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Are you being compliant and displaying the right details on your website, signs and stationery? 

You’ve launched your business, you’ve built your website – well done! But are you falling foul of these legal requirements? We recently did some work for a client who wasn’t aware of these points. Luckily they were easy to put right by adding a few details to their website.

What must I include on my website, stationery and promotional material? 

You must include your company’s name on all company documents, publicity and letters and to be honest: why wouldn’t you want to include your company name? How can you publicise your company without mentioning its name? 

On business letters, order forms and websites, you must show:

  • the company’s registered number

  • its registered office address

  • where the company is registered (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland)

  • the fact that it’s a limited company (usually by spelling out the company’s full name including ‘Limited’ or ‘Ltd’)

If you want to include directors’ names, you must list all of them. You don’t have to include any directors names. But if you do want to show them then you have to show all of them. 

If you want to show your company’s share capital (how much the shares were worth when you issued them), you must say how much is ‘paid up’ (owned by shareholders).

You don’t need to show these on every page of your website, maybe on a legal details section or your about us page. Another option is to have them in the footer as we do on our site.

If you are running an e-commerce business there are additional requirements too: https://www.gov.uk/online-and-distance-selling-for-businesses

Signs

For our bricks and mortar clients….. 

You must display a sign showing your company name at your registered company address and wherever your business operates.

But….. If you’re running your business from home, you do not need to display a sign there.

Example

If you’re running 3 shops and an office that’s not at your home, you must display a sign at each of them. The sign must be easy to read and to see at any time, not just when you’re open. 

There are also different rules for what you need to include on invoices and we will be publishing a blog on this soon.