16 CFR Part 255 (revised 2023)
For brand, social and influencer teams working out what the FTC expects when creators, reviews or employees promote a product. This page covers what you need to know and ways to avoid running into issues.
What we've seen reported
The FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255, explain how the FTC applies Section 5 of the FTC Act to endorsements, including when influencers, reviewers and employees disclose a connection to a brand.1,2
Last updated October 2026 · General information only, not legal advice. Sources.
What the rules cover
These are the kinds of content the FTC Endorsement Guides describe, according to their text and examples, and the disclosure each is described with.1
| Content | Label it needs |
|---|---|
| Paid or gifted influencer posts | A disclosure of the material connection, such as payment or free product, that is clear and conspicuous. |
| Video and live-stream endorsements | A disclosure in the same means as the endorsement: on screen and spoken where both are used. |
| Disclosures behind a "more" link | Described in the Guides' examples as not unavoidable, and so not clear and conspicuous. |
| Platform built-in disclosure tools | An example describes a tool used alone, in small text, as easy to miss. |
| Employee posts about the company's products | A disclosure of the employment relationship with the brand. |
| Incentivized consumer reviews | Reviews from people given free products or other incentives, with the connection disclosed. |
| Endorsements directed at children | Covered by a new section added in 2023, section 255.6. |
Where it goes wrong
One approved label ends up in many channels, markets and languages. Along the way it gets shortened, translated and reworded, and some versions end up losing the disclosure these rules require.
Aria 8 creator post: "Paid partnership with Heldan. We've used the Aria 8 all winter." #ad
How Arbitr helps
Manually review everything? Or do what modern teams do and use AI to check that what you publish matches what you approved.
FAQ
Usually after the first post. The Guides' examples describe a disclosure hidden behind a "more" link as not unavoidable,1 and we usually find disclosures missing in:
Give each creator the approved disclosure wording, where it goes in each format (start of the caption, on screen, spoken), and the shortcuts to avoid, such as a platform tool on its own. Ask to see posts before they go live and keep the published version. Our marketing teams page shows how teams track this across creators.
Keep the agreement, what the creator was given, the approved disclosure, the published post in every format and language, and every reuse of it in ads, pages or decks. When a reused quote surfaces months later, that record shows whether the connection traveled with it.
How it applies to a specific post is a question for your legal adviser. Where that post appears across your markets and languages is a question Arbitr answers.
Beyond the influencer team. Social, paid media, e-commerce, PR, HR (for employee advocacy) and agencies all publish endorsements, and review programs often sit with customer teams. Rules on fake and bought reviews are on our reviews and endorsements hub, including the FTC consumer reviews rule.
As a disclosure that is difficult to miss and easily understandable by ordinary consumers, according to section 255.0(f). The Guides add that a disclosure shown both visually and audibly is more likely to meet that test.1
They're separate. The Guides are the FTC's view of how Section 5 of the FTC Act applies to endorsements and testimonials, according to their text.1 The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials is a separate rule, listed on our reviews and endorsements hub.
Most companies do, and it works for the file it reviews, in the language it reviews, before a campaign ships. It doesn't cover what's published afterwards: the market versions, the agency reworks, the sales deck built from the campaign six months later. That's a volume problem, not a failure of your legal team.
