EU imprint rules for Shopify stores (Impressum)

Every online store established in the EU must tell visitors who runs it, and every store that sells to EU consumers must give its identity and address before an order. The first duty comes from the e-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC, the second from the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU. Germany turned the first into the Impressum, with a fine for getting it wrong; Austria, France, the Netherlands and Spain have their own versions. This page lists what the two directives ask, what each country adds, and where a Shopify store puts it. Complimus does not create legal pages; this is the rule explained.

In short

Always on the site (Directive 2000/31/EC, Article 5): name, geographic address, email, trade register and number, supervisory authority where licensed, professional body for regulated professions, VAT ID; prices clear, saying whether tax and delivery are included.
Before every order (Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 6(1)(b) and (c)): trading name, geographical address, telephone number and email, and any other online channel that keeps written correspondence with date and time.
How: easily, directly and permanently accessible: a legal page linked from every footer.
National fines: Germany up to EUR 50,000; Austria up to EUR 3,000; France up to EUR 75,000 and a year's imprisonment; Spain up to EUR 600,000 for the most serious cases.
Marketplaces only: the Digital Services Act's trader traceability (Article 30) binds platforms, not a store's own site.

1. The two EU duties

Article 5(1) of the e-Commerce Directive requires a service provider to make easily, directly and permanently accessible at least: its name; the geographic address where it is established; its contact details including an email address; where it is registered, the trade register and its registration number; where its activity needs an authorisation, the supervisory authority; for a regulated profession, the professional body, title and rules; and, where subject to VAT, its VAT identification number. Article 5(2) adds that prices must be indicated clearly and unambiguously and say whether tax and delivery costs are included.

The Consumer Rights Directive looks at the moment before an order. Article 6(1)(b) and (c), as amended by the Omnibus Directive, require the trader's identity, such as its trading name, the geographical address where it is established, its telephone number and email address, and any other online means of communication that keeps written correspondence with date and time on a durable medium, all allowing quick and efficient contact. Where the trader acts for another trader, that trader's identity and address too.

2. National imprint laws and fines

Country	Law	What it requires and the fine
Germany	§ 5 Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG)	Name and address, legal form, representatives and share capital for legal entities, email and a fast electronic contact, supervisory authority where licensed, register and number, VAT ID or Wirtschafts-ID, liquidation notice. Missing, wrong or incomplete details: a fine of up to EUR 50,000 (§ 33 DDG).
Austria	§ 5 E-Commerce-Gesetz (ECG)	Name or company name, geographic address, contact details including email, Firmenbuch number and court, supervisory authority where applicable, chamber or professional body, VAT ID. Fine of up to EUR 3,000 (§ 26 ECG).
France	Loi 2004-575 (LCEN), Article 1-1	Natural persons: name, first names, domicile, telephone, RCS or RNE number. Legal persons: name, registered office, telephone, registration number, share capital. Plus the director of publication and the host's name, address and telephone. Penalty: one year's imprisonment and EUR 75,000 (Article 1-2).
Netherlands	Article 3:15d Burgerlijk Wetboek	Identity and address, contact details including email, trade register and number, supervisory authority where licensed, regulated-profession details, VAT number; prices clear, stating tax and delivery costs.
Spain	Article 10 Ley 34/2002 (LSSI)	Company name, address, email, commercial registry details, authorisation details, professional credentials, tax ID, clear prices stating whether tax and shipping are included, codes of conduct. Fines: minor up to EUR 30,000, serious EUR 30,001 to 150,000, very serious EUR 150,001 to 600,000 (Articles 38 and 39); a significant omission of the name or tax ID is serious.

Texts read on 3 November 2026 from the official gazettes. Italy and Poland have their own transpositions of Article 5; we have not yet read their texts or fine amounts in a primary source, so they are left out of the table.

3. The Digital Services Act: marketplaces only

Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 makes an online platform that lets consumers buy from traders collect each trader's name, address, telephone and email, an identification document, payment account details, trade register details and a self-certification before the trader can sell there. It binds the platform, and it does not apply to platforms that are micro or small enterprises (Article 29). A Shopify store meets it only as a seller on a marketplace, or if it sells other traders' goods as a platform itself.

4. Where a Shopify store shows it

A dedicated legal or imprint page with every Article 5 item, linked from the footer of every page, so it is easily, directly and permanently accessible.
The trader's name, address, telephone number and email in the checkout and in the order confirmation, which meets the Consumer Rights Directive's pre-order and confirmation duties (Articles 6(1)(b) and (c) and 8(7)).
In Germany and Austria, the page titled Impressum with the register court and number and the VAT ID; in France, mentions légales with the director of publication and the host.
Prices on every product page inclusive of tax, with delivery costs or the fact that they apply stated before checkout; our EU pricing rules overview covers the detail.

Frequently asked questions

What must an EU online store show about itself?

At least its name, the geographic address where it is established, an email address, its trade register and number where registered, its supervisory authority where the activity needs one, and its VAT identification number where it has one (Article 5 of Directive 2000/31/EC). Before an order, the Consumer Rights Directive adds the trading name, address, telephone number and email (Article 6(1)(b) and (c)).

Is an imprint required outside Germany?

The duty exists in every EU country because it comes from the e-Commerce Directive; Germany's Impressum under § 5 DDG is the version most merchants know. Austria, France, the Netherlands and Spain have their own articles with their own fines.

Where should a Shopify store put the imprint?

On a dedicated legal page linked from the footer of every page, so that it is easily, directly and permanently accessible, with the trader's name, address, telephone number and email repeated in the checkout and the order confirmation.

Does a store outside the EU need an imprint?

The e-Commerce Directive binds providers established in the EU. The Consumer Rights Directive's identity duties apply to every trader selling to EU consumers, so a non-EU store must still show its name, address, telephone number and email before the order.

Does the Digital Services Act change this for my store?

Only if you sell on a marketplace or run one. Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 makes platforms collect and verify their traders' identity details; it does not apply to a store's own website.