Legal Information to be Included on Business Stationery
Contact details
It might seem obvious to include as many ways
as possible of making contact with your business: telephone numbers, postal
address and email addresses. Always include your website if you have one;
even if the recipient of your letter or business card doesn't look at it,
its presence increases your credibility.
However, there are some legal requirements that you must observe too.
Sole traders
As a sole trader you may choose to trade under a different name, using the
abbreviation t/a (trading as). So John Smith trading as TileTastic would
include on his letterheads the line:
J Smith t/a TileTastic
In the United States the abbreviation d/b/a (doing business as) is more
common, but either are acceptable in the UK.
Partnerships
All business correspondence from a partnership must state the names of the
partners as well as the address of the principal office. Where it is not
practical to list all of the partners, or if any of them do not wish to be
included in the list, the correspondence must explain where a list of the
partners can be found (at a physical office).
Limited companies
Correspondence from limited companies is the most tightly regulated. It
must include the name of the company, the place of registration, the company's
registration number, the address of the registered office, and the address
where the actual business takes place if not the same as the registered office.
You can choose to include the names of the company's directors, or not.
However, if you choose to include names, you must include all of the directors'
names: you cannot select whom to include and whom to omit.
If the company is in the process of being wound up, this must be stated.
For companies exempt from using the word "Limited" in their names,
they must still state in words that they are a limited company.
All businesses
All firms must include their VAT numbers on invoices and orders, so if you
are VAT registered it is generally advisable to include this information
as part of the printed letterhead.
