Impressum without a home address: what content creators should know

Do you need a legal notice?

Many content creators in Germany publish on a business basis, on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, blogs or podcasts. For practically all of them, one rule applies: if you publish online content on a business basis, you need a legal notice (Impressum).

The legal basis is § 5 of the German Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG), which replaced the previous Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz, TMG) in May 2024. The requirements have largely stayed the same, and so have the risks if you get it wrong.

What must go into the legal notice?

The law requires, among other things:

• Your full name (first name and surname; for companies, the company name)
• The address at which you are established (§ 5 (1) no. 1 DDG). In practice this is understood as a serviceable address (ladungsfähige Anschrift): a real, physical address where letters and court documents can actually be delivered to you
• An e-mail address and, where relevant, a phone number, so that people can contact you quickly
• Your VAT identification number (if you have one)
• For certain professions: the professional chamber, professional title and supervisory authority

The key point for many creators: the address must be one where post can actually be delivered. A P.O. box (Postfach) is generally not considered enough.

Does your home address have to go online?

For solo creators without an office, this often means that their home address goes into the legal notice. That is particularly problematic because of:

• Stalking and harassment: a public address makes it easier for hostility online to turn into contact in real life
• Swatting: false emergency calls made to the creator's address
• Unwanted post and visitors: anyone can find the address
• Doxing: personal data is systematically collected and published

The concern is justified, and yet there is no general legal exemption from the obligation to publish a legal notice.

Is a c/o address an option?

One alternative to your home address is a so-called c/o address (care of). You use the address of a third party where letters are actually received and passed on to you.

Whether a c/o address is enough under § 5 DDG is not settled, because the law asks for the address at which you are established. There is no guarantee that a c/o address will be accepted. As a minimum, the address should meet these conditions:

• Post must actually be received at the address
• Post must reliably reach you
• The address must not be a mere P.O. box

Purely virtual office addresses where nobody accepts post do not meet these conditions and can lead to warning letters (Abmahnungen). If you are unsure, have a lawyer check your legal notice.

What can a missing legal notice cost?

The risk of a warning letter for a missing or incorrect legal notice is real. Possible consequences:

• The sender's legal costs: competitors can no longer claim these for breaches of statutory information duties in digital services (§ 13 (4) Act against Unfair Competition, UWG), but other senders, such as qualified associations, still can
• A cease-and-desist declaration (Unterlassungserklärung): it binds you for the long term
• A contractual penalty if you breach the declaration again
• Court proceedings if the matter is not settled

Competitors and certain associations sometimes check legal notices systematically.

What can PortoDoc do for your legal notice, and what not?

A postal address for letters: with PortoDoc you get your postal address in Ahrensburg near Hamburg with your personal PD number. It is a postal address for letters, not a business, registered office or legal notice (Impressum) address. We receive letters sent there for you and digitise them.

You are not established at your PortoDoc address, and § 5 DDG asks for the address at which you are established. PortoDoc therefore does not replace the address in your legal notice, and gives no legal advice.

Which address belongs in your legal notice is best checked with a lawyer.

How are your letters handled?

1. Letters are received: every letter sent to your PortoDoc address is accepted for you
2. Digitisation: we scan each letter and you can read it in your online account. You get an e-mail when a new letter arrives
3. AI classification: an AI-based, non-binding traffic light (red = urgent, yellow = action needed, green = for information) can mark warning letters and official letters as urgent
4. AI deadline hints: From the Business plan, an AI deadline hint marks possible deadlines, such as a deadline to respond: a non-binding aid. The letter itself is what counts, and you check every deadline yourself
5. Originals: we keep the paper original safely for 90 days after scanning, then destroy it. If you need it, we forward it to you: €4.90 within Germany, €7.90 abroad (letters up to 20 g), postage included

What do content creators gain?

• Privacy for your post: business letters do not have to go to your home address
• Spot warning letters early: no unpleasant surprises after a holiday, because you can read new letters online wherever you are
• Flexible when you move: your postal address stays the same, even if you move

What changes if you move abroad?

Moving abroad as a content creator, whether as a digital nomad, as an emigrant or for a sabbatical, brings a double problem:

1. The legal notice obligation can continue to apply, especially if you remain established in Germany. Which country's rules apply after a move depends, among other things, on where you are established (country-of-origin principle, § 3 DDG); ask a lawyer if you are unsure
2. Official letters (from the tax office (Finanzamt), the trade office (Gewerbeamt), and warning letters) still arrive at an address in Germany

With PortoDoc you have one German postal address for official letters and your other post, available digitally from anywhere in the world. Your legal notice needs the address at which you are established, not your PortoDoc address.

Conclusion

The legal notice obligation under § 5 DDG is not negotiable. Whether your home address has to be published is worth checking with a lawyer: a c/o address can be an option, but whether it is accepted is not settled.

PortoDoc gives you a delivery address for letters in Germany and digital access to your post from anywhere. It is not a business, registered office or legal notice address, and it does not replace legal advice. For creators who travel a lot or live abroad, it means one address for official letters and other post, readable wherever you are.