How to Disclose Sponsored Posts (FTC Rules, 2026)
Most disclosure mistakes aren't malicious — they're a #ad dropped at the bottom of thirty hashtags, or a #collab that the creator assumed was enough. The FTC's standard is simple to state and easy to get wrong: the disclosure must be clear and conspicuous. Here's what that means in practice, and how to check a post in seconds.
Free FTC disclosure checker — paste a sponsored post's caption and see whether the #ad disclosure is clear and conspicuous enough, with specific fixes. No signup.
Use language people actually understand
"#ad" and "#sponsored" are the safest choices. "Paid partnership with [brand]" is even clearer. Avoid abbreviations and insider shorthand — #sp, #spon, #collab, #ambassador — which the FTC has said don't adequately communicate a paid relationship to an ordinary viewer.
Put it where it can't be missed
Lead with the disclosure. On feed captions that means the first line, before the "…more" fold. In video, disclose both in the description and verbally or on-screen, since many viewers never read the description. In Stories, superimpose the disclosure on the frame long enough to read.
Bake it into the brief
The most reliable way to keep every post compliant is to require the disclosure in the campaign brief and the agreement, specify the exact wording and placement, and check the post before it publishes. That turns disclosure from an afterthought into a deliverable.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly should the disclosure go?
At the very start of the caption, before the point where the platform truncates it behind a "more" link — roughly the first 125 characters on Instagram and TikTok.
Does the platform's "Paid partnership" tag cover me?
It helps, but the FTC recommends also including a disclosure in the caption itself rather than relying on the platform label alone.
What's the fastest way to check a post?
Paste the caption into the free FTC Disclosure Checker — it flags missing or ambiguous disclosures and placement problems, and tells you how to fix them.
Try FTC Disclosure Checker free
Free FTC disclosure checker — paste a sponsored post's caption and see whether the #ad disclosure is clear and conspicuous enough, with specific fixes. No signup.
Check a disclosure freehttps://creators.taskparent.com/tools/how-to-disclose-sponsored-posts-ftc