Required Legal Notices for Your Website in France
In France, every professional website — including those of freelancers, micro-businesses, and associations — is legally required to display specific information known as "mentions légales" (legal notices). Failure to comply exposes you to fines of up to €75,000 for a company and €37,500 for an individual.
Legal Basis
The obligation is defined by the Loi pour la Confiance dans l'Économie Numérique (LCEN) of June 21, 2004, supplemented by French consumer law (Code de la Consommation).
Mandatory Information for Professional Websites
For a Company (SARL, SAS, SA, etc.)
- Company name and legal form (e.g., "Mindzy SAS")
- Registered address of the company headquarters
- SIRET or SIREN number (company registration number)
- Share capital amount
- VAT number (if applicable)
- Company registration (RCS + city)
- Name of the publication director (usually the legal representative)
- Contact details: email address (mandatory), phone number (recommended)
- Hosting provider: name, address, and contact details
For a Freelancer or Sole Trader (Auto-entrepreneur, EI)
- Full name
- Professional address (or registered business address)
- SIRET number
- Professional order membership if applicable (doctor, lawyer, architect, etc.)
- Professional liability insurance details if required by your profession
- Publication director: your name
- Host details: same as above
For an Association (Loi 1901)
- Association name
- Registered office address
- Publication director name
- Host details
Additional Requirements for E-commerce Sites
If your site sells products or services online, additional requirements apply under consumer law:
- General Terms and Conditions of Sale (CGV) — mandatory
- Right of withdrawal: 14-day return policy for distance sales
- Delivery conditions and timescales
- Price display including all taxes
- Dispute resolution: European ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) platform link
Hosting Provider Information
This is the most commonly forgotten element. You must identify your hosting provider with their name, registered address, and contact details. Example:
Hosting provided by: OVH SAS — 2 rue Kellermann, 59100 Roubaix, France — contact@ovh.com
Where to Display Legal Notices
Legal notices must be "easily accessible" — in practice, this means a dedicated "Legal Notices" page linked in the footer of every page. The CNIL also requires a link to your Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy in the footer.
Legal Notices vs Privacy Policy
These are two distinct documents:
- Legal notices (mentions légales): Identifies who is responsible for the website (required by LCEN)
- Privacy policy (politique de confidentialité): Explains how personal data is processed (required by GDPR)
Both are mandatory. Both must be accessible from every page.
Keeping Your Legal Notices Up to Date
Update your legal notices whenever:
- Your company address changes
- You change hosting providers
- Your legal representative changes
- You add new data processing activities (update privacy policy)
Our Mindzy team includes full legal compliance — legal notices, privacy policy, and cookie consent — in every website project. Get in touch.
Further reading: