What Irish businesses must display on their website (law)

Irish business websites face two separate sets of legal disclosure rules. The Companies Act 2014 covers registered companies. The E-Commerce Regulations 2003 (S.I. 68/2003) cover online service providers. These overlap but are not identical. Many Irish SME websites still miss one or more required items.

You can check your own site for free in 60 seconds. The scanner reads your footer and contact pages and flags missing CRO numbers, geographic addresses, VAT numbers and email contacts.

Companies Act 2014, Section 49

Every Irish company registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) must display the items below. The duty applies to all business letters, notices and official publications. Irish courts treat business websites as official publications for this purpose.

Required for all registered Irish companies:

What your CRO number looks like: a 5 or 6-digit number, often shown as "Company No. 123456" or "Registered in Ireland No. 123456".

Sole traders are not subject to Section 49. They must still show their own name and address under the E-Commerce Regulations (see below).

The full text of Section 49 of the Companies Act 2014 is on the Irish Statute Book. The section heading is "Publication of name by company".

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E-Commerce Regulations 2003 (S.I. 68/2003)

The E-Commerce Regulations 2003 implement the EU's E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC). They apply to any "information society service provider". In practice this means any business with a website that provides information or sells products or services online.

Required for all online service providers:

The rules require this information to be "easily, directly and permanently accessible". In practice that means visible in the footer or one click away. It must not be hidden inside a terms document.

A contact form alone is generally not enough. Regulation 8 of S.I. 68/2003 asks for "rapid, direct and effective" electronic contact. Most Irish solicitors read that as requiring a published email address.

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For e-commerce businesses: additional requirements

If you sell products or services online to consumers, extra duties apply. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 and the E-Commerce Regulations both apply.

• Price transparency. Prices must clearly state whether they include VAT. For B2C sales, display prices inclusive of tax.
• Right of withdrawal. Consumers who buy online get a 14-day cooling-off period. Your terms must explain this and offer a withdrawal procedure.
• Order confirmation. Customers must receive confirmation of their order and your acceptance.
• Pre-contractual information. Before the customer pays, they must see the total price, delivery costs and their withdrawal right. Not just on a checkout page they might skip.

A new EU "withdraw" button rule is also coming. Ireland missed the December 2025 deadline. Until transposition lands, follow the existing Consumer Rights Act 2022 procedure for online cancellation.

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For regulated professions

If your business is in a regulated profession, extra disclosure is required.

Each regulator can require a member to display the relevant licence number on a public-facing website. For example, the PSRA can suspend a licence over repeated failure to identify the licensed firm in public marketing.

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What a compliant Irish business website footer looks like

Acme Services Limited
Company Registration No. 123456 | VAT No. IE 1234567T
Registered Office: 1 Main Street, Dublin 2, D02 AB12
Directors: Jane Smith, John Murphy
Email: info@acmeservices.ie | Tel: 01 234 5678

That block sits in the footer on every page. The email and phone number link out so visitors can contact you in one tap. The address is a real Dublin street address rather than a PO Box.

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Common mistakes to avoid

1. PO Box instead of a street address. Regulation 8 of S.I. 68/2003 requires a geographic address. A PO Box can sit alongside a street address but cannot replace it.

2. Contact form with no email. "Rapid, direct and effective" electronic contact means a published email address. A form that does not show the underlying address is risky.

3. CRO number on a dusty "Legal" page only. Section 49 expects the company name and number to appear on the same business communications that show your trading details. The footer is the safest place.

4. Wrong legal form. A company that drops "Limited" or shows "Ltd." when registered as "Limited" can be in breach. Use the exact registered form.

5. Directors omitted. Section 49 names directors as a required field. Many small companies skip them. If the company has one director, list one name.

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How the scanner checks your website

TrustYourWebsite reads the footer and any contact, about or legal page. The scanner looks for:

• a CRO-format company number,
• an Irish VAT number (IE prefix),
• a geographic address,
• a valid email address and
• a phone number.

When a field is missing, the report lists the page checked and the pattern that did not match. The scanner cannot confirm that the CRO number actually belongs to your business or that the directors named are current. Those checks need a human.

Findings are technical signals, not legal verdicts.

Run a free scan and see which fields your site already covers.

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Enforcement in practice

Failure to comply with Section 49 is a category 4 offence. The maximum fine is EUR 5,000 (a class A fine). In practice the CRO and the Corporate Enforcement Authority focus on director disqualification for repeat offenders. Prosecutions for missing website disclosures alone are rare.

The bigger risk is civil. If your terms reference a company that the website does not properly identify, a customer can argue the contract is unclear. That undermines any later refund or chargeback defence. Ten minutes in the footer protects every contract you sign through the site.

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Related guides

• Website trading disclosures in Ireland for a deeper look at Section 151.
• Legal notices required on Irish business websites for the footer template.
• GDPR compliance for Irish businesses for the privacy side of the same footer.

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Sources

• Companies Act 2014, Section 49 (Irish Statute Book)
• Companies Act 2014, Section 151 (Irish Statute Book)
• S.I. 68/2003, European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC) Regulations 2003 (Irish Statute Book)
• Consumer Rights Act 2022 (Irish Statute Book)
• Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)

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This is technical analysis, not legal advice. Consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your business.