Legal name vs trading name: what your store should show
Show both names on your store: the brand shoppers know and the legal company behind it, joined in one plain line in the footer and on the contact page. Google’s onboarding checklist asks for the full legal business name where possible, and asks EU businesses to show their VAT or company number in the footer. “Acme Home is a trading name of Acme Retail Ltd” answers the first question a wary shopper asks.
Why this matters
Google's “Prepare your business and website for Merchant Center onboarding and reviews” checklist is the most direct page on this. Under business transparency it says: “Display the full legal business name if possible.” and “For businesses located within the European Union, ensure your official tax identifiers (such as VAT or CRN) are clearly visible in the website footer.” If one company runs several sites, it asks that each “clearly discloses affiliations”.
The Merchant Center name field works the other way round. “About adding a business name” asks for a short name of up to 40 characters, without suffixes such as Inc., Co. or GmbH. So Merchant Center gets the trading name, and the site carries both: the trading name everywhere, and the legal name beside it in the footer, on the contact page and in the terms. The “Building trust with your customers” page ties them together when it asks you to “avoid any mismatches in your registered business and domain name”. If Google asks you to verify, your documents are in the legal name, so the link between the two has to be visible; document verification has the detail.
This is where honest stores trip up. The brand is on every page, the company is nowhere, and a shopper, or anyone comparing your documents with your site, has to guess that Acme Home and Acme Retail Ltd are one business. Product Experts on Google's Merchant Center Community advise: “Wherever you show your address or contact details, add your business name.” Do it with both names and there is nothing left to guess. Business name in Merchant Center covers the short name itself.
The free scan flags a footer with too little to identify the business, a store with no About page linked, and business details in your structured data that disagree with the footer. It does not read your registration documents, so the legal name is yours to check against them. See every identity check on the misrepresentation checker.
Typical evidence
What a usable footer looks like
A public scan can read this strip on every page. A brand name alone proves nothing; give shoppers reachable, checkable business details and keep supporting records for them.
The public signals this check looks for:
The site shows the brand everywhere and never names the company that takes the money
The site shows the brand everywhere and never names the company that takes the money.
The terms and the privacy policy name a company the footer never mentions
The terms and the privacy policy name a company the footer never mentions.
One company runs two or more stores, and none of them says so
One company runs two or more stores, and none of them says so.
A store based in the EU shows no VAT or company registration number in the footer
A store based in the EU shows no VAT or company registration number in the footer.
The company changed its name, or the business moved to a new company, and the footer still…
The company changed its name, or the business moved to a new company, and the footer still shows the old one.
The legal name appears only in an image, a PDF or a collapsed accordion
The legal name appears only in an image, a PDF or a collapsed accordion.
What it looks like once it is right
The footer reads “Acme Home is a trading name of Acme Retail Ltd · Company no. 01234567 · 4 Mill Lane, Leeds LS1 4AB”, and the terms, privacy policy and contact page name the same company.
Common mistakes
Common mistake
Fix checklist
Could a stranger look you up?
The footer line should carry enough — legal name plus company number — that anyone can pull your record off the public register in a single search.
Questions merchants ask
Do I need to show my legal company name on my store for Google Merchant Center?
Google's onboarding checklist asks you to “Display the full legal business name if possible.” and its Building trust page asks for the official business name you use across the web. The simplest way is one line in the footer and on the contact page linking the trading name to the company.
Should the Merchant Center business name be the legal name or the brand?
Usually the brand. Google's business-name rules ask for a short name of up to 40 characters, without suffixes such as Inc., Co. or GmbH; it is the name shoppers see in your ads and listings. The legal name belongs on the site, in your payments profile and on your documents.
Do EU stores need a VAT or company number in the footer?
Google's onboarding checklist asks businesses located within the European Union to make sure their official tax identifiers, such as a VAT number or company registration number, are clearly visible in the website footer. Add whichever applies to your business, as text.
Remediation
Risk signal
Similar cases
Sources
Community guidance
Written by Product Experts, the users Google recognises for their answers on its Merchant Center Community forum. Often stricter than Google’s help pages, and not Google policy.
Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026.
That is one issue. The library documents 134.
The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.