How to label ads as an influencer (UK rules explained)

Imagine posting a partnership without a flicker of doubt. The label is already in your caption template, the brand has signed off, and your audience reads it as what it is: a creator they trust being open about who pays for what. Clear labelling stops being a worry and becomes part of why people believe you.

Most creators who get it wrong aren’t hiding anything. Here is what UK regulators expect, based on the latest joint guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

What are the UK influencer ad rules?

Two sets of rules apply. The first is the CAP Code, written by the Committee of Advertising Practice and enforced by the ASA. The second is consumer protection law: Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, enforced by the CMA and Trading Standards. The ASA’s influencers’ guide to making clear that ads are ads, updated in October 2026 and written with the CMA, sums both up in one line: it needs to be clear that ads are ads.

The CMA is clear that it applies no matter how many followers you have, so a small account is not exempt.

When does a post count as an ad?

According to the ASA guide, you need to disclose whenever you have received payment or any other incentive, or are personally or commercially connected to the brand. “Payment” is defined widely. It includes:

• money for a post, a series or an ambassadorship;
• free products, services, trips, hotel stays, event invitations, loans or rentals, whether you asked for them or not;
• an exclusive discount, commission or shares;
• collaborating on your own “edit” or collection;
• being an owner, director or employee of the brand, or the brand belonging to family or friends.

The guide also says you should keep disclosing in relevant content for 12 months after a relationship ends.

Do gifted products need to be labelled as ads?

Yes. This is where most creators trip up. The ASA guide is explicit that it doesn’t matter if there was no obligation to post about free items: they still count as payment, and any resulting content needs to be disclosed. The CMA’s guidance for content creators says the same, describing gifts of any products as payment even when you are under no obligation to do anything with them.

The difference between a gift and a paid deal is mainly about which regulator can act. The ASA can step in under the CAP Code where a brand both paid you and had some control over the content, such as approving it. Consumer law does not depend on control. Either way, label it.

What about affiliate links and your own products?

Affiliate links and discount codes that earn you money per click or sale count as advertising, whether they come from Amazon Associates or a network such as Awin, Skimlinks or LTK. If a post is entirely about affiliate-linked products, the whole post is an ad and needs an upfront label. If only some items are affiliate-linked, you need to make clear which parts are advertising. The ASA advises against “aff”, “af” and “afflink”, which most people don’t understand.

Your own products need labelling too. Presets, merch, a course, a brand you have launched, even a giveaway you are running: the guide says your audience shouldn’t have to check your bio or scroll through other posts to work out that you are promoting something you own. If you are building your own brand alongside your channel, factor this in from the start.

Which labels are acceptable, and which aren’t?

The ASA and CMA expect labels that “say it how it is”. The guide’s recommended labels, and the ones it advises against, are below.

Just tagging the brand is not enough. You don’t need the hashtag symbol, as long as the label is prominent and separate from other content, and you can add extra detail (“Ad, gifted stay”) as long as “Ad” comes first. The guide’s own bottom line: if in doubt, label it.

Where should the ad label go?

Placement matters as much as wording. People should be able to tell something is an ad without clicking, expanding or scrolling. The label belongs at the very start of whatever people see first: the opening of the caption, the title, the thumbnail or the image itself. The guide tells you not to:

• bury the label among other hashtags or behind “more”;
• place it where people have to scroll to find it;
• mention it part-way through a video.

Different formats have their own expectations. If an ad runs across several stories, label each one, because people may see them separately. If the same ad goes out as a story, a feed post and a reel, label every version. In long videos or podcasts with a sponsored segment, you only need to label that section, clearly, at its start.

Are the platforms’ paid partnership tools enough?

Sometimes. The ASA guide says a platform’s branded content label may be sufficient if it is upfront and prominent, but if it blends into the background you should add your own label. Each platform has its own tool:

• Instagram requires you to use the paid partnership label for organic branded content, in feed posts, stories, reels, Live and broadcast channels.
• TikTok says creators must turn on the commercial content disclosure setting when a post promotes a brand, product or service, and that labelling a post this way does not change how it is recommended.
• YouTube has a paid promotion setting in YouTube Studio that adds a disclosure at the start of the video, and it reminds creators that they remain responsible for following local rules, naming the ASA for the UK.

Our advice: use the platform tool and put “Ad” at the start of the caption or on screen. If a brand then wants to run your post as a paid ad through your handle, that is a separate permission with its own terms, explained in our guide to influencer whitelisting.

What happens if you don’t disclose properly?

The ASA can list you on its page of non-compliant social media influencers and run targeted ads on your platform telling your followers that you have repeatedly failed to label ads. The CMA can take formal enforcement action under consumer law, including financial penalties. Platforms can remove content or restrict your account, and TikTok says undisclosed commercial content may lose eligibility for the For You feed.

Brands share responsibility for the ad, so they want partners who label properly. Clean disclosure is part of what makes you easy to work with, which matters when you are pitching with a media kit, and it belongs in any plan for marketing for influencers.

How do you make disclosure part of your routine?

• Read the contract. Check what it says about labelling, and walk away from any brand that discourages you from disclosing.
• Label at the drafting stage. Write “Ad” into the caption template and on-screen text before filming, not at upload.
• Keep a simple log of every gifted item, affiliate link and paid deal, with dates, so you know what still needs a label within the 12-month window.
• Check each format separately when you repurpose one piece of content across stories, reels and Shorts, and when you promote your own products with paid ads.
• Ask before you post. The CAP Copy Advice team can check whether a draft is obviously identifiable as an ad.

Other rules apply on top of labelling, for example to claims, age-restricted products, food and supplements, and content aimed at children. If a deal involves any of these, take advice first.

How we can help

We want every partnership you post to feel open and settled, with nothing to second-guess later. We began as co-founder Jack Cartwright’s in-house team, running his social media and ads day to day, so labels, approvals and platform settings are routine for us. Through advertising for influencers we keep partnership ads and your own campaigns clearly labelled, and help you set up brand access properly. A clear brief, scope and fee are agreed before any creative work begins.

Sources

• ASA and CMA: Influencers’ guide to making clear that ads are ads
• CMA: Social media endorsements, being transparent with your followers
• Instagram Help Centre: How to use the paid partnership label
• TikTok: About the commercial content disclosure setting for creators
• YouTube Help: Add paid product placements, sponsorships and endorsements