Imprint for Your Restaurant Website: Required Details under § 5 DDG

As soon as your website is run not purely privately but commercially or with a view to profit, it counts as a business telemedia service and falls under the imprint duty. For a restaurant, café or snack bar this is practically always the case, because the site promotes your business, shows your menu and opening hours, or enables reservations. A missing or faulty imprint can trigger a cease-and-desist warning (Abmahnung) and cause costs.

• Your website promotes your hospitality business and therefore serves commercial purposes.
• A menu, opening hours and reservation or ordering features turn the site into a business online offering.
• The imprint duty protects guests by letting them know whom they are dealing with and how to reach you.
• A complete imprint reduces the risk of warnings from competitors or specialised parties.
• The details build trust and credibility with your guests.

The imprint duty is not an end in itself: it is meant to create transparency. Anyone presenting a venue online should be clearly identifiable and contactable for guests, delivery services and authorities. That is why it pays to set up the imprint correctly from the start.

The central provision is § 5 of the Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG). The DDG replaced the former Telemedia Act (TMG); the imprint duty that many still know as "TMG § 5" is now found, in substance, in the DDG. The core obligation to identify the provider has changed little; the legal reference, however, is new.

From the TMG to the DDG

• Among other things, the DDG implements the European Digital Services Act in German law and bundles rules for digital services.
• The provider identification ("Impressum") has moved from § 5 TMG to § 5 DDG.
• If you use older templates or generators, check whether they still refer to the TMG and update the legal basis.
• The term "telemedia" remains and covers websites, online shops and comparable digital offerings.
• Besides the DDG, further duties may apply depending on the case, for example from data protection law (GDPR/DSGVO) for the privacy policy.

An important distinction: the imprint under § 5 DDG identifies you as the provider. The privacy policy under the GDPR is a separate document and does not belong in the imprint, even though both are often linked in the footer. Treat them as two independent obligations.

Which details you specifically need depends on your legal form and your business. The order below reflects a typical structure. Check for your individual case which points apply to you and add sector-specific details where required.

1. 1Name and, where applicable, company name with legal form (e.g. "Max Mustermann, Gasthaus Sonne" or "Sonne Gastronomie GmbH").
2. 2A full address at which you can be served, with street, house number, postal code and town; no P.O. box.
3. 3Contact details enabling fast electronic contact, in particular an email address and usually a telephone number.
4. 4For legal persons (e.g. a GmbH), the authorised representative, such as the managing director.
5. 5Register entry and register number, if applicable, for example the commercial register and the HRB number at the competent local court.
6. 6Your VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.) if you hold one, plus, where applicable, the relevant supervisory authority and professional details if they apply to your business.

Not every business needs every entry: a small café run as a sole proprietorship without a commercial register entry states different details than a GmbH. Provide only what actually applies to you, but omit no mandatory detail. When in doubt, clarify the exact requirements with the competent authority or qualified legal counsel.

§ 5 DDG requires the imprint to be easily recognisable, directly reachable and permanently available. In practice this means a link clearly labelled "Impressum" that is accessible from every page of your website, usually in the footer. Do not hide the details and label the link unambiguously.

• Place a footer link clearly labelled "Impressum" that is visible on every subpage.
• The imprint should be reachable with no more than two clicks and not hidden behind ambiguous labels.
• Keep the imprint permanently available and readable, including on mobile devices.
• Link the privacy policy separately, also clearly visible in the footer.
• Profiles on social media platforms that you use commercially also need a reachable imprint, for example via the designated fields or a link to the imprint page of your website.
• Update the details as soon as your address, legal form or representation changes.

The imprint duty does not stop at your own website. If you present your restaurant commercially on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or a review portal, those profiles should also feature a reachable imprint. Often a link to the imprint page of your website is enough, provided the platform allows it.

With gastronomx you build the website for your restaurant, café or snack bar and can set up a permanently reachable imprint page there. You provide the content of the imprint yourself, because the required details depend on your business; gastronomx supplies the page and the clearly visible footer link.

Imprint page and footer link

You create a dedicated page for your imprint and link it centrally in the footer so it is reachable from every subpage. This helps you meet the requirement that the imprint be easily recognisable and directly reachable, without having to worry about technical details. The multilingual output of gastronomx also helps you address international guests.

gastronomx does not generate an imprint automatically and does not replace a legal review. You remain responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the details. This article offers general orientation under German law and is not legal advice; clarify doubtful cases with the competent authority or qualified legal counsel.