What belongs in a German website Impressum

Almost every company website in Germany needs an Impressum, and that requirement does not come from a general sense of good practice but from a specific rule of law. Since 14 May 2024 it follows from paragraph 5 DDG, which replaced the earlier paragraph 5 TMG, and it covers the company website, the online shop and even the company's profile on a social network.

For a sole trader with no entry in the commercial register, the Impressum carries the owner's full first and last name, and a catchy trading name does not replace the name of the person actually responsible for the site. The address has to be one where official documents can genuinely be served, what German law calls a ladungsfähige Anschrift, and a post office box or a parcel locker does not meet that bar.

For a GmbH or a UG, the legal form, the names of the managing directors, the registry court and the commercial register number are added to the name and address. A UG must carry the addition haftungsbeschränkt, and leaving it out already makes the Impressum incomplete on its own.

Another required element is a route for quick electronic contact, in practice an email address that someone actually reads. A phone number is allowed and useful to include, but it must not be a premium rate service line.

The VAT identification number belongs in the Impressum once the company has been assigned one. The tax number issued by the local tax office is not meant for this purpose and does not need to be published, the two numbers serve different functions.

For regulated professions such as doctors, lawyers or tax advisers, the professional title, the state that granted it, the responsible chamber and the applicable professional rules are added on top.

The Impressum page itself has to be reachable from every page of the site within two clicks at most, usually through a footer link labelled Impressum, because that is the exact word visitors look for. Company profiles on social networks carry the same obligation, and where a platform leaves no room for the full text, a direct link to the Impressum page on the website works better than a link to the homepage.

In practice the same four mistakes come up again and again. The Impressum sits inside the contact page with no link of its own, a post office box stands in for the address, a UG is missing its required haftungsbeschränkt, and an ordinary tax number appears where the VAT identification number should be.

A missing or incomplete Impressum can carry a fine of up to 50,000 euro under paragraph 33 DDG, and separately there is the risk of a warning letter from a competitor, whose costs arise well before any authority ever gets involved.

It is worth checking the Impressum after any significant change in the company. A move, a newly issued VAT identification number, a new managing director or the step from sole trader to GmbH all change what the page needs to say, and that is exactly when it tends to fall out of date.

This text explains the legal requirements and does not replace legal advice. Exactly which details are required depends on the company's legal form, its industry and whether the website publishes journalistic editorial content.