Affiliate Marketing Disclaimer Example: Templates You Can Copy

If you earn commissions from product recommendations, you need a clear affiliate disclosure, and the fastest way to get it right is to work from a proven affiliate marketing disclaimer example. This tutorial gives you several affiliate marketing disclaimer examples you can copy, then walks you through adapting them for your blog, YouTube channel, or social media accounts. The stakes are real: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) treats undisclosed affiliate relationships as deceptive advertising. This guide covers the key requirements you should know, though you should consult a legal professional for advice tailored to your specific situation.

What Is an Affiliate Marketing Disclaimer?

An affiliate marketing disclaimer is a statement that tells your audience you earn a commission when they buy products through links on your content. It discloses your material connection to the brands you promote, so readers can weigh your financial incentive when evaluating your recommendation.

The legal basis in the United States is the FTC's Endorsement Guides, codified at 16 CFR Part 255 and substantially updated in 2023. Under Section 255.5, you must disclose any connection between yourself and an advertiser that might materially affect how consumers view your endorsement. An affiliate commission is exactly that kind of connection.

A compliant disclosure has three qualities:

• Clear: plain language a typical reader understands, not legal jargon or vague hints.
• Conspicuous: placed where readers cannot miss it, before they click any affiliate link.
• Proximate: near the affiliate content itself, not hidden on a separate page or in a footer.

Why the FTC Requires Affiliate Disclosures

The FTC's position is that an endorsement is deceptive if the audience does not know the endorser is being paid. Enforcement is not theoretical. The FTC has sent warning letters to hundreds of influencers and brands, and undisclosed endorsements can be prosecuted as unfair or deceptive practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act, with civil penalties that exceed $50,000 per violation as of 2025.

Regulators outside the US take a similar view. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) require clear ad labels on affiliate content, and the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive prohibits hidden commercial intent. If you have an international audience, a clear disclosure protects you across jurisdictions.

Beyond legal risk, affiliate networks enforce disclosure contractually. Amazon Associates, ShareASale, CJ, and Impact can all terminate your account and withhold commissions if you fail to disclose. Losing your Amazon account over a missing sentence is an expensive mistake.

Affiliate Marketing Disclaimer Examples You Can Copy

Here are ready-to-use affiliate marketing disclaimer examples for the most common situations. Replace the bracketed text with your own details.

Short In-Content Disclosure (Top of Post)

Use this above the first affiliate link in a blog post:

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through these links, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Standard Website Disclosure

A slightly fuller version for a disclosure box or sidebar:

[Site Name] is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. This does not affect the price you pay or our editorial opinions. We only recommend products we have researched or used ourselves.

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Amazon's Operating Agreement requires specific language on any page with Amazon links:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

You can combine it with a general disclosure: "As an Amazon Associate, [Site Name] earns from qualifying purchases. We also participate in other affiliate programs and may earn commissions on purchases made through our links."

Full Disclosure Page Example

For a dedicated /affiliate-disclosure page:

[Site Name] participates in affiliate programs, including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, [Network Name], and others. This means we earn commissions on qualifying purchases made through links on this website, at no additional cost to you. Compensation does not influence which products we review or recommend. All opinions are our own. In accordance with the FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255), we disclose these relationships on every page containing affiliate links. Questions? Contact us at [email].

Social Media and Video Disclosures

Space-constrained formats need shorter labels:

• Instagram or TikTok caption: start with "#ad" or "Affiliate links below. I earn a commission on purchases."
• YouTube description: "This video contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you." Also say it verbally in the video and enable the paid promotion label.
• Email newsletters: add a disclosure line above the first affiliate link, not only in the footer.

How to Write Your Own Affiliate Disclaimer Step by Step

Templates cover most cases, but a disclosure that matches your actual programs is stronger. Follow these steps:

1. List every affiliate program you join. Amazon Associates, software partner programs, and ad networks with performance payouts all count as material connections.
2. State the relationship plainly. Say you earn a commission or compensation. Avoid softeners like "may contain" when you know the links are affiliate links.
3. Explain the cost to the reader. "At no extra cost to you" is accurate for nearly all affiliate programs and reassures readers.
4. Affirm your editorial independence. State that commissions do not determine your opinions, and only if that is true.
5. Add program-specific language. Amazon's required statement is the most common example. Check each network's terms for wording rules.
6. Create both a short and a long version. The short version goes at the top of every monetized page. The long version lives on a dedicated disclosure page linked from your navigation or footer.

You can generate a complete affiliate disclosure alongside earnings and liability disclaimers with a disclaimer generator, then tailor the output to the specific programs you have joined.

Where to Place Your Affiliate Marketing Disclaimer

Placement matters as much as wording. The FTC's 2023 guidance is explicit that a disclosure must be unavoidable for the platform where the endorsement appears. Apply these rules:

• Blog posts: place the short disclosure before the first affiliate link, above the fold. Do not rely on a footer link alone; the FTC has said footer-only disclosures are inadequate.
• Review and roundup pages: repeat the disclosure near comparison tables or button-style affiliate links, since readers often jump straight to them.
• YouTube: disclose verbally in the video, in the first lines of the description, and via the platform's paid promotion feature.
• Social posts: disclose in each individual post, at the beginning of the caption, not buried after 20 hashtags.
• Email: include the disclosure in the body of any email containing affiliate links.

A dedicated disclosure page is still worth having. It gives you room for the full legal detail and satisfies affiliate network requirements, but it supplements the in-content disclosures rather than replacing them.

Platform and Program-Specific Rules to Check

Each major program layers its own requirements on top of the FTC baseline:

• Amazon Associates: the exact "earn from qualifying purchases" statement, displayed clearly on every site or app where links appear. Amazon also prohibits link cloaking that hides the destination.
• YouTube: requires the paid promotion disclosure setting for sponsored content, in addition to your own verbal and written disclosures.
• Instagram and TikTok: offer built-in "paid partnership" labels for sponsorships; for pure affiliate links, use clear caption disclosures.
• Google: expects affiliate links to carry rel="sponsored" attributes. This is an SEO requirement rather than a legal one, but non-compliance risks ranking penalties.

If you review products you received for free, disclose that too. Under 16 CFR 255.5, free products are a material connection even without a commission.

Common Affiliate Disclaimer Mistakes to Avoid

These errors show up constantly in FTC warning letters and audit findings:

• Footer-only disclosure. Readers click affiliate links long before they scroll to the footer.
• Vague wording. "We may be compensated for some links" fails the clarity test when you know exactly which links pay you.
• Jargon labels. "#sp," "#collab," or "partner" alone do not tell an average reader that you earn money. The FTC has specifically flagged ambiguous hashtags.
• Disclosure after the links. A disclaimer at the end of a post comes too late; the reader may have already clicked.
• One disclosure for the whole site. Every page, post, video, and email with affiliate links needs its own disclosure.
• Forgetting non-commission perks. Free products, discounted services, and contest entries are material connections that require disclosure too.

An affiliate disclaimer is also only one of the legal documents an affiliate site typically needs. Because affiliate sites almost always run analytics and tracking cookies, you will usually need a privacy policy as well, and platforms like TermsBox can generate the full set and host them at clean URLs so they stay easy to link from every post.

Keeping Your Disclosure Compliant Over Time

Your disclosure is only accurate while it reflects your actual relationships. Build a simple maintenance habit:

1. Review your disclosure page whenever you join or leave an affiliate program.
2. Re-check network terms annually; Amazon in particular updates its Operating Agreement regularly.
3. Audit old high-traffic posts to confirm the short disclosure still appears above the first link.
4. Watch for FTC guidance updates. The 2023 revision of the Endorsement Guides tightened rules on social media disclosures, and further updates are likely.

Treat the disclosure like any other conversion asset: readers consistently report trusting reviewers more, not less, when the relationship is stated openly. Transparent affiliates keep both their audience and their affiliate accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an affiliate disclaimer legally required?

Yes, in the United States the FTC Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) require you to clearly disclose any material connection with brands you promote, including affiliate commissions. Failure to disclose can trigger civil penalties of over $50,000 per violation under the FTC Act.

Where should I put my affiliate disclaimer?

Place a short disclosure before the first affiliate link on every page that contains one, ideally above the fold. A separate full disclosure page is good practice, but the FTC has stated that a link in your footer alone is not sufficient because disclosures must be hard to miss.

What is the correct Amazon affiliate disclosure wording?

Amazon requires Associates to include a clear statement such as: 'As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.' You must display it on any page or app where Amazon affiliate links appear, in addition to meeting the FTC's general disclosure requirements.

Do I need an affiliate disclaimer on social media posts?

Yes. The FTC requires disclosure on every individual post that contains affiliate links or sponsored content, because users may see a single post without visiting your profile. Use clear labels like #ad or 'affiliate link' at the start of the post, not buried in a string of hashtags.

Can I just write 'this post may contain affiliate links'?

That phrasing is risky because the FTC expects disclosures to be clear and unambiguous. Saying links 'may' be affiliate links understates a known fact. A better version states plainly that the post contains affiliate links and that you earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to the reader.

Does an affiliate disclaimer replace a privacy policy or other legal pages?

No. An affiliate disclaimer only covers your material connection to the products you promote. If your site collects any personal data, such as through analytics, comments, or email signups, you still need a privacy policy, and most affiliate sites also benefit from terms of use and a general liability disclaimer.