FTC Guidelines for Influencers: How to Disclose a Brand Deal

The FTC's guidelines say influencers must clearly disclose any material connection to a brand they promote, such as payment, free products, a job or a family tie. The disclosure has to sit in the post itself, in plain words like "ad" or "sponsored," where followers will see it.

The rules come from the FTC's Endorsement Guides, revised in 2023, and its plain-English brochure for creators. This guide turns them into a checklist, then covers platform labels and what happens when a disclosure is missing.

Which FTC rules apply to influencers?

4 documents cover most of what creators do: the Endorsement Guides, the FTC's influencer brochure, its FAQ, and a 2024 rule on fake reviews and fake followers. Brands and their agencies work under the same rules.

• The Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), last revised in July 2023, explain how the FTC applies section 5 of the FTC Act to endorsements. They define an endorsement broadly, and "tags in social media posts" can count (255.0(b)).
• Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, a November 2019 brochure, turns the Guides into do's and don'ts.
• The FTC's FAQ, The Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, dated June 2023, answers platform-by-platform questions.
• The Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465), in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews and the purchase of fake followers and views.

Disclosures 101 is blunt about whose job this is: "As an influencer, it's your responsibility to make these disclosures, to be familiar with the Endorsement Guides, and to comply with laws against deceptive ads. Don't rely on others to do it for you."

When do you have to disclose a brand relationship?

Whenever you have a connection to the brand that your audience wouldn't expect and that could affect how much weight they give your recommendation. Payment and free products are the most common, and they count even when the brand didn't require a post.

The Guides say material connections "can include monetary payment or the provision of free or discounted products (including products unrelated to the endorsed product) to an endorser, regardless of whether the advertiser requires an endorsement in return" (16 CFR 255.5(a)). That covers:

• Fees, commissions and affiliate links.
• Free or discounted products, including ones unrelated to the post.
• Early access to a product, or the chance to be paid or to win a prize.
• Business, employment, family and personal relationships with the brand.

The Guides set no follower minimum. A connection needs disclosing "when a significant minority of the audience for an endorsement does not understand or expect the connection," whatever your audience size.

If you have no relationship with a brand and you're talking about something you bought and like, Disclosures 101 says you don't need to declare that you have no relationship. It also says US law applies to posts from abroad when it's reasonably foreseeable they'll affect US consumers.

Where should the disclosure go?

In the post itself, where people see it without clicking or scrolling. The Guides say a disclosure on social media "should be unavoidable" (255.0(f)).

Disclosures 101 says disclosures "are likely to be missed if they appear only on an ABOUT ME or profile page, at the end of posts or videos, or anywhere that requires a person to click MORE," and tells creators not to mix them into a group of hashtags or links.

For video, it says the disclosure "should be in the video and not just in the description uploaded with the video," and that viewers "are more likely to notice disclosures made in both audio and video." The FAQ adds that a disclosure at the start of a review beats one at the end, and "having multiple disclosures during the video would be even better."

Livestreams need a disclosure "repeated periodically so viewers who only see part of the stream will get the disclosure." To be safe, the FAQ suggests a continuous disclosure for the whole stream.

What words count as a clear disclosure?

Short, plain words in the same language as the post. "Ad," "advertisement," "sponsored" and "Thanks to [Brand] for the free product" all work when they're hard to miss.

Most of that list comes straight from Disclosures 101. The FAQ adds that starting a post with "#ad" "would likely be effective," that "#ambassador" or "partner" is "ambiguous and confusing," and that "paid link" right next to an affiliate link should be adequate.

A "thank you" needs the reason in it. The FAQ explains that thanking a brand "doesn't necessarily communicate that the endorser got something for free," while "Thanks XYZ for the free product" would be good enough if the product is all you received.

Ambassador deals need a disclosure on every sponsored post for as long as they run. Our guide to long-term brand partnerships covers the other terms that belong in those contracts.

Is the platform's paid partnership label enough?

Use it, and add your own words. The FAQ says a platform's tool "is no guarantee that it's an effective way" to disclose, and that "it's always best to add your own disclosure even if a platform offers its own disclosure tool."

The Guides give an example of a label that fails: a built-in disclosure in small white text, on a light image, competing with other text, in a post that shows for 5 seconds. The FTC calls it "easy to miss and thus not clear and conspicuous" (255.0(g), Example 9).

Each platform has its own requirement on top of the FTC's:

• Instagram: for organic branded content, Meta's branded content policies require the paid partnership label with the brand tagged, across Feed, Stories, Reels, Live and broadcast channels. Instagram's branded content guide says gifted products and affiliate links need the label too.
• TikTok: when a post promotes a brand, product or service, TikTok says you must turn on the commercial content disclosure setting, which labels branded content "Paid partnership." Undisclosed commercial content may not be eligible for the For You feed.
• YouTube: select paid promotion in your video details, which adds a disclosure label at the start of the video. YouTube says creators and brands remain responsible for complying with legal requirements.

What else do the FTC rules cover?

What you say about the product, and the numbers you show brands. Disclosure sits alongside rules on honest opinions, proof for claims and fake engagement.

Disclosures 101 lists 3 limits. You can't talk about your experience with a product you haven't tried, you can't call a product terrific if you're paid and thought it was terrible, and you can't make claims that need proof the brand doesn't have, such as scientific proof that a product treats a health condition.

Creators can be liable for those claims themselves (255.1(e)). The Guides' own example is an influencer who tells followers a lotion "cures eczema" without a reasonable basis, and who is "subject to liability" for it, alongside the brand.

The 2024 rule adds a line on numbers. It bans buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as bot followers or views, that you knew or should have known were fake when they misrepresent your influence for a commercial purpose (16 CFR 465.8). Our guide to what brands look for in influencers covers how brands check for it.

Creators with young audiences have one more flag. The Guides say endorsements aimed at children "may be of special concern because of the character of the audience" (255.6).

What happens if you don't disclose?

The FTC can act against the brand, the creator or both, and platforms can limit an undisclosed post's reach. The FTC has also sent warning letters straight to influencers.

Brands carry duties of their own. The Guides say advertisers should guide their endorsers, monitor their compliance and act on problems (16 CFR 255.1(d)), and the FAQ says "action against an individual endorser might be appropriate in certain circumstances."

In November 2023, FTC staff sent warning letters to 2 trade associations and "12 registered dieticians and other online health influencers" over Instagram and TikTok posts that lacked adequate disclosures. Each letter included the FTC's notice of penalty offenses on misleading endorsements and warned of civil penalties of up to $50,120 per violation for future failures to disclose.

That cap is adjusted for inflation, and it stands at $53,088 per violation under 16 CFR 1.98. In December 2025, the FTC warned 10 more companies about possible violations of the 2024 reviews rule, citing the same figure.

Our guide to negotiating brand deals includes the disclosure in the recap email you send before the contract arrives.

Reviewing sponsored posts and contracts is part of our Brand Partnerships and Legal & Business Affairs services. 1DS Management represents 107 creators, athletes and entrepreneurs, and if you'd like a team checking your sponsored content before it goes live, apply for representation.