Legal Notices for a Website (mentions legales)
Any website publisher is legally required to display legal notices (mentions legales) accessible from every page of the site. These notices are defined by article 6 III of the law on confidence in the digital economy (LCEN, French digital economy law) of 21 June 2004. Their absence or incompleteness constitutes an offense that can be punished with a fine. Legal notices identify the site's publisher, its representative, the publication director, and the host, thereby allowing any visitor to know who they are dealing with and to assert their rights. This form is in English, but the document is generated in French, ready to sign and use in France.
Note: the questionnaire is in English; the generated document is in French.
The publisher
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Frequently asked questions
Are legal notices (mentions legales) mandatory for every website?
Yes. Article 6 III of the LCEN (French digital economy law) requires every site publisher to make available to the public the information needed to identify them. This applies to professional sites as well as to personal or association sites, as soon as they are accessible to the public.
What are the risks of not having legal notices?
The absence of legal notices (mentions legales) on a website is a criminal offense punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros for an individual, and 375,000 euros for a legal entity (art. 6 VI of the LCEN, French digital economy law).
Must the intra-EU VAT number be included?
If the site carries out a commercial activity subject to VAT and holds an intra-EU VAT number, this number must appear in the legal notices in accordance with article 6 III of the LCEN (French digital economy law). Micro-entrepreneurs under the VAT exemption scheme generally do not have one.
Where should the legal notices be placed on the site?
Legal notices must be accessible from every page of the site, generally via a footer link. They may appear on a dedicated page titled 'Mentions legales' (Legal Notices) or be integrated into other documents such as the privacy policy.
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