legal compliance
Affiliate Disclosure
The mandatory statement that tells your audience you earn a commission from the links you recommend.
What is Affiliate Disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is a statement that informs readers, viewers, or listeners that the content creator earns a commission when purchases are made through their affiliate links — required by the FTC in the United States and by equivalent consumer protection regulations in the UK, EU, and most other major markets.
Importance of Affiliate Disclosure
Affiliate disclosure is a legal requirement, not a best practice. The FTC requires it. The UK's ASA requires it. EU consumer protection law requires it. In 2026, the FTC has increased enforcement significantly — civil penalties can reach up to $51,744 per violation, with each non-disclosed post counting separately. An affiliate with ten pieces of non-disclosed content faces potential fines exceeding $500,000. Beyond legal compliance, disclosure builds the audience trust that makes affiliate recommendations credible. An undisclosed affiliate relationship, when discovered by readers, destroys the credibility it was designed to preserve.
Affiliate Disclosure In Practice
The FTC's standard is concrete: a disclosure must be clear, conspicuous, and unavoidable — meaning an ordinary reader would notice it, read it, and understand it without searching. This is a performance standard, not a formatting rule. Placing a disclosure in a footer, sidebar, or separate 'disclosure page' linked from the navigation does not satisfy the requirement if readers can engage with the affiliate content without encountering it. The disclosure must appear near the affiliate link or at the top of the content, before the reader reaches the affiliate recommendation. For blog posts: a clear statement in the first paragraph, such as 'This post contains affiliate links — if you purchase through them I earn a commission at no additional cost to you.' For YouTube: verbal disclosure in the first 30 seconds, plus written disclosure in the video description above the fold. For social media: '#ad' or 'Sponsored' at the beginning of the caption, not buried in a list of hashtags. In 2026, the FTC has expanded enforcement to include micro-influencers with small followings and AI-generated content — neither follower count nor content format creates an exemption.
Affiliate Disclosure Best Practices
- →Place the disclosure at the top of every piece of content containing affiliate links — before the reader encounters any affiliate recommendation, not after.
- →Use plain language that an ordinary reader will immediately understand — 'This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission if you purchase through them' is better than legalese or vague phrasing.
- →Disclose on every platform and in every format — the FTC requirement applies equally to blog posts, YouTube videos, social media posts, newsletters, and podcasts.
- →Do not rely on a single site-wide disclosure page or footer link — the FTC has confirmed this is insufficient; the disclosure must appear where readers will encounter it before engaging with affiliate content.
- →Treat disclosure as trust-building, not compliance overhead — readers who know you earn a commission and still follow your recommendation trust your judgment more than readers who later discover an undisclosed relationship.
Example of Affiliate Disclosure
A review of the Shopify affiliate program published on AffiliateDen opens with: 'This page contains affiliate links. If you join the Shopify affiliate program through our link, we may earn a commission.' This disclosure appears before any affiliate link, in plain language, in the main body of the content — satisfying the FTC's clear and conspicuous standard. A footer disclosure that reads 'This site participates in affiliate programs' does not satisfy the standard because a reader can navigate through the entire review and click the affiliate link without ever seeing the footer. The FTC's test is not whether a disclosure exists somewhere on the site — it is whether an ordinary reader would see and understand it before acting on the recommendation.
Related Terms
Related Tools & Services
- Shopify Affiliate Program — Example used to illustrate proper disclosure placement on an affiliate program review page
Programs in Our Directory
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an affiliate disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is a statement informing your audience that you earn a commission when they purchase through your affiliate links. It is required by the FTC in the United States, the ASA in the UK, and consumer protection regulations across the EU and most major markets. The disclosure must be clear, conspicuous, and placed where readers will see it before engaging with affiliate recommendations — not buried in a footer or on a separate disclosure page.
What happens if I don't disclose affiliate links?
In the United States, the FTC can issue warning letters, initiate enforcement actions, and impose civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation in 2026. Each undisclosed post counts as a separate violation — ten pieces of non-disclosed content creates potential liability exceeding $500,000. Beyond legal penalties, undisclosed affiliate relationships damage audience trust when discovered, which is harder to recover from than the compliance effort required to disclose properly. Affiliate programs and networks may also terminate accounts for non-disclosure.
What does an affiliate disclosure need to say?
It needs to be in plain language that an ordinary reader would immediately understand. 'This post contains affiliate links — if you buy through them I earn a commission at no extra cost to you' meets the standard. It does not need to specify the commission amount or name the affiliate program. What it must convey: that a financial relationship exists, and that your recommendation may be influenced by it. The FTC's test is whether an ordinary consumer would notice the disclosure, read it, and understand it — not whether it technically exists somewhere on the page.