Limited companies in the UK must include certain regulatory information on their websites and in their email footers before 1st January 2007 or they will breach the Companies Act and risk a fine.

Whether in hard copy, electronic or any other form:

A company must state its name, in legible lettering, on the following -

  • all the company’s business letters;
  • all its notices and other official publications;
  • all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by, or on behalf of, the company;
  • all its bills of parcels, invoices, receipts and letters of credit
  • on all its websites

On all of its business letters, order forms or any of the company’s web sites, the company must show in legible lettering:

  • its place of registration
  • registered number
  • its registered office address
  • and if it is being wound up, that fact,

Whenever an email is used where its paper equivalent would be caught by the stationery requirements then that email is also subject to the requirements

The above also applies to Limited Liability Partnerships.

Above information taken from http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/promotional/busStationery.shtml

This regulation seems to have come out of nowhere - but it is true, no wind-up or early April fools. The important part to note for webmasters is:

For websites, contrary to the fears of some, the specified information does not need to appear on every page. Again, many websites will already list the required information, perhaps on their ‘About us’ or ‘Legal info’ pages.

As quoted here: http://www.out-law.com/page-7594

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