How to Write a Facebook Impressum – Examples & Tips

If you run a business Facebook page in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, missing an Impressum can actually lead to legal penalties.

The good news? You can add one in minutes.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to write a Facebook Impressum, what to include, and see real examples you can copy.

What Is Impressum?

An Impressum is a must-have statement for websites and printed materials in German-speaking countries. It’s a disclosure label that tells people who’s behind the content. For online businesses, it’s crucial because it requires sharing the contact info of the website owner and basic details about the company.

For online shops and websites, having an Impressum is as important as it is to visitors. It shows them who’s responsible for the website and its content. This is not just a formality; it’s a legal requirement. If businesses don’t comply, they could face legal issues.

Why Do I Need an Impressum?

As per the German Telemedia Act, an Impressum is needed if you are operating a commercial website, including business social media pages in Switzerland, Austria, or Germany, irrespective of the domain you have.

Moreover, you’d also need an Impressum if you’re doing significant business with people residing in any of these countries. However, if you are running private pages, like personal blogs, and more that don’t generate an income, you wouldn’t need an Impressum.

Who needs a Facebook Impressum?

Here are some points on why Facebook needs an Impressum:

• Businesses operating in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland
• E-commerce pages selling to German-speaking markets
• Influencers and content creators earn revenue from their page
• Any page with a commercial purpose targeting these regions

You do NOT need one for:

• Purely personal Facebook profiles
• Non-commercial pages with no revenue or business activity

What Should I Write in an Impressum?

As per the Telemedia Act, you must add the following details while writing an Impressum:

• Name of the owner or the manager of the business or page
• Address of the registered business
• Contact information, such as email address, phone number
• Information regarding business registration, such as registered name and registration number
• VAT ID number or the trade registry number (if available)

What is the Difference Between an Impressum and a Privacy Policy?

When it comes to evaluating the difference between an Impressum and a privacy policy, you’re sure to find a huge one. While the former is simply a list of information that represents your business, on the contrary, the latter is an essential document that outlines why and how your business is engaged in collecting, using, and sharing the personal information of customers.

An Impressum is lawful only in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany; however, a privacy policy is needed almost everywhere in the world. Also, different countries have varying privacy policy laws.

For instance, if your business is serving in the UK or the EU, you’d have to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Other than that, if you’re operating a business in California, you’d have to adhere to the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA).

Although a privacy policy carries some of the similar information as Impressum; however, it’s one extensive document as compared to the other.

Impressum vs privacy policy vs terms

Here is a quick difference between Impressum, Privacy, and Terms.

• Impressum: It is typically a disclosure. It’s a short legal notice identifying who owns and operates the page. Required only in German-speaking countries.
• Privacy Policy: Privacy deals with data handling. An extensive document explaining how you collect, use, and store personal data. Required in most countries under GDPR, CalOPPA, and others.
• Terms and Conditions: They comprise the rules of use. Defines the rules users must agree to when using your platform or services. Not legally mandatory everywhere, but strongly recommended.

What is Facebook Impressum?

Almost more than half of the businesses, today, have a website and social media pages, Facebook being one of them. Thus, to comply with the law, Facebook added one feature that enables users to create their Impressum on a public page in order to help businesses in German-speaking nations adhere to the law.

On Facebook, an Impressum is a section available on the About page that showcases the legal identification numbers and contact information of a business. Here, you can put nothing more than 2,000 characters.

After this, the text will be shortened, and a link will be added to complete Impressum. Further, the Pages, Groups, and Event Policies of Facebook have made it necessary for administrators to obey all of the applicable regulations and rules.

Thus, if your business is subjected to the Telemedia Act, you’ll have to add an Impressum to your business’s Facebook page.

What to Include in Your Facebook Page Impressum?

Upon visiting your Facebook page, users will be able to see the Impressum information when they click on the About link. Considering the restrictions in word count, you will only have to provide minimal information. On Facebook, your Impressum section should contain the following information:

• Name of the organization or business
• Address of the organization or business
• Contact information; email, fax number, and phone number of the organization or business
• Name of the manager or owner of the page as well as of the organization or business
• Registration and license numbers
• Links to the official website
• Whether the business is a part of a regulated profession
• Details of relevant professional rules, designation, and chamber
• VAT ID number or business ID number (if available)

How to write a Facebook Impressum (step-by-step)

1. Start with your business identity. Open with your full legal company name exactly as it appears in your business registration documents. Avoid abbreviations.
2. Add your legal representative. Include the name of the person legally responsible for the page — usually the CEO, managing director, or owner.
3. Include full contact information. Add your business address, phone number, and a professional email address. Fax numbers are optional but common in German-speaking markets.
4. Add registration details. Include your commercial register number (Handelsregisternummer), VAT ID (Umsatzsteuer-ID), or relevant trade license details where applicable.
5. Keep it under 2,000 characters. Facebook’s Impressum field has a 2,000 character limit. After that, text is truncated. If your full Impressum is longer, summarize the key details here.
6. Link to your full Impressum page. Add a URL to the complete Impressum on your website so users can access the full document if needed.

How to Add Impressum In Facebook Page?

Adding Impressum to the Facebook page is quite a seamless and hassle-free process. You’d neither require any tools nor in-depth technical knowledge for the same. Simply follow the below-mentioned steps, and you’ll be done before you realize it.

• In the left menu, from the News Feed, click Pages
• Now, choose the page where you wish to add the Impressum and click on it
• Click the Edit Page Info option.
• Look for the Impressum section and add the information
• Click Save Changes

And it’s done!

Some Impressum Examples

BMW

BMW’s Impressum is an exemplary demonstration of complete legal compliance. It contains the full legal name of the legal entity (Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft), the address, telephone number and e-mail contact information of the registered office in Munich, the VAT number and the names of the members of the management board. There is a link to the complete Impressum on bmw.com. The key strengths of this Impressum are the full legal name of the legal entity, the registration details of the legal entity and a link to the complete Impressum.

Allianz

Allianz uses a structured, easy-to-scan format that separates business identity, contact information, and regulatory details into clear sections. This improves readability and helps users quickly find what they need. Key strengths: clean structure, compliance-ready layout, and concise character usage within the 2,000-character limit.

Audi

Audi’s Impressum has a format similar to BMW’s as well as a full identification of the legal entity, the physical address, contact details (email & phone), and the link to the website’s Impressum. There is no superfluous content and meets the character count. The three main advantages are: concise, organised, and includes a link to extended legal information on the internet.

Common Facebook Impressum mistakes

• Missing or incomplete address. An Impressum without a full registered business address is not legally valid. PO boxes are not accepted.
• Using an abbreviated business name. Always use your full legal entity name as registered not a trading name or shortened version.
• Not linking to a full Impressum. If your complete Impressum exceeds 2,000 characters, always include a link to the full version on your website. Relying only on Facebook’s truncated text is not sufficient.
• Exceeding the character limit. Text beyond 2,000 characters gets cut off. Always check your character count before saving.
• Using a personal email instead of a business one. Your contact email should be a professional, business-domain email address to maintain credibility and legal standing.

Facebook Impressum Checklist

Before publishing your Impressum, make sure all essential legal details are complete and accurate:

1. Business Address
You will need to provide your business address in order for your customers to contact you. You must provide the full physical address of your business and must not use a PO Box.

2. Email Address
Your email address must be active so that you can receive information from users and/or government authorities.

3. Phone Number
To communicate directly with the public, you will need to add a phone number. This demonstrates transparency and builds trust with the public.

4. Legal Representative Name
To identify the person that is legally responsible for your business, you will need to provide their name (e.g., CEO, founder, or managing director).

5. Registration Number
If you are registered as a business, you will need to provide your registration number and the registration body (e.g., Company Register).

6. VAT ID (if applicable)
If you are a registered business and you are VAT registered, you will need to provide your VAT ID so that you meet legal requirements.

7. Link to the full Impressum page
Because of Facebook’s limits on the number of characters you can use in your Impressum description, you may choose to provide a link to your full Impressum page and provide details of your Impressum. 8. Make sure you do not exceed 2,000 characters.

8. Do not abbreviate your legal entity name
You should not abbreviate your legal entity name (for example “Ltd.” instead of using the complete registered name) and must always use the legally correct name for your entity.

FAQ

The Need for Impressum: Summary 

To summarize the need for Impressum, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that not having an Impressum may leave you in legal trouble if you’re operating your business in a German-speaking country.

Keeping in mind that the law has made it mandatory to add an Impressum, make sure you don’t neglect this factor. If you haven’t added an Impressum on Facebook yet, follow the above-mentioned details, craft an Impressum, and add the same to your business page by following the steps mentioned above.

Also, even if your business isn’t operating in any of the three countries, as stated in this post, adding an Impressum wouldn’t harm you in any way. Rather, it’ll just help your users acquire some additional information about your brand.

To add an Impressum to your WordPress site, choose a popular WordPress plugin like WP Legal Pages for a simple and easy process.

If you’ve liked reading this article, don’t forget to check out other engaging articles:

• Do I Need A Privacy Policy For My Website? – A Beginner’s Guide
• Guide on How To Create Terms And Conditions For An Online Store
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) – Why is it important?

Want to create a free privacy policy for your WordPress website, we recommend using the WPLP Compliance
Platform!