Company details on your website: what must be shown
The identification information a business must publish online, where to put it, and why it also affects trust and search visibility.
The short answer
A business offering services online must make certain information about itself easily, directly and permanently accessible to visitors: the name under which it trades and its legal entity name, a geographic address, contact details including an email address allowing rapid and direct communication, its trade register number, and its VAT identification number where it is registered for VAT. Regulated professions must add their professional title, the body they are registered with, the supervising authority and the applicable professional rules. In the Netherlands that means, in practice, the legal name, the chamber of commerce number and the VAT number on the site. The practical place for all of it is the footer on every page plus a contact page, in text rather than in an image or a document. Beyond the obligation, the same details are one of the strongest trust signals a small business website carries, and publishing them consistently supports local search visibility, which makes this the rare requirement that is also straightforwardly good for business.
What to publish
| Item | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trading name and legal entity name | Yes | Both, if they differ |
| Legal form | Effectively yes, as part of the entity name | Private limited company, sole trader and so on |
| Geographic address | Yes | A real address; not only a postbox where the rules require establishment details |
| Email address | Yes | Direct and rapid contact; a form alone is not enough |
| Telephone number | Good practice; often expected | Strong trust signal |
| Trade register number | Yes | Chamber of commerce number in the Netherlands |
| VAT identification number | Yes, where VAT registered | As issued |
| Professional body and authorisation | Yes, for regulated professions | With the supervisory authority |
| Insurance details | For some regulated activities | Check your professional rules |
| Dispute resolution information | For consumer sales | Including the relevant platform or scheme |
Publishing it well
- Put a details block in the site footer, present on every page, as selectable text.
- Repeat it on the contact page with a map or directions if you receive visitors.
- Match it exactly to your chamber of commerce registration and your invoices.
- Add structured data describing the organisation so search engines and assistants read it reliably.
- Keep it consistent with your business listings, directories and social profiles.
- Include the regulated-profession details if they apply to you.
- Review after any change of address, entity, registration or VAT status.
The trust dimension
Small business websites that omit an address and a phone number read as temporary, and visitors comparing suppliers notice. The details also answer questions customers would otherwise ask: where are you, are you a real registered company, can I call you. Published as text and reinforced with structured data, they feed the business information that search engines and AI assistants show about you, which is increasingly how people form a first impression before they ever reach the site.
What this means for you
Publish your legal entity name, address, direct email, trade register number and VAT number, plus professional details where relevant, as text in the footer of every page and on a contact page, matching your registration and your invoices. Add structured data and keep your listings consistent. It satisfies the requirement, and it is one of the most effective trust and local visibility improvements a small business website can make. This is general information rather than legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is a contact form enough?
No. The requirement includes details that allow you to be contacted rapidly and directly, which is understood to mean an email address or equivalent direct means, not only a form. A form may be offered in addition. Businesses sometimes omit the address for privacy reasons; for a company registered at a business address that is not an option, and for home-based businesses the registered address is generally what must be shown.
Where should the details appear?
Somewhere permanently and easily reachable, in practice the footer on every page plus a contact page. Many businesses also repeat them in the terms and the privacy statement, which is fine as long as they agree with each other. Burying them in a downloadable document or behind a form does not meet the accessibility standard.
Does this matter beyond compliance?
Considerably. A visitor deciding whether to trust a small business looks for a real address, a real phone number and a registration number, and their absence is a common reason for leaving. The same details, published consistently and matching your business listings, also support local search visibility. It is one of the rare cases where the compliance requirement and the commercial interest point in exactly the same direction.
Sources
- EUR-Lex: Directive 2000/31/EC on electronic commerce, Article 5 (accessed 2026-09-12)