In short
The legal notices of a professional website state who publishes it and who hosts it. For a sole trader, you need: surname and first name followed by “EI”, registered address, e-mail and phone, registration number, VAT number if applicable, publication director and the host’s contact details. Their absence can cost up to €75,000 in fines.
Legal notices of a website: who must have them?
The legal notices of a website are mandatory for any site published in a professional capacity: sole trader, micro-entrepreneur or company, even for a simple showcase site without online sales. The idea is simple: a visitor, a customer or an authority must be able to know who is behind the site and who hosts it.
This obligation stems from article 6 of the French law of 21 June 2004 on trust in the digital economy (LCEN). The practical list is detailed on the Service-Public page Mandatory information on a company website, checked by the administration on 13 October 2026.
What the legal notices of a sole trader must contain
For a sole trader or micro-entrepreneur, Service-Public lists the following information:
- your surname and first name, followed by “sole trader” or “EI”;
- the address of your business domiciliation, your e-mail address and your phone number;
- your registration number: the register depends on the activity (RNE or RCS), and the SIRET is generally displayed;
- your intra-community VAT number, if you are subject to it;
- the name or company name of the host, its address and its phone number.
For a company, add the legal form, the amount of the share capital and the registered office address.
Sole trader or company: the summary
| Information | Sole trader | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Surname and first name, followed by “EI” | Company name and legal form |
| Address | Domiciliation address | Registered office address |
| Contact | E-mail and phone | E-mail and phone |
| Registration | RNE or RCS depending on the activity | RCS or RNE depending on the activity |
| Share capital | Not applicable | Amount of the capital |
| VAT | VAT number, if you are subject to it | VAT number, if the company is subject to it |
| Publication director | You, most often | The manager, most often |
| Host | Name, address and phone | Name, address and phone |
Example structure for a sole trader
- Publisher: [first name and surname], sole trader, trading as [name of the business].
- Address: [business domiciliation address].
- Contact: [e-mail address] and [phone number].
- Registration: SIRET [number].
- Publication director: [first name and surname].
- Host: [name, address and phone of the host].
Replace each bracket with your real information, and display nothing you cannot justify: an invented notice is worse than a missing one.
The publication director
A site is an online communication service: give the name of the publication director, most often the manager themselves, and that of the editor-in-chief if there is one.
Special cases
Depending on your activity, other information is added: the name and address of the authority that issued the authorisation for a regulated activity, the professional title and the body you belong to for a regulated profession, or a unique identifier for certain products subject to extended producer responsibility.
Legal notices and GDPR: do not confuse them
The legal notices say who publishes the site. The privacy policy says what you do with personal data: e-mail addresses received, forms, bookings, orders. If your site collects any, the CNIL asks you to inform people of the identity and contact details of the controller, the purpose, the legal basis, whether answers are compulsory or optional, the recipients, the retention period, their rights and the possibility of contacting the CNIL. The details are on its page Informing people.
The two contents can be on the same page, with distinct headings. Avoid burying them in your terms of sale, however: Service-Public recommends separating them.
Cookies are a third subject. If your site places cookies or other trackers, the visitor must be informed and, with some exceptions, consent: see the CNIL page Website, cookies and other trackers. A site that places no cookies, like Orbitoile’s, has no banner to display: the guide cookie-free site explains how to achieve this.
Where to place the legal notices on your site?
Place them on a dedicated page or a section accessible from the footer of every page of the site, in one click. Avoid hiding them in a secondary menu.
Real example
On orbitoile.fr, the “Legal notice” link in the footer of every page opens the same section: publisher, contact, host, personal data, rights and cookies, with a distinct heading for each point. See the example.
Update them as soon as any information changes: address, phone number, host. An outdated notice misleads the visitor and can be held against you.
Depending on the type of site, other pages are added: the showcase site guide lists those of a business presentation, an online shop must provide its terms of sale, and a site with online booking collects data that must be explained. For a tradesperson’s site, see website for tradespeople in Lyon.
What do you risk without legal notices?
According to Service-Public, the absence of identification notices can be punished by a fine of up to €75,000 for a sole trader and €375,000 for a company. The same page provides a €1,500 fine for failing to provide information on personal data.
Beyond the fine, missing or false notices damage visitors’ trust and can be invoked by a competitor.
This guide is informative and does not replace legal advice. For a particular case (regulated activity, company, site aimed abroad), rely on Service-Public or a legal professional. It does not cover the general terms and conditions of sale either, essential for an online shop, which follow other rules. To build a complete site in the right order, see the steps to build a website.
Key takeaway
The legal notices of a professional site say who publishes the site and who hosts it: name, address, contact, registration, publication director, host. They come with information on personal data and, if needed, on cookies.