What must a Croatian company or sole trader website show? A checklist

Croatian law requires your business website to include certain details. Here is exactly what, where the rules come from, and how to check it all in 10 minutes.

You built a website so customers can find you. But it is also your official shop window as far as the law is concerned: Croatian regulations require certain company details to be on it. Most small businesses copy a competitor's footer and hope for the best. Here is how to get it right in five minutes, over coffee.

Why you need this at all

Two laws matter most. The first is the Croatian Electronic Commerce Act (Zakon o elektroničkoj trgovini): Article 6 requires anyone who provides services online — including an ordinary company or sole-trader website — to give users and the authorities direct and permanent access to basic information about themselves. The second is the Companies Act (Zakon o trgovačkim društvima): Article 21 sets out what must appear on business stationery (letters, invoices), and an amendment in 2007 (Official Gazette NN 107/07) explicitly added that the same applies to the content of the company's website.

In practice: your company details must not be buried in a PDF five clicks deep. They need to be clearly visible and always accessible.

What every business and sole trader must show

Under Article 6 of the Electronic Commerce Act, your website should include:

• Business name — the full registered name, not just a brand name or logo.
• Registered seat of the sole trader or legal entity — the address.
• Contact details for quick communication, including an email address for direct contact. A contact form alone is not the same as an email address.
• Registration number in the court or other public register (e.g. the MBS number for a d.o.o., or the craft register details for a sole trader), and which register it is.
• Tax number, if you are registered for VAT.
• If your activity is subject to official supervision — details of the supervising authority.
• If you are a regulated profession (e.g. architects, engineers, lawyers) — your chamber or professional body, professional title and the country that granted it, and a reference to the professional rules.

The same article adds a rule on prices: if you show them, they must be clear and state whether tax, delivery and other costs are included.

Extra requirements for a d.o.o. or d.d.

For limited companies, Article 21 of the Companies Act asks for more. Business stationery, and therefore the company website, should show:

1. company name and registered seat;
2. the court where the company is entered in the court register and the registration number (MBS);
3. the name and seat of the bank and the account number;
4. the amount of share capital and whether it has been paid in full (or how much is unpaid);
5. the surname and at least one first name of every management board member (for a d.o.o., the directors);
6. for a d.d., also the total number of shares issued and, if they have a nominal value, that value.

A little-known detail: Article 21 does not mention the OIB (personal identification number). Many websites list it anyway, which is fine, but the obligation under this article is met by the details above.

Privacy and cookies: the other half of the story

Company details are not your only obligation. As soon as your website collects personal data — a contact form, newsletter sign-up, an order — Article 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires you to tell visitors who processes the data, for what purpose, on what legal basis, how long you keep it and what their rights are. This is usually handled with a "Privacy policy" page linked from the footer and next to every form.

For cookies there is a simple rule, also explained on the EU's Your Europe portal: for cookies that are not essential to running the site (analytics, advertising, tracking), you need the visitor's consent before they are set. A banner that just says "we use cookies" with a single "OK" button does not meet that.

A 10-minute check

Open your website on your phone and go through this list:

• Does the footer show the full registered name of the company or sole trader, not just a logo?
• Is the registered address there?
• Is there a visible email address (not only a form)?
• Are the register and registration number listed (MBS or craft register details)?
• If you are VAT-registered — is your tax number shown?
• For a d.o.o.: registry court, bank and IBAN, share capital (paid or not), director's name?
• Are the details current? A new director, a move or a new bank are often forgotten on the website.
• Is there a privacy policy, and is it linked next to your forms?
• Does the site ask for consent before analytics and marketing cookies?

Tip: put all required details on a separate "Legal notice" or "About the company" page and link it from the footer of every page. That keeps them permanently accessible while the design stays clean. If your site needs a more thorough overhaul, see how we approach website design.

What if something is missing

Don't panic, but don't put it off. These details are mostly footer text — fixing them takes half an hour. Get an extract from the court or craft register, copy the details exactly as they appear there, and ask whoever maintains your website to add them. If you are unsure about your situation (a regulated activity, an online shop, selling abroad), check with your accountant or a lawyer — this article is a practical guide, not legal advice.

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