Key points at a glance
- Under § 5 ECG, the legal notice (Impressum) must contain name, address, email and phone and, for tradespeople, the Wirtschaftskammer or Landesinnung, the professional title with the country and a reference to the Gewerbeordnung with a link.
- As the supervisory authority, the WKO recommends naming the trade authority, i.e. the Bezirkshauptmannschaft or Magistrat.
- § 63 GewO also requires your name and the location of the trade licence on the website. Businesses in the company register add legal form, registered office, company register number and court under § 14 UGB.
- The disclosure under § 25 MedienG is short for a typical trades website: name, business purpose and registered office.
- A privacy policy, consent for Google Maps and similar services and care with photo uploads are part of it. The Accessibility Act does not affect micro-enterprises for services.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check the details with your economic chamber or chamber of crafts, your trade guild or your tax adviser.
Four laws, one page
You don't need four separate pages. All details may sit together under one "Impressum" (legal notice) link that can be reached from every page, usually in the footer. All that matters is that nothing is missing.
| Law | What it requires | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| § 5 ECG (E-Commerce Act) | Name, address, contact details, chamber, professional title, Gewerbeordnung, supervisory authority, UID and company register if applicable | Every business website |
| § 63 GewO (Trade Act) | Name and location of the trade licence | Tradespeople without a company register entry |
| § 14 UGB (Commercial Code) | Company name, legal form, registered office, company register number, company register court | e.U., OG, KG, GmbH |
| § 25 MedienG (Media Act) | Disclosure: name or company name, business purpose, place of residence or registered office | Every website; more for opinion-forming content |
The legal notice under § 5 ECG for tradespeople
The E-Commerce-Gesetz requires certain information to be permanently, easily and directly accessible. For trades businesses, item 6 is the interesting one: if you are subject to trade law, you name the chamber, your professional title, the country in which it was granted and the applicable rules, including how to access them.
Mandatory details for your business:
- Name or the company name as in the Firmenbuch (company register). Without a register entry: surname with at least one first name written out in full
- Geographic address of the business; a PO box is not enough
- Email address and phone number: according to the WKO, email alone is not enough
- Chamber: at least the Wirtschaftskammer of your federal state, sensibly with the Landesinnung (regional guild)
- Professional title (your trade) and Austria as the country that granted it
- Reference to the Gewerbeordnung with a link to the RIS (federal legal information system)
- Supervisory authority: the trade authority, i.e. the Bezirkshauptmannschaft (district authority) or Magistrat (city council)
- UID number (VAT ID) if you have one, and company register number with company register court if registered
The legal position on the supervisory authority is not entirely clear. The WKO recommends that tradespeople name the trade authority, i.e. the Bezirkshauptmannschaft or Magistrat where your trade is registered. It costs one line and saves discussions.
A sample from practice
This is what the legal notice of a fictional electrical business in Linz, run as a sole trader without a company register entry, could look like:
- Johann Muster, Elektrotechnik Muster, Industriezeile 12, 4020 Linz
- Phone +43 732 123456, email office@elektro-muster.at
- Trade: Elektrotechnik (regulated trade), granted in Austria; location of the trade licence: 4020 Linz
- Trade authority: Magistrat der Landeshauptstadt Linz
- Member of the Wirtschaftskammer Oberösterreich, Landesinnung der Elektro-, Gebäude-, Alarm- und Kommunikationstechniker
- Applicable law: Gewerbeordnung 1994, available at www.ris.bka.gv.at
- UID number: ATU12345678
- Disclosure under § 25 MedienG: media owner Johann Muster, business purpose electrical engineering, registered in Linz
If you hold several trade licences, for example gas and sanitary engineering and heating engineering, list them all. If you are based in a district outside a statutory city, name the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, for example "Bezirkshauptmannschaft Schwaz". You can find the exact name of your guild under your entry in the WKO Firmen A-Z (company directory).
A legal notice for your business in two minutes
The free legal notice generator asks for your trade, authority, chamber and legal form and combines ECG, Gewerbeordnung, UGB and disclosure correctly. Your entries stay in your browser.
e.U., OG and GmbH: the details under § 14 UGB
If you are entered in the Firmenbuch, § 14 UGB requires the company name, legal form, registered office, company register number and company register court on business letters, order forms and on the website. An e.U. (registered sole trader) also states the owner's name if it differs from the company name. For an OG or KG in which no natural person has unlimited liability, details of the liable partners are added.
| Legal form | Also in the legal notice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader | Location of the trade licence (§ 63 GewO) | Location: 8020 Graz |
| e.U. | Company name, legal form, registered office, FN, company register court; owner's name if it differs from the company name | Malerei Novak e.U., registered in Graz, FN 123456a, Landesgericht für ZRS Graz |
| OG / KG | Company name, legal form, registered office, FN, company register court | Fliesen Huber & Gruber OG |
| GmbH | Company name, legal form, registered office, FN, company register court; in the disclosure, managing directors and shareholdings | Haustechnik Wimmer GmbH, managing director Peter Wimmer, 100 % shareholder |
Disclosure under the Media Act
For the Mediengesetz, every website is a medium. For trades websites, though, the disclosure under § 25 MedienG is short: if the site contains nothing intended to influence public opinion beyond presenting your own business, paragraph 5 only requires name or company name, business purpose where applicable, and place of residence or registered office.
Privacy, cookies and the contact form
The privacy policy is not part of the legal notice, but it belongs in the footer just the same. Under Art. 13 GDPR you explain which data you process for what purpose, how long you keep it and what rights customers have. Three points are typical for trades businesses:
- Enquiry form with photo upload: customers send photos of the dripping trap or the crack in the facade. These photos often show flats, house numbers or people. Only keep the images as long as you need them for the quote and the job, and point out in the form that people should not be photographed.
- Google Maps and YouTube: embedded maps and videos load data from Google as soon as the page opens. For cookies and similar access to the device, § 165 (3) TKG 2021 (Telecommunications Act) requires consent. So only load the map after a click, or simply link to Google Maps.
- Fonts and plugins: in 2022, many businesses in Austria received demand letters over dynamically embedded Google Fonts. Host your fonts locally and the question never arises.
How to get it right
- A short form with name, phone, address of the property and a description
- A cookie banner that makes rejecting as easy as accepting
- Deleting enquiry photos after the job is finished or moving them to the job archive
- Your own privacy policy that names the services you actually use
Better not
- Asking for date of birth, making the mobile number mandatory or other unnecessary details
- Copying another business's privacy policy
- Loading Google Maps, Facebook Pixel and Analytics without consent
- Leaving enquiry emails with photos in every employee's inbox indefinitely
Accessibility: who is affected by the BaFG
The Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG, Accessibility Act) has applied since 28 June 2025. It covers an exhaustive list of products and services, including e-commerce services, such as online shops or websites through which consumers conclude contracts. Micro-enterprises, i.e. businesses with fewer than ten employees and no more than €2 million annual turnover or balance sheet total, are exempt for services.
For the typical trades business with a website, phone number and enquiry form, the BaFG is therefore rarely an issue. If you grow beyond ten employees and sell online, for example spare parts, vouchers or fixed-price maintenance, you should check it. Good readability, sufficient contrast and alt texts for photos pay off anyway: many of your customers are over 60.
Where else your mandatory details belong
| Channel | What applies | Practical tip |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn | According to the WKO, the information duties also apply on social media | Put a clearly visible "Impressum" link to your website in your profile |
| Emails, quotes, cost estimates | Business letters: § 63 GewO or § 14 UGB | Add the details to your email signature and the footer of your quote template |
| Newsletter | Disclosure and legal notice under the Media Act | A short legal notice at the end of every issue |
| Google Business Profile | No dedicated legal notice field | Link your website so customers find the details with one click |
| Van, site sign | Neither the ECG nor § 63 GewO mentions vehicles | Name and phone are still good advertising; the advertising rules apply there too |
What you may promise on your van, website and site sign, such as "Meisterbetrieb" (master craftsman business), prices or reviews, is covered in the post Advertising and price information for trades in Austria.
What happens if you get it wrong
A breach of § 5 ECG is an administrative offence with a fine of up to €3,000 (§ 26 ECG). It usually gets more expensive through competition law: competitors or the Schutzverband (an association against unfair competition) can sue for an injunction, and you bear the costs. Either way: a complete legal notice is cheaper than any argument about it.
Check your trade
You can find the exact wording of your licences in your GISA extract or in the WKO Firmen A-Z.
Create the legal notice
Enter all details in the legal notice generator and put the text on your website.
Link it in the footer
"Impressum" and "Datenschutz" (privacy) on every page, including landing pages and the blog.
Update signature and profiles
Bring your email signature, quote template and social media profiles up to the same standard.
Check once a year
New legal form, new location or an additional trade? Then update straight away.
Building a new website right now? Which content besides the legal notice brings enquiries is shown in Website content for trades businesses. If you are just starting out, you will find every step in the guide Starting a trades business in Austria.
Sources
- E-Commerce-Gesetz, § 5 (general information duties), RIS
- E-Commerce-Gesetz, § 26 (administrative penalties), RIS
- Gewerbeordnung 1994, § 63 (use of name), RIS
- Unternehmensgesetzbuch, § 14 (business documents), RIS
- Mediengesetz, § 25 (disclosure), RIS
- Telekommunikationsgesetz 2021, § 165 (cookies), RIS
- WKO: information duties under the E-Commerce-Gesetz
- General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679
- USP: Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG)
- WKO: Barrierefreiheitsgesetz in e-commerce
