Affiliate/Sheet

FTC Disclosure Rules for Affiliate Marketing

The FTC asks affiliate marketers to disclose a material connection clearly and close to the link. Here is what that means in practice.

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You put an affiliate link in a post. The reader clicks it and buys. Do you owe them a warning first? The FTC has answered this in its Endorsement Guides and its influencer guide. FTC disclosure for affiliate marketing comes down to one idea. If a connection might affect how much weight your endorsement gets, say so.

What the FTC asks you to disclose

The FTC Endorsement Guides say to disclose a connection that might affect how much weight an endorsement gets. These are called material connections.

The Guides say a material connection can be a business, family, or personal relationship. FTC staff say it can also rest on friendship, family, or employment, not only money. The FTC's influencer guide says a financial relationship includes free or discounted products, not only money.

So a commission is a material connection. So is a free product you were given, even if the brand asked for nothing in return. FTC staff say you should disclose a free product even if you think it does not affect your review.

The disclosure need not give complete details. The Guides say it must show the nature of the connection. A reader needs to know you get paid when they buy, not the size of your payout.

When you do not need a disclosure

The FTC's influencer guide says no disclosure is needed when you just talk about a product you bought and like. FTC staff say a blogger who mentions a product they paid for themselves has no disclosure issue. If you bought it yourself and earn nothing from your link, the FTC's influencer guide says no disclosure is needed.

The line is the connection. Did the brand give you anything, or do you earn from the click? Then disclose.

Where the disclosure must appear

Placement matters too. The FTC's influencer guide says to place a disclosure with the endorsement message itself. A disclosure is likely to be missed on an About Me page or after a click on More.

For video, the guide says a disclosure should be in the video and not only in the description. FTC staff say a disclosure in a video description alone is not enough. For affiliate links, FTC staff say to disclose both in the video and in the description near the links.

For a live stream, the guide says to repeat the disclosure from time to time.

FTC staff say the closer a disclosure is to your recommendation, the better. They also say a disclosure buried in a long post or mixed with hashtags is easier to miss.

Which words count as clear disclosures

The FTC's influencer guide says words like ad, advertisement, and sponsored are clear disclosures. A hashtag such as #ad is fine but not necessary. FTC staff say there is nothing special about hashtags, and #ad and ad at the start of a post are probably equal.

FTC staff say #ad works for both a paid post and a free product.

For affiliate links, the words are trickier. FTC staff say consumers might not understand that affiliate link means the poster gets paid. They say paid link right next to an affiliate link should be an adequate disclosure. They say commissionable link is probably not a clear disclosure.

One example from FTC staff: a blogger can say something like, I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. That names the connection plainly.

The guide says to avoid vague terms like sp, spon, or collab. If a reader has to guess what you meant, the words are not clear.

Why not to rely on platform disclosure tools alone

TikTok's policy counts a product you earn a commission on, such as through an affiliate link or promotional code, as branded content. It says you must turn on the commercial content disclosure toggle when you post branded content. TikTok's page says its new Branded Content Policy comes into effect on 31 August 2026.

YouTube says you must select the paid promotion button if your video features branded content, sponsorships, or endorsements. The button adds a disclosure label at the beginning of your video.

Both platforms tell you to follow the law. TikTok's policy says you are responsible for making sure your branded content follows all applicable laws. YouTube says you and your partners must follow all applicable legal requirements. It points creators to the Federal Trade Commission in the United States.

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

What affiliates are responsible for

FTC staff say the responsibility to disclose rests with the influencer and the brand, not the platform. The FTC's influencer guide says it is the influencer's responsibility to make disclosures. It says not to rely on others.

The Endorsement Guides say endorsers may be liable for statements made in their endorsements. Your name is on the post. The disclosure is yours to make.

The same honesty applies to the product claims themselves. TikTok's Branded Content Policy took effect on 31 August 2026. It says you must not make false, deceptive or misleading claims about products. Say what you think and why, disclose the connection near the link, and let the reader decide.

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