Which details must be on my website?
Who you are and how to reach you: your name, geographic address, email address, the trade register you are in with your number and, if you are registered for VAT, your VAT number. If you sell to consumers, add among other things your telephone number, the total price and the right of withdrawal, and since June 2026 a button that lets the customer withdraw from an online order. All of it ‘easily, directly and permanently’ accessible, so from every page.
- No company registration number foundArt. 5 e-Commerce Directive, art. 6 Directive 2011/83/EU
Art. 5 e-Commerce Directive, art. 6 Directive 2011/83/EU
Checked at the source on 27 September 2026.
Who it applies to
Every business website, whatever the size of the business: a sole trader too, and a site where nothing is sold. Anyone selling at a distance to consumers has extra duties.
- Just me
- Applies to youYes, also for a sole trader.
- 2 to 9
- Applies to youYes.
- 10 or more
- Applies to youYes.
What the law asks
Art. 5(1) Directive 2000/31/EC
Anyone providing an information society service, and a business website is one, makes easily, directly and permanently accessible: their name and geographic address; details for rapid, direct contact, including an email address; the trade register they are in and their registration number; and their VAT identification number if they are registered for VAT. For an activity that needs authorisation, or a regulated profession, the supervisory authority and professional details are added.
Art. 6(1) Directive 2011/83/EU
If you sell at a distance to consumers, you give before the order, among other things: your identity, such as your trading name; your geographic address, telephone number and email address; the total price including taxes and charges; the arrangements for payment and delivery; and the conditions of the right of withdrawal.
Art. 9 and 10 Directive 2011/83/EU
The consumer has fourteen days to withdraw. If you do not tell them about the right of withdrawal, the period is extended until you do, by at most twelve months.
Art. 11a Directive 2011/83/EU
Since June 2026, the consumer must also be able to withdraw from a contract concluded online with a clearly visible button on your site, throughout the withdrawal period.
National law
Every EU country has its own version: the Netherlands in articles 3:15d and 6:230m of the Civil Code, Germany in § 5 DDG and § 312d BGB, France in article 19 of the LCEN and article L221-5 of the Code de la consommation, Belgium in article XII.6 of the Code of Economic Law.
Check it yourself, in five minutes
- Scroll to the footer of your homepage: are your business name, address and email address there, or a link to a page where they are?
- Look for your trade register number. If it is only in your terms and conditions, put it with your contact details too: ‘directly’ accessible means nobody has to search for it.
- Registered for VAT? Look for your VAT number, which starts with your country code, such as NL, DE, FR or BE.
- Selling to consumers: are the fourteen-day withdrawal period and how to use it in your terms or on a returns page? And is there a button such as “withdraw from contract here” that a customer without an account can use?
- Check that your terms and conditions and your privacy statement can be reached from every page.
What our scan sees
- Whether your registration number, VAT number, geographic address and email address appear on the pages we looked at, and on which.
- Whether there are links to terms and conditions and a privacy statement.
- Whether an online shop says anything about the right of withdrawal, and whether it has a withdrawal button.
- For this we specifically fetch your contact, terms, legal notice and privacy pages.
What our scan does not see
- Whether a number really belongs to your business: we see that it is there, not that it is right.
- What happens after the order, such as the confirmation email and the model withdrawal form.
- Whether your terms and conditions are legally sound.
- A withdrawal button that is only in the customer account.
- Pages we did not look at. ‘Not found’ is not the same as ‘missing’.
Who enforces it
The consumer authority in your country, such as the ACM in the Netherlands or the DGCCRF in France. In Germany competitors and associations can also enforce these rules, with a formal warning letter (Abmahnung). And a consumer can rely on the law directly, for example on the extended withdrawal period.
Questions
Is a contact form enough?
No. Article 5 of the e-Commerce Directive explicitly asks for an email address, and if you sell to consumers you also give your telephone number (article 6(1)(c) of the Consumer Rights Directive).
Can I give a PO box?
As an extra, yes; as a replacement, no. The law asks for the geographic address where you are established, and a PO box is not one.
Do I still need the link to the EU dispute platform?
No. The online dispute resolution platform closed on 20 July 2025 and the regulation that required the link has been repealed. You can remove the link.
Does my online shop need a withdrawal button?
Yes, since June 2026, if you sell online to consumers: a clearly visible button that lets the customer withdraw on your site itself. What the button must do and say is on the page about the withdrawal button.
Read it yourself
- Directive 2000/31/EC, article 5 (opens in a new tab)
The e-Commerce Directive: the details every business website gives.
- Directive 2011/83/EU (opens in a new tab)
The Consumer Rights Directive, with the information before a distance contract and the right of withdrawal.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 (opens in a new tab)
The regulation that repealed the EU dispute platform and the duty to link to it.
See where your site stands
The free scan measures this and the four other rules in one go, from a European address, without clicking anything.