Every professional website must publicly state the identity of its publisher, of its publication director and of its hosting provider. The rule is set out in article 1-1 of loi n° 2004-575 du 21 juin 2004 pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique (the French law on trust in the digital economy), in the version in force since 23 May 2024. In practice, it usually takes the form of a “Mentions légales” (legal notices) page linked from the footer.
What article 1-1 requires
For a publisher who is an individual: their last name, first names, home address and phone number. For a publisher who is a legal entity: its company name, its registered office and its phone number. In both cases, the site states the name of the publication director or co-director.
To this are added the details of the hosting provider: its name or company name, its address and its phone number. This last point is the one most often forgotten, because it changes whenever you change hosting.
What the official guidance adds for a business
The service-public.gouv.fr sheet “Mentions obligatoires sur le site internet d'une entreprise” (mandatory information on a company website) details what this page must contain for a business: the legal form and share capital, the email address, the RCS (trade and companies register) or RNE (national business register) number depending on the activity, the VAT number where there is one, and, for a sole trader, the words “entrepreneur individuel” or “EI” next to their name. A regulated activity adds the name and address of the authority that issued the authorization.
The case of the non-professional publisher
Section II of article 1-1 provides an exception for a non-professional publisher: to preserve their anonymity, they may limit themselves to giving the name and address of their hosting provider, provided they have given that provider their identifying details. The hosting provider is then bound by professional secrecy, which cannot be invoked against the judicial authorities. A site that sells or promotes an activity does not fall into this category.
What forgetting them can cost
Article 1-2 punishes failure to comply with these obligations with one year of imprisonment and a fine of €75,000, for an individual or for the manager, whether legal or de facto, of a legal entity. The legal entity itself can also be held criminally liable: service-public.gouv.fr indicates a fine of €375,000 for a company and €75,000 for a sole proprietorship. These are ceilings, not set rates.
Four checks to run on your own site
Does the page exist, and does a link lead to it from every page? The footer is where a visitor looks for it.
Are your hosting provider's details up to date? A change of host or provider makes the page wrong without anyone noticing.
Is the publication director's name listed? It is often the company's head, but it still has to be written down.
Do the share capital, the RCS or RNE number and the VAT number match your latest extract? A company that changes legal form or registered office must correct the page the same day.
Responsibility for compliance remains with the business owner: this article is for information and does not replace a lawyer's advice on a specific situation.
Source: articles 1-1 and 1-2 of loi n° 2004-575 du 21 juin 2004 pour la confiance dans l'économie numérique, consulted on Légifrance on 27 October 2026; sheet “Mentions obligatoires sur le site internet d'une entreprise”, entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr, consulted on 27 October 2026.
