Impressum
An Impressum is the legally required site notice on German websites and publications, identifying who is responsible for the content - name, address, and contact details.
German law (the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, formerly section 5 TMG) requires almost every commercial website to carry an easily findable Impressum listing the operator's full name, postal address, email, and - for registered companies - the legal form, register court, and registration number. It exists so visitors and authorities can identify and contact whoever stands behind a site.
For German businesses in the US this is a useful authenticity signal: a company's German (.de) site will carry an Impressum, while its US-facing site follows US conventions (a privacy policy and terms) and usually does not. The presence of an Impressum is one of the German-ness signals this directory looks for.
See also: Handelsregister (commercial register)
Frequently asked questions
- Does a US website need an Impressum?
- US law has no Impressum requirement; US sites use a privacy policy and terms of service instead. The obligation applies to German-jurisdiction sites - so a German company's .de site has one, its .com US site usually doesn't.
- What happens if a German site has no Impressum?
- A missing or incomplete Impressum can trigger formal warnings (Abmahnungen) and fines under German law, which is why German companies take it seriously.