Affiliate marketing disclosure rules: US, UK and EU

If you earn a commission from a recommendation, you have to say so — clearly. That rule holds in the US, the UK and the EU. This is the plain-English version: what to label, where to put it, and what regulators now actually enforce in 2026.

Disclosure isn't red tape that gets in the way of affiliate income — it's what keeps the whole channel trustworthy, and it protects you. The good news: the core rule is simple and the same everywhere. The detail is in the wording and placement. Here's how it works in each major market, US first.

Note: this is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and your situation may differ — check the official guidance or a qualified lawyer for your specific case.

United States — the FTC

In the US, affiliate disclosure is governed by the Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising — 16 CFR Part 255. The FTC revised these guides in 2023 (effective 26 July 2023), the most significant update in over a decade.^[1]

The core requirement: any material connection — including an affiliate commission — must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. The 2023 update spelled out what that means:

• A visual disclosure must stand out so it's easily noticed, read and understood.
• In an interactive medium (a website, social post or video), the disclosure must be unavoidable — not buried, not hidden behind a "more" link, not in a wall of hashtags.
• An affiliate commission is unambiguously material. So is a free product or a paid partnership.
• Brands can be held liable for an endorser's failure to disclose — so merchants now police this too.

In practice: put a plain statement like "I earn a commission if you buy through my link" near the link, before it, where a reader will actually see it — not in a footer or an "about" page nobody opens.

United Kingdom — ASA, CAP & the CMA

The UK has two layers: advertising standards (the ASA, enforcing the CAP Code) and consumer law (the Competition and Markets Authority, the CMA). The principle is identical — incentivised content must be obviously identifiable as advertising — but the UK is specific about labels and placement.^[2]

• Affiliate links, commissions, discount codes, gifted products and loaned items all trigger disclosure — not just cash payments.
• The label must be upfront and prominent. "#ad" should appear at the start of a caption, before any "see more" truncation — not lost among other hashtags.
• Clear labels — "#ad", "advert", "paid partnership" — are accepted. Vague ones — "collab", "spon", "thanks [brand]", or just tagging a brand — are not.

European Union — UCPD, Omnibus & GDPR

The EU approaches affiliate disclosure through consumer-protection and data law rather than a single "endorsement guide". Two things matter: disclosing the commercial nature of your content, and handling personal data lawfully.^[3]

Disclosure (UCPD + Omnibus Directive)

Under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, failing to disclose the commercial intent of content can be a "misleading omission" — an unfair practice. EU guidance is explicit that a "commercial element" exists wherever you receive any consideration: payments, discounts, a percentage from affiliate links, free products, even unsolicited gifts or event invitations. The Omnibus Directive (2019/2161), implemented across member states, tightened transparency and added meaningful penalties.

Data & tracking (GDPR + ePrivacy)

Affiliate links rely on cookies and tracking, and that's where GDPR and the ePrivacy rules apply. If your promotion sets non-essential cookies or processes personal data, you generally need informed, freely given consent, with clear notice under GDPR Articles 13/14. For email outreach, the pursuit of a commercial purpose makes it direct marketing — so consent and a working opt-out are required.

In the EU, "disclose your commission" and "respect people's data and cookie consent" are two halves of the same compliance job.

Australia — a quick note

For partners promoting into Australia, the same principle applies under the Australian Consumer Law (enforced by the ACCC), which prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct, alongside the AANA's influencer/advertising codes. The safe approach is identical to the US/UK: disclose clearly and upfront, and don't mislead. If you follow the FTC/ASA standard, you're already most of the way there.

A practical disclosure checklist

Wherever your audience is, this covers the essentials:

• Disclose before the link or recommendation, not after.
• Use plain words: "affiliate link", "I earn a commission", "#ad", "paid partnership".
• Make it impossible to miss — visible without clicking "more" or scrolling past it.
• Disclose for every material connection: commissions, free products, discount codes, gifts.
• Never make false or exaggerated claims about results, earnings or the product.
• For email: only contact people lawfully, identify yourself, and include a working opt-out.
• Get consent for tracking cookies where required (especially in the EU/UK).

This is exactly the standard we hold partners to. HypeCryptoNow's Terms & Conditions require affiliates to comply with the FTC guidelines, GDPR, CAN-SPAM and equivalent laws, to disclose the affiliate relationship, and never to send spam or make deceptive claims. Compliance isn't a hurdle to earning — it's what makes a referral worth trusting in the first place. New to all this? Start with how to start affiliate marketing with no audience.

Keep reading: How much affiliate networks really take →