Why this matters
Many side businesses in Germany start with Instagram, a landing page, a shop, or a blog. As soon as a site is operated commercially, it needs a proper provider identification (Anbieterkennzeichnung).
Turn knowledge into a start plan
This guide explains one topic. Whether it is really a priority for you right now depends on your answers in the start plan.
Create start planWhen a Legal Notice Becomes Relevant
A legal notice (Impressum) is regularly required for commercially operated digital services in Germany. Under § 5 of the Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz), certain information must be easily recognizable, directly accessible, and permanently available.
For side businesses, this often becomes relevant sooner than expected: a landing page, shop, affiliate site, service page, commercial blog, or social media profile with a business presence can all be affected.
Important: a legal notice is not the same as a privacy policy, cookie notice, or affiliate disclosure. These topics are practically connected, but each must be reviewed separately and carefully.
What Information Is Typically Required
Typical requirements include your name, a postal address that can be used for legal service (ladungsfähige Anschrift), a means of quick electronic contact, an email address, and — depending on your legal form — additional details such as legal form, authorized representatives, or registration data.
A VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.) only belongs in the legal notice if you actually have one. In many cases, you should not unnecessarily publish your regular tax office number (Steuernummer). Care is worthwhile here, because founders often confuse the two numbers.
For certain activities, additional information may be required, such as the relevant supervisory authority, professional chamber, professional title, or profession-specific regulations.
Legal Notice Generators: Useful, but Not Magic
Legal notice generators can provide a good initial structure. However, they do not replace a review of whether your specific business model, legal form, activity, and additional services are correctly reflected.
Especially if you run an online shop, affiliate site, newsletter, use tracking, sell to EU customers, or operate under multiple brands, you should not just blindly fill in a form — you need to understand what information you are entering and why.
Remove the old EU ODR platform link
The former EU online dispute resolution platform, usually called the ODR platform, has been discontinued. Its underlying EU regulation was repealed on 20 July 2025. An old mandatory paragraph linking to ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr should therefore not remain unchanged in your legal notice or terms.
Information duties under Germany's Consumer Dispute Resolution Act are separate. Whether you must state that you are willing or obliged to participate in proceedings before a consumer arbitration body depends on the VSBG conditions and your case.
Review the legal notice, terms, order emails, marketplace profiles, and legal-text apps together. Some templates do not automatically update text that has already been published.
Freya as a First Check
Freya can help you sort through the typical building blocks of a legal notice: who you are, which legal form you use, whether you have a shop, whether you need provider details for multiple websites, and which numbers you should not mix up.
The final legal review, however, remains your responsibility — or that of a specialized legal advisor or a reliable generator with an appropriate review process.
Quick checklist
- Is your website, shop, blog, or profile used commercially?
- Are your name and legally serviceable postal address (ladungsfähige Anschrift) correct?
- Is there an easily reachable email address?
- Do you have a VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.), and is it entered correctly?
- Are you using a legal form that requires additional mandatory disclosures?
- Have you removed outdated references and links to the EU ODR platform?
- Have you separately checked any information duties under the VSBG?
- Have you reviewed your privacy policy, cookie notice, and affiliate disclosure separately?
Common mistakes
- Treating a private website and a commercial website the same way.
- Publishing the tax office number (Steuernummer) publicly when the VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.) was actually meant.
- Hiding the legal notice only in the footer or forgetting it on social media.
- Copying generator text without checking legal form, activity, and contact details.
- Keeping the discontinued EU ODR platform link in old legal texts.
- Assuming the discontinued ODR platform removed every consumer dispute-resolution duty.
Frequently asked questions
Does the EU ODR platform link still belong in the legal notice?
No. The ODR Regulation was repealed and the platform discontinued on 20 July 2025. Outdated links and clauses should be removed.
Does that remove every consumer arbitration statement?
No. Germany's Consumer Dispute Resolution Act is a separate issue. Check your size, sector, and willingness or obligation to participate to determine which statement remains necessary.
What this guide can and cannot do
This guide helps with
- give you a legal notice checklist for your website or shop
- identify whether your VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.), legal form, or shop context might be relevant
- explain why the legal notice, privacy policy, and affiliate disclosure are separate topics
This guide does not replace
- guarantee a legally compliant legal notice
- replace a review by a qualified lawyer
- decide for you which special obligations apply to your industry