Companies in Ireland and the UK must include certain regulatory information on their websites and in their email footers or they will breach the Companies Act and risk a fine.  Every company should list its company registration number, place of registration, and registered office address on its website.  The information should also appear on order forms and in emails. Such information is already required on "business letters" but the duty is being extended to websites, order forms and electronic documents.

The following is the minimum information which must be on your website:

• Your name, geographic address and email address. The name of the organisation with which the customer is contracting must be given.  This might differ from your trading name. Any such difference should be explained – e.g. "XYZ.com is the trading name of XYZ Enterprises Limited."

It is not sufficient to include a 'contact us' form without also providing an email address and geographic address somewhere easily accessible on the site. A PO Box is unlikely to suffice as a geographic address; but a registered office address would. If your business is a company, the registered office address must be included.

• If your business is a company, its registration number should be given and, under the Companies Act, the place of registration should be stated
• If your business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details, including any registration number, should be provided.
• If your business has a VAT number, it should be stated – even if your website is not being used for e-commerce transactions.
• Prices on your website must be clear and unambiguous. Also, state whether prices are inclusive of tax and delivery costs.

Find out more about the Irish guidelines on the ODCE website.

Find out more about the UK guidelines on The Register website.

Read about the UK’s e-commerce regulations on the Out-Law website.

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