What the FTC Endorsement Guides Say About a Sponsored Post

What are the FTC Endorsement Guides?

Codified at 16 CFR Part 255, the FTC Endorsement Guides are the Federal Trade Commission's administrative interpretation of Section 5 of the FTC Act as it applies to endorsements and testimonials in advertising. 255.0(a) opens: "The Guides in this part represent administrative interpretations of laws enforced by the Federal Trade Commission for the guidance of the public in conducting its affairs in conformity with legal requirements."

The current version dates to 26 July 2023, published at 88 FR 48092 and effective on publication. The CFR source note for Part 255 reads "88 FR 48102, July 26, 2023."

Are the FTC Endorsement Guides enforceable on their own?

No. 255.0(a) says they "provide the basis for voluntary compliance with the law by advertisers and endorsers", and that "practices inconsistent with these Guides may result in corrective action by the Commission under section 5 if, after investigation, the Commission has reason to believe that the practices fall within the scope of conduct declared unlawful by the statute."

The mechanism matters more than the label. Nobody is charged with violating 255.5. The Commission brings a deception case under Section 5, and Part 255 is the published account of how it reads Section 5 first. So a post departing from the Guides is not automatically unlawful, and a post following them has been cleared by nobody. 255.0(a) ends on facts: "Whether a particular endorsement or testimonial is deceptive will depend on the specific factual circumstances of the advertisement at issue."

Two neighboring instruments do carry their own teeth, which matters when a team builds a social media compliance process. 16 CFR Part 465, the Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, is a trade regulation rule under 15 U.S.C. 57a, effective 21 October 2024 at 89 FR 68034, and it penalizes fake and suppressed reviews directly. The Commission has separately warned more than 700 companies, in October 2021, of penalties "up to $43,792 per violation" for endorsement conduct.

What counts as an endorsement under the Guides?

255.0(b) draws a wide boundary: an endorsement is "any advertising, marketing, or promotional message for a product that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings, or experiences of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser." The same paragraph counts "tags in social media posts" as a form one can take, and 255.0(d) defines "product" to include "any product, service, brand, company, or industry".

Nothing there requires a recommendation in words. Example 8 in 255.0(g) takes a paid game streamer: "the game play is considered an endorsement because the apparent enjoyment is implicitly a recommendation." That reach is why influencer partnerships get scoped by relationship, not by post type.

When does a material connection have to be disclosed?

255.5(a) gives the test in one sentence: "When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement, and that connection is not reasonably expected by the audience, such connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously."

Both halves have to hold. The paragraph counts "a business, family, or personal relationship" alongside payment and free or discounted products, and sets the threshold below a majority: "A material connection needs to be disclosed when a significant minority of the audience for an endorsement does not understand or expect the connection."

Expectation is judged per surface. Example 12 in 255.5(b) needs no disclosure for a podcast host reading an obvious commercial, then adds that this "has no bearing on whether there has to be a disclosure in the social media post." Example 3 puts the same duty on a brand reposting a paid creator's post, which is where whitelisting social media assets meet Part 255.

What does clear and conspicuous mean for a social post?

255.0(f) defines it as a disclosure that is "difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable) and easily understandable by ordinary consumers." A visual disclosure "should stand out from any accompanying text or other visual elements so that it is easily noticed, read, and understood", and in "an interactive electronic medium, such as social media or the internet, the disclosure should be unavoidable." The examples under 255.0(g) rule on placements social teams ship.

Where does the FTC say to put the disclosure?

FTC staff answered that in Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, dated November 2019. Footnote 1 to 255.0(a) says staff business guidance "is updated periodically but is not approved by or binding upon the Commission."

The staff position is blunt. "The disclosure should be placed with the endorsement message itself", and "Don't mix your disclosure into a group of hashtags or links." In video it "should be in the video and not just in the description"; in a live stream it "should be repeated periodically".

Reach is not limited to US accounts: staff apply US law to a post from abroad where an effect on US consumers is reasonably foreseeable, much as EU AI Act Article 50 reaches a US team whose output lands in the Union. Deciding disclosure per post and keeping that decision retrievable is what a social media content calendar is for.

Who is liable, the brand or the creator?

Both, plus the agency in between. 255.1(d) puts advertisers "subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements or for failing to disclose unexpected material connections between themselves and their endorsers". An advertiser "may be liable for a deceptive endorsement even when the endorser is not liable." The paragraph tells advertisers to guide their endorsers, monitor compliance and remedy failures, then withholds the reward: "While not a safe harbor, good faith and effective guidance, monitoring, and remedial action should reduce the incidence of deceptive claims."

255.1(e) reaches the endorser, liable "when an endorser makes a representation that the endorser knows or should know to be deceptive". 255.1(f) reaches everyone between: "Advertising agencies, public relations firms, review brokers, reputation management companies, and other similar intermediaries may be liable." Firms doing social media management for agencies sit inside that sentence on every client account.

This page reports what Part 255 and FTC staff guidance say. It is not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Are the FTC Endorsement Guides law?

The Guides are administrative interpretations, not independently enforceable rules. 255.0(a) calls them "administrative interpretations of laws enforced by the Federal Trade Commission" that "provide the basis for voluntary compliance". The enforceable provision is Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45.

When were the FTC Endorsement Guides last revised?

The final revised Guides were published on 26 July 2023 at 88 FR 48092, effective the same day, and the CFR source note for Part 255 reads "88 FR 48102, July 26, 2023." The previous revision, at 74 FR 53124, took effect on 1 December 2009. The 2023 revision added 255.6, on endorsements directed to children.

Does "#ad" satisfy the FTC Endorsement Guides?

FTC staff call it "fine (but not necessary) to include a hashtag with the disclosure, such as #ad or #sponsored." 255.0(f) still requires the disclosure to be "difficult to miss" and, in an interactive medium, "unavoidable", and staff say not to "mix your disclosure into a group of hashtags or links."

Do I have to disclose a free product I was never asked to post about?

255.5(a) covers free or discounted products given to an endorser "regardless of whether the advertiser requires an endorsement in return." Example 7 applies that to an unsolicited lathe sent to a woodworking creator: if a significant minority of viewers do not know it was free, "the woodworker should clearly and conspicuously disclose receiving it for free."

Does a brand have to disclose when it reposts a creator's paid post?

Example 3(iii) in 255.5(b) addresses that. Where the creator's original post carried no clear and conspicuous disclosure, or one that does not survive the repost, the brand "should clearly and conspicuously disclose its relationship" in the repost.

Do the Guides apply to a creator posting from outside the United States?

FTC staff guidance answers on foreseeability: "If posting from abroad, U.S. law applies if it's reasonably foreseeable that the post will affect U.S. consumers." The instrument applied is Section 5 of the FTC Act. That guidance is staff guidance, which footnote 1 to 255.0(a) says is "not approved by or binding upon the Commission."

How big can the fine be for an undisclosed sponsorship?

In October 2021 the FTC warned more than 700 companies that failing to disclose a paid endorsement could draw penalties "up to $43,792 per violation." That figure comes from a Section 5 enforcement action, not a citation under 255.5, since nobody gets charged with violating Part 255 itself. The Commission reaches the same conduct through the statute, and Part 255 is the published record of how it reads that statute before it does.

Is tagging a brand in a photo enough to count as an endorsement?

255.0(b) draws the boundary wide enough to include "tags in social media posts" as a form an endorsement can take. The definition covers any marketing message consumers are likely to read as reflecting someone else's genuine opinion, and a tag linking a paid partner to a photo carries that same weight. The disclosure duty in 255.5 attaches regardless of format, so the question is what connection sits behind the tag, not what shape the post takes.

Does gameplay footage count as an endorsement without any words of praise?

Example 8 under 255.0(g) treats a paid game streamer's footage as an endorsement "because the apparent enjoyment is implicitly a recommendation." No spoken praise is required. The Guides read consumer perception rather than the endorser's words, so an enthusiastic reaction on camera can carry the same disclosure duty as a written review.

What counts as a "significant minority" of the audience under 255.5?

255.5(a) sets the disclosure threshold below a majority: a material connection needs disclosing "when a significant minority of the audience for an endorsement does not understand or expect the connection." The Guides attach no number to that share, so the test turns on whether that portion of viewers would be misled, not on hitting a set percentage. A connection can still require disclosure even where most viewers already assume it exists.