Law · Updated October 2026

Impressum for OG and KG: what Austrian law requires (as of October 2026)

Draft. This page has not been editorially reviewed yet. The legal review is still pending.

Your OG or KG needs the Firma (registered company name), legal form, registered office, company register number and company register court (§ 14 UGB) on its website, plus address, email, contact details, chamber, trade authority, professional rules and UID number (VAT ID) (§ 5 ECG). On top of that comes the disclosure under § 25 MedienG with the business purpose and registered office. If none of the partners with unlimited liability is a natural person, as in a GmbH & Co KG, you must also give the company register details of those partners. You only need the partners and the Blattlinie (editorial line) on a large website. This page is an overview, not legal advice.

What the law requires

§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB
Businesses entered in the Firmenbuch (company register) must state their Firma (registered company name), legal form, registered office, company register number and company register court on their websites. For registered partnerships in which no partner with unlimited liability is a natural person, these details must also be given for the partners with unlimited liability.
§ 5 Abs. 1 ECG
A service provider must keep its name or Firma, geographic address, contact details including email, company register number and court, the supervisory authority if any, chamber/professional title/professional rules and the UID number (VAT ID) if one exists permanently, easily and directly accessible.
§ 25 MedienG
Small website: Firma, the business purpose where applicable, and the registered office. Large website: in addition, the bodies authorised to represent the company (according to the WKO: the managing partners), shareholdings, silent partnerships, trust arrangements and the Blattlinie (editorial line).

Checklist

ItemLegal basis
Firma (registered company name) as in the Firmenbuch§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB; § 5 Abs. 1 Z 1 ECG
Legal form (Offene Gesellschaft or Kommanditgesellschaft, i.e. general or limited partnership) (According to the WKO not strictly needed separately if it is clear from the company name. Add "in Liquidation" where applicable.)§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB
Registered office as in the Firmenbuch§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB; § 25 Abs. 5 MedienG
Company register number (Firmenbuchnummer)§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB; § 5 Abs. 1 Z 4 ECG
Company register court (Firmenbuchgericht)§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB; § 5 Abs. 1 Z 4 ECG
Firma, legal form, registered office, company register number and company register court of the partners with unlimited liability (Only if no partner with unlimited liability is a natural person (e.g. GmbH & Co KG).)§ 14 Abs. 1 UGB
Full geographic address of the establishment§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 2 ECG
Email address§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 3 ECG
A further contact option (e.g. phone)§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 3 ECG
UID number (VAT ID) (If you have one.)§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 7 ECG
Supervisory authority / trade authority (Where official supervision applies; the WKO recommends stating it in every case.)§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 5 ECG
Chamber membership§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 6 ECG
Professional title and state in which it was awarded (If applicable.)§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 6 ECG
Reference to the applicable trade/professional rules and how to access them§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 6 ECG
Business purpose (Unternehmensgegenstand)§ 25 Abs. 5 MedienG
Partners authorised to represent the company (managing partners); for a KG, according to the WKO template, also the general partner (Komplementär) and the limited partners (Kommanditisten) with their shares (Large website only.)§ 25 Abs. 2 MedienG
Shareholdings, silent partnerships, trust arrangements (Large website only.)§ 25 Abs. 2 MedienG
Blattlinie (basic editorial line) (Large website only.)§ 25 Abs. 4 MedienG

Who is exempt

  • According to the WKO, § 63 GewO does not apply to an OG or KG because they are entered in the Firmenbuch (company register) (WKO brochures on the OG and KG, as of August 2025).
  • The additional details on the partners with unlimited liability under § 14 Abs. 1 UGB are not needed if at least one partner with unlimited liability is a natural person.
  • Partners, shareholdings and the Blattlinie (editorial line) are only required for a large website (§ 25 Abs. 5 MedienG).
  • UID number (VAT ID) only if you have one (§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 7 ECG).

Common mistakes

  • The company register number or company register court is missing because you treat the OG like a civil-law partnership (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts).
  • For a GmbH & Co KG, the company register details of the general partner GmbH (Komplementär-GmbH) are missing.
  • The company name on the website differs from the Firmenbuch (company register), e.g. without "OG" or "KG".
  • There's only a contact form instead of an email address.
  • The UID number (VAT ID) is missing even though the partnership has one.
  • Chamber membership, the trade authority or the reference to the Gewerbeordnung with a link is missing.
  • Specialist articles have turned your website into a large website, but the partners and the Blattlinie are missing.

Frequently asked questions

Do the partners of my OG have to be in the Impressum?

Not on a small website. There, under § 25 Abs. 5 MedienG, the Firma, business purpose and registered office are enough, plus the details under the UGB and ECG. On a large website with opinion-forming content, § 25 Abs. 2 MedienG requires the partners authorised to represent the company and the shareholding structure. The WKO template for the OG shows the partners with their percentage shares for this.

What applies to a GmbH & Co KG?

If no partner with unlimited liability is a natural person, § 14 Abs. 1 UGB requires the mandatory details for those partners too. In a GmbH & Co KG, this concerns the general partner GmbH (Komplementär-GmbH): so its Firma, legal form, registered office, company register number and company register court as well. The WKO has a separate Impressum page for the GmbH & Co KG.

We're a GesbR – do these rules apply to us too?

Not directly. § 14 UGB only applies to businesses entered in the Firmenbuch (company register). A Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (civil-law partnership) isn't in the Firmenbuch. The details under § 5 ECG and the disclosure under the Mediengesetz (Media Act) do, however, apply to every commercial website. The WKO offers a separate Impressum page for civil-law partnerships.

Does a KG have to state who is the general partner and who are the limited partners?

Only on a large website. Then § 25 Abs. 2 MedienG requires the partners authorised to represent the company and the shareholding structure. For this, the WKO template for the KG names the personally liable partner and the limited partners (Kommanditisten), each with their share. On a small website that just presents the business, these details aren't needed under Austrian law.

This page is not legal advice. What counts are the laws in force and the information from your chamber or your legal adviser.

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Sources

  1. RIS – § 14 UGB (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  2. RIS – § 5 ECG (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  3. RIS – § 25 MedienG (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  4. WKO – Das korrekte Website Impressum für OG (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  5. WKO – Broschüre (PDF, Stand August 2025), OG (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  6. WKO – Das korrekte Website Impressum für KG (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  7. WKO – Broschüre (PDF, Stand August 2025), KG (retrieved on 3 October 2026)
  8. WKO – Impressumsvorschriften für Websites und E-Mails nach Rechtsform (retrieved on 3 October 2026)

Last checked on 3 October 2026.

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