Local, British, family-run: what you can say about your firm online

The short answer

Nearly all of it is fine, as long as it is true and you could prove it. “Local”, “established since” and “British-made” are claims a customer takes as fact, so keep the paperwork behind them. Obvious opinion, the kind nobody would take literally, gets more room. Rankings like “number one” do not.

The rules cover your own website and Facebook Page

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces the CAP Code, the rulebook for non-broadcast adverts in the UK. Since 1 March 2011 that has covered the claims firms make on their own websites and in other space they control online, like a Facebook Page, as well as paid adverts. When it announced the change, the ASA said it applies to UK company websites regardless of sector or size.

So the About page on your site counts. The bio on your Facebook Page counts. The line on a leaflet counts. There is no small-firm exemption, and that is no bad thing, because the rules exist mostly to stop firms pretending to be you.

The test: would a customer read it as fact

Three rules do most of the work.

• Rule 3.1: marketing must not materially mislead, or be likely to.
• Rule 3.7: before you publish, you must hold documentary evidence for any claim a customer is likely to read as objective.
• Rule 3.2: obvious exaggeration, which the code calls “puffery”, is allowed if the average customer is unlikely to take it literally and it does not materially mislead.

The ASA judges what the average customer would understand, not what you meant. Its advice on the word “best” shows how that cuts both ways. “The best since 2004” on a pillowcase advert was read as opinion. “The UK’s best value unlimited iPhone deal” was read as a price comparison, which needs proof.

Rankings are where tradespeople slip. The ASA’s advice on superlatives says “No. 1”, “leading” and “best-selling” are generally treated as objective claims, particularly when unqualified, and are likely to need evidence on market share or sales. It upheld a complaint about the AA calling itself “the UK’s number 1 breakdown service provider” because the AA did not have its competitors’ membership figures to compare.

Here is how we would read it for a trade. “Tidy work, every time” is a boast nobody measures. “Wigan’s number one electrician” sounds like a fact about a league table that does not exist. Drop the second one and you lose nothing.

Saying you are local

This is the claim that matters most to a tradesperson, and the rules are on your side.

The ASA’s advice on ghost addresses, published in September 2024, says a firm that claims or implies it is “local” to a place would typically need to show a permanent registered office or branch there. A mail forwarding address does not count. Neither does a serviced office listed in several towns, or having someone available to send out with no premises behind them.

The cases are worth knowing because they read like a list of what genuine local firms are up against:

• In 2014 the ASA ruled against a locksmith trading as Farnham Locksmiths, whose site promised “a local service” and showed a Farnham address and phone number. It could not show a permanent trading address in Farnham, so the adverts broke rules 3.1, 3.3 and 3.7.
• In 2019 it ruled against Wandsworth Plumbers, which claimed local presence while based in East London.
• In July 2024 it ruled against several locksmith websites that listed addresses with Google Maps pins and shop photos, with no evidence the business operated from any of them.

The same advice notes that informal touches like handwritten text, casual wording and a mobile number can give the impression of a small local business, and can mislead if that impression is false. In other words, looking like a one-van firm is something the rules protect, because the real one-van firms have earned it.

So if you are based in Stockport, say so. If you cover a wider patch, the ASA’s advice says it is fine to describe the areas you operate in, as long as nothing implies premises you do not have. “Based in Stockport, covering Cheadle, Bramhall and Hazel Grove” is honest and clear. A separate page for each of twenty towns, each one implying you have an office there, is the pattern the ASA keeps ruling against.

One more rule touches this. Rule 3.4.2 says that when an advert quotes a price, it must show the firm’s identity, trading name if different, business address and any business email address. If you put prices on your site, your address should be on it too. A limited company already has to show its registered office online, as our guide to looking like a proper local firm covers.

Made in Britain, British-made, and the flag

Most tradespeople sell a service, so “made in Britain” mostly comes up when you are talking about what you fit. A kitchen fitter saying “British-made kitchens” or a joiner saying “all timber sourced in the UK” is making a factual claim about where something comes from.

In September 2021 the ASA published advice on country of origin claims. It says phrases like “made in Britain” or “built in the UK” need care where the making happens elsewhere. If you fit units from a British manufacturer, keep whatever the supplier gives you that says where they are made. If you are not sure, say what you know: “we fit units from a manufacturer in Yorkshire” is a claim you can stand behind.

The Union Flag is fine to use as well, with one condition. The same advice says firms may show national flags provided customers are not misled about where a product comes from. The ASA ruled against a website that put the flag prominently at the top of its landing page beside product names, because it implied the goods were made or distributed in the UK when neither was true. A flag next to “independent, Manchester-based firm” is a fact. A flag next to imported fittings, with nothing else said, can read as a claim about the fittings.

Leave the Royal Arms alone. Rule 3.52 says you must not falsely claim approval from any public or private body, and the ASA’s origin advice points out that using Royal Arms or emblems needs permission from the Lord Chamberlain’s office.

Established since, and years on the tools

“Established 1998” is one of the best trust lines a firm can have. It is also one the ASA treats as a fact you must prove.

Its advice on “established since” claims says a firm claiming it has been established for a certain time should hold documentary evidence, because customers take comfort from a long history, especially where failed firms are common. Company registration documents, old receipts and domain registration dates are the kinds of evidence it mentions.

A change of trading name or a move of premises does not break the history, according to the same advice, as long as you can show the business kept trading. Buying a business is different. A firm that buys another and wants to claim its history should show it took on the old firm’s liabilities, paying its debts and honouring its guarantees. The ASA rejected a heritage claim by the firm that bought the Victoria Plum brand, because the business was not bought as a going concern and earlier customers’ orders went unfulfilled.

For most tradespeople the honest fix is to keep two facts apart. Say a plasterer in Oldham has 20 years in the trade and set up his own firm three years ago. “20 years’ experience” describes him. “Established 2005” describes the firm, and would not be true. “Plastering for 20 years, trading as Oldham Plastering since 2023” says both, and the first half is the bit customers care about anyway.

Family-run, and other things about you

We could not find ASA advice aimed specifically at “family-run” or “family business”, so here is how we would treat it. It reads as a plain statement of fact about who owns and runs the firm, and rule 3.7 says factual claims need evidence. If it is you, your son and your brother-in-law, it is true and it is a good line. If the family sold up years ago, leave it off.

The same goes for “fully insured”, “fully qualified” and “approved installer”. Each is a fact a customer could ask you to show. Have the certificate ready.

Badges and reviews

Scheme logos are approval claims, so rule 3.52 applies: show only the schemes you belong to. Putting your registration number next to each badge makes the claim checkable in seconds, which is the point. Our guide to Gas Safe, NICEIC, NAPIT and TrustMark explains how to show them properly.

Reviews have their own rules. Rule 3.45 says marketing must make clear where reviews have been incentivised. Separately, the Competition and Markets Authority’s guidance on reviews and endorsements says new consumer law that came into force in April 2025 made fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews a banned practice. No writing your own, no paying for them, no hidden freebies in return for five stars. If you are unsure how that applies to you, the CMA has a short guide for businesses, and your solicitor can confirm the detail.

What happens if someone complains

Most problems end with the ASA asking for the claim to be changed or removed. Its sanctions page says that for firms that will not comply, it can list them on its website (and make sure that listing shows up in search results), ask search engines to pull their paid adverts, work with social platforms to remove content, and refer persistent cases to Trading Standards.

If you want a view before you publish, the CAP Copy Advice team looks at non-broadcast adverts for free, with a standard turnaround of three to five working days. Its advice is not binding on you, CAP or the ASA, but it is a sensible second opinion on a claim you are unsure about. None of this is legal advice, and for anything that matters to your business, a solicitor confirms it for your case.

A quick check before you post

Read each line on your website, your Google listing and your Facebook Page, and ask one question: could a customer take this as fact? If yes, could you show them the proof tomorrow? A company record, a supplier’s spec sheet, a scheme certificate, a review platform’s page. If you could, keep it and say it proudly. If you could not, rewrite it into something you can.

What to do next

Pick the three proudest lines on your website, the ones about where you are, how long you have been going and what you fit, and put the proof for each in one folder. Anything without proof gets reworded today. If you would like us to look over your site and Facebook Page for claims that could trip you up, send us the free check-up and we will tell you what we would change.