An affiliate disclaimer template is a short, reusable statement telling readers that you earn a commission when they buy through your links. To meet FTC rules, it needs to name the financial relationship plainly, sit close to the affiliate links themselves, and use any specific wording your affiliate program requires on top of that. Here is a template you can adapt, followed by what it has to contain, where it has to appear, and how to handle social media and video.
A Template You Can Copy
For most blogs and websites, this wording covers the FTC’s core requirement:
“This site contains affiliate links. When you click a link and make a purchase, [Your Site Name] may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This compensation may influence which products appear on our pages and where they appear, but it does not affect our editorial opinions or reviews.”
If you also received a free product, add a sentence saying so directly: “We received this product at no charge and may also earn a commission if you purchase through our link.” Vague phrasing like “we may be compensated,” with no explanation of how, does not meet the standard.
The Three Things a Disclaimer Has to Say
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides, at 16 CFR Part 255, require anyone with a “material connection” to a seller to disclose that connection whenever it could influence how a reader weighs the recommendation.1eCFR. 16 CFR Part 255 – Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Affiliate marketing programs are named in the rule as an example, and the guides include an illustration of a coffee blogger earning a cut of sales who is told to disclose the compensation clearly.2eCFR. 16 CFR 255.5 – Disclosure of Material Connections
A working disclaimer communicates three things:
- That a financial relationship exists between you and the companies you link to.
- What kind of compensation you receive (typically a commission on purchases).
- That this arrangement could influence your content.
You do not have to itemize dollar amounts. You do have to make the nature of the connection clear enough that a reader can factor it into how they read your recommendation.2eCFR. 16 CFR 255.5 – Disclosure of Material Connections
Program-Specific Wording You Must Use
Amazon Associates
Amazon requires this exact sentence, displayed clearly on your site: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” The language is mandatory under the operating agreement and must appear on every site or social media account where you use Amazon affiliate links. Amazon also requires link-level disclosure, so individual affiliate links should be marked with something short like “(paid link)” or “#CommissionsEarned” so a reader knows before clicking.3Amazon.com Associates Central. Why Do I Have to Identify Myself as an Associate
Other Networks
Many affiliate networks have their own required disclaimer language buried in their operating agreements. Before publishing, log into your affiliate dashboard and search for “disclosure” or “compliance” in the terms. If a program requires specific wording, use it verbatim alongside your general site-wide disclaimer. Where program language falls short of FTC standards, add to it rather than relying on it alone. Your FTC obligation exists independently of whatever an affiliate contract says.
Where the Disclaimer Has to Appear
The FTC defines “clear and conspicuous” to mean the disclosure is difficult to miss and easily understandable by ordinary consumers. On websites, it must be “unavoidable,” not something a reader has to hunt for.4eCFR. 16 CFR 255.0 – Purpose and Definitions That word carries the whole rule: the disclaimer has to be visible in the normal course of reading your content, not tucked somewhere only a determined reader would find it.
Placement principles that satisfy this standard:
- Put the disclosure near the affiliate link. The closer it sits to the claim or link, the more effective it is. On blog posts, that usually means the top of the post, not just a site-wide footer.5Federal Trade Commission. .com Disclosures – How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising
- Aim for above the fold. Design pages so readers see the disclosure without scrolling; when scrolling is unavoidable, use visual cues that guide them to it.5Federal Trade Commission. .com Disclosures – How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising
- Do not hide it behind a hyperlink. Burying the disclosure on a separate terms-of-service page or behind a “click here for disclaimer” link is insufficient. FTC guidance says disclosures should not be relegated to terms-of-use pages or similar contractual agreements.5Federal Trade Commission. .com Disclosures – How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising
- Check the mobile view. Font size, contrast, and position all matter. A disclosure that shows on desktop but gets pushed several screens down on mobile does not satisfy the standard.
A footer-only disclaimer is the most common way sites get this wrong. Most readers never scroll that far, and even if they do, the disclaimer sits too far from the affiliate links to give useful context. The safest setup is both: a site-wide disclaimer page and a short disclosure at the top of every post that contains affiliate links.
Social Media Disclosures
The same rules apply on social platforms, but the FTC has published specific guidance on which disclosure terms work and which do not. Acceptable terms include “ad,” “advertisement,” and “sponsored.” Using “#ad” or “#sponsored” as hashtags is fine, but the FTC warns against burying them in a cluster of other hashtags where they get lost. Vague abbreviations like “sp,” “spon,” and “collab” are called out as insufficient, as are standalone words like “thanks” or “ambassador” that do not communicate a paid relationship.6Federal Trade Commission. Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers
On character-limited platforms, pairing a brand name with “Partner” or “Ambassador” (such as “AcmePartner”) works if the context makes the paid relationship clear.6Federal Trade Commission. Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers The disclosure has to appear with the endorsement itself, not on a profile page or bio most viewers never visit.
Video and Audio Content
The “clear and conspicuous” definition requires matching the disclosure to the format. If a claim is made visually, disclose visually. If it is made through audio, disclose through audio. Using both is stronger than either alone.4eCFR. 16 CFR 255.0 – Purpose and Definitions For a YouTube review, that means saying the disclosure out loud near the start of the video rather than only putting it in the description box. A text overlay at the opening combined with a verbal mention is the most defensible approach.
Platform tools like Instagram’s “Paid Partnership” label or YouTube’s “Includes paid promotion” checkbox help with compliance but may not be sufficient on their own if the audience does not understand what the label means. Treat them as a supplement to your own clear disclosure, not a replacement.
What Getting It Wrong Costs
The current maximum civil penalty under the FTC Act is $53,088 per violation, adjusted annually for inflation.7Federal Trade Commission. FTC Publishes Inflation-Adjusted Civil Penalty Amounts for 2025 Each non-compliant post, page, or video can count as a separate violation. On top of federal enforcement, most affiliate programs will terminate your account if your disclosures fall short of their operating agreements, which means losing commissions you have already earned. A tight template used consistently, placed where readers actually see it, is what keeps both problems away.