notice to the seller of the breach in any promise of warranty within a reasonable time after the buyer knows, or ought to know of such breach, the seller shall not be liable therefor.
Civil Code, Article 1586 — Acceptance Does Not Waive Warranty; Notice Required. Read the full provision →
Acceptance alone does not kill the warranty
The first part of Article 1586 addresses a common fear: that by signing a delivery receipt or physically taking the goods, you have waived all your rights. That is not the rule. Acceptance by itself does not discharge the seller from liability for breached warranties or promises made during the sale. A warranty written into the contract — or implied by law for hidden defects — survives acceptance. The key is what happens after acceptance.
The notice requirement that determines everything
The statute draws a sharp line: if you discover a breach of warranty after accepting the goods and you fail to tell the seller within a reasonable time, the seller is released from liability. The clock runs from when you knew or ought to have known about the defect — not from when you got around to investigating it. Reasonable time is not defined by a fixed number of days; it depends on the nature of the goods, how the defect manifested, and what a prudent buyer would have done. Months of silence after discovering a problem will almost always be held unreasonable.
What counts as proper notice
Informal complaints over the phone or vague mentions in passing may not be enough. The safest notice is written — an email, a letter, or a formal demand — that identifies the goods, describes the defect clearly, and states that you consider it a breach of the warranty. Keep a copy. The notice does not need to be a legal document, but it needs to reach the seller and put them on notice that you are asserting a claim. A seller who learns of the defect from a third party, or who has actual knowledge, may be in a weaker position to invoke the notice defense — but you should not rely on that.
If months have already passed
If you are already months in without having notified the seller, the honest answer is that your warranty claim is at risk. Whether it is completely lost depends on the specific facts: when exactly you discovered the problem, what the defect is, whether the seller had any independent knowledge of it, and whether there is any express agreement that extends the time for notice. It is still worth getting a proper assessment of your situation rather than simply assuming the claim is gone — but the longer the silence, the more difficult it becomes to explain why a reasonable buyer would have waited.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Antonio M. Serrano vs. Gallant Maritime Services, Inc., et al, G.R. No. 167614, March 24, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Phil-Air Conditioning Center vs. RCJ Lines and Rolando Abadilla, Jr, G.R. No. 193821, November 23, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Goodyear Philippines, Inc. vs. Anthony Sy, et al, G.R. No. 154554, November 9, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →