What has to be in the legal notice of an online shop?
The legal notice is the duty that gets challenged fastest, because any competitor can check it in ten seconds. The requirements are in § 5 DDG, the 2024 successor of § 5 TMG.
Short answer
- State the name and a postal address that allows service of documents; a P.O. box is not enough.
- Provide at least two ways to make contact, usually e-mail plus phone or a callback form.
- Registered companies must add the register, register number and authorised representatives.
- The VAT identification number must be listed if you have one.
- The legal notice must be reachable from any page in at most two clicks and be labelled as such.
Mandatory data by legal form
What belongs in the notice depending on legal form
| Legal form | Additionally required |
|---|---|
| Sole trader | First and last name, address, e-mail, phone |
| GmbH / UG | Company name, managing directors, commercial register and HRB number |
| GbR | All partners by name with a shared address |
| Regulated professions | Supervisory authority, chamber and professional title |
What else belongs there
- Only add a reference to the EU online dispute resolution platform if you still want to; what is required is stating whether you take part in consumer arbitration (§ 36 VSBG).
- Add the WEEE number for electrical or battery products and the LUCID registration number for shipping.
- Link the legal notice in the footer of every page, including checkout and landing pages.
- Use real text instead of an image so it stays copyable and machine-readable.
Common mistakes
- Offering only a contact form and no e-mail address.
- Hiding the notice inside the terms instead of linking it separately.
- Giving a P.O. box that does not allow service of documents.
- Failing to update the data after a move or a change of director.
How 4shopy helps
- The legal notice is a dedicated shop page with prepared fields per legal form.
- The link appears automatically in the footer of every page, including cart and checkout.
- Extra data such as WEEE and LUCID numbers can be stored as fields and are printed with it.