Affiliate/Sheet

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Rules and Examples

What the Amazon Associates agreement requires you to say, where the FTC wants the disclosure to sit, and what a clear example looks like.

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Amazon Associates
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An Amazon affiliate disclosure is the short statement that tells your readers you earn from qualifying purchases made through your links. Two rulebooks apply. The Amazon Associates agreement says what to say. The FTC says where it must sit. This page covers both, for Amazon links in particular. The general FTC rules have their own page on FTC affiliate disclosure requirements.

What an Amazon affiliate disclosure is

When you join the Amazon affiliate program, you place links to Amazon and earn from qualifying purchases. A disclosure is the line on your site or video that says so. It is a plain statement about your connection to Amazon. It says nothing about the product itself.

The FTC Endorsement Guides say you must disclose a connection that might affect how much weight an endorsement gets. The disclosure need not give complete details, but it must show the nature of the connection. Earning a commission on a sale is that kind of connection.

What the Amazon Associates agreement requires you to say

The agreement names one required statement. It says the required statement is: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Use those words. The agreement also sets limits on what you may imply. You may not imply that Amazon supports, sponsors, or endorses you. So do not write that Amazon supports, sponsors, or endorses your site.

The agreement also says Amazon customers are not your customers. Your disclosure is about your link, not about any special relationship with Amazon. And the stakes are real. The agreement says that if you break it, Amazon may stop paying all commission income owed to you.

The agreement lets you place links on your website, social media content, app, or Alexa skill. Wherever the link sits, the disclosure should sit with it. See Amazon affiliate commission rates.

Where the disclosure has to appear

The FTC's influencer guide says to place a disclosure with the endorsement message itself. It is the influencer's responsibility to make disclosures, and not to rely on others.

Placement rules from the FTC's influencer guide and FTC staff:

  • A disclosure is likely to be missed on an About Me page or after a click on More.
  • A video disclosure should be in the video, not only in the description.
  • FTC staff say a disclosure in a video description alone is not enough. Disclose both in the video and in the description near the links.
  • A live stream disclosure should be repeated from time to time.
  • The closer a disclosure is to your recommendation, the better.
  • A disclosure buried in a long post or mixed with hashtags is easier to miss.

Do not assume a platform's disclosure tool is good enough. The FTC's influencer guide says so directly. FTC staff say it is best to add your own disclosure even if a platform offers a tool.

What an Amazon affiliate disclosure example looks like

FTC staff say a blogger can say something like, I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Pair that with the Amazon statement and you have a clear example:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

For a video, disclose in the video itself and in the description near the links.

Mistakes that make a disclosure unclear

Some shortcuts fail. FTC staff say consumers might not understand that affiliate link means the poster gets paid. So the phrase affiliate link on its own is risky. FTC staff say commissionable link is probably not a clear disclosure either.

What does work? FTC staff say paid link right next to an affiliate link should be an adequate disclosure. The lesson is to name the payment in plain words, close to the link.

Other common mistakes:

  • Putting the disclosure only on an About page.
  • Hiding it at the end of a long post.
  • Mixing it into a block of hashtags.
  • Relying only on a platform tool.

Do you disclose if you bought the product yourself?

Not always. The FTC's influencer guide says no disclosure is needed when you just talk about a product you bought and like. The disclosure is about the money, not the opinion. If you earn a commission on the link, disclose.

Where to read the full FTC rules

This page covers Amazon links. The wider rules for every program are on the page about FTC affiliate disclosure requirements. See also affiliate programs for bloggers and creators. Read how Amazon Associates works.

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