A legal notice (Impressum) for a restaurant takes more than a name and address. In Austria it includes the exact wording of your trade licence, the Wirtschaftskammer (Chamber of Commerce) with your trade group and the trade authority; in Germany, depending on the federal state, the authority that issued your Gaststättenerlaubnis (restaurant licence). Choose your type of business, country and legal form: the generator asks for exactly the details your case needs.
Who needs a legal notice?
Every website that serves a business needs provider information: the restaurant with an online menu just as much as the guesthouse with a booking form or the food truck with its weekly route. The same goes for social media profiles you use for business. The details must be easy to find, reachable in one click and always available; the usual solution is a “Legal notice” link in the footer of every page.
In Austria the mandatory details come mainly from § 5 E-Commerce-Gesetz (ECG, E-Commerce Act), for companies in the Firmenbuch (company register) also from § 14 UGB (Commercial Code), and for traders without a register entry from § 63 Gewerbeordnung (Trade Regulation Act). On top of that comes the disclosure under § 25 Mediengesetz (Media Act). In Germany § 5 Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG, Digital Services Act) applies, which replaced the Telemediengesetz in May 2024.
Hospitality in Austria: trade, chamber and authority
In Austria the Gastgewerbe (hospitality trade) is a regulated trade (§ 94 Z 26 GewO 1994) and covers not only food and drink but also accommodating guests. Anyone subject to trade law names the chamber in the legal notice, meaning the Wirtschaftskammer of the federal state with its trade group (usually Gastronomie or Hotellerie), and refers to the Gewerbeordnung with a link to the federal legal information system (RIS).
The Wirtschaftskammer recommends always naming the trade authority, meaning the Bezirkshauptmannschaft (district authority) or Magistrat (city administration) where your trade is registered. The trade licence wording, such as “Gastgewerbe in der Betriebsart Restaurant”, is best copied word for word from your GISA extract.
Bakery, patisserie and Heuriger
In Austria bakers and confectioners are regulated crafts in their own right (§ 94 Z 3 and Z 40 GewO 1994); the responsible body is the Landesinnung Lebensmittelgewerbe (state guild for food trades). You may state your master craftsman title, but according to the Wirtschaftskammer it is not mandatory. If you also run a café that serves drinks, a hospitality licence may be added. In Germany the legal notice of a bakery does not require the Handwerkskammer (Chamber of Crafts): according to the Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks this only applies to health crafts. You may name it voluntarily.
The Buschenschank (farm wine tavern) is exempt from the Gewerbeordnung and regulated by the federal states. Here the Landwirtschaftskammer (Chamber of Agriculture) takes the place of the Wirtschaftskammer, and you can name your state’s Buschenschankgesetz as the applicable regulation. In Germany the states can exempt the Straußwirtschaft (seasonal wine tavern) from the restaurant licence by ordinance (§ 14 Gaststättengesetz); there is then no supervisory authority to name.
Germany: restaurant licence and supervisory authority
Under § 5 DDG you name the supervisory authority if your activity requires official approval. For restaurants and bars this is the Gaststättenerlaubnis (restaurant licence), which is usually needed to serve alcoholic drinks. Whether it still exists in your federal state depends on state law: several states, such as Lower Saxony and, since 2026, Baden-Württemberg, only require a notification. If you hold a licence, you name the authority that issued it, for example the Ordnungsamt (public order office) or the Landratsamt (district office).
Companies in the Handelsregister (commercial register) state the register court and register number, partnerships and corporations also the persons authorised to represent them. If you have a VAT identification number or a Wirtschafts-Identifikationsnummer (business identification number), it also belongs in the legal notice.
Blog, recipes and consumer arbitration
If you publish more than your own offer, such as recipes, day-trip tips or a blog about your region, your website becomes a “large” website in Austria and also needs a Blattlinie (statement of editorial line). In Germany you then name a person responsible for the content under § 18 (2) Medienstaatsvertrag (Interstate Media Treaty).
Businesses in Germany that employed more than ten people on 31 December of the previous year must state on their website whether they take part in dispute resolution before a consumer arbitration board (§ 36 VSBG). The link to the EU online dispute resolution platform that used to be common has been obsolete since July 2025, as the platform was shut down.