The legally required disclaimers that accompany your digital ads are the least glamorous part of advertising. It’s not targeting with data and it’s not getting the creative message exactly right, but if done incorrectly, a disclaimer will lead to unnecessary headaches and even possible complaints and fines.
This Facebook ads checklist goes through all of the steps you need to follow to running an effective advertising campaign, but you may be unfamiliar with the disclaimer rules that also apply. The good news is that they aren’t complicated once you know what the rules actually are.
Federal Disclaimers
For a candidate committee, the disclaimer is simple: "Paid for by Jane Smith for Congress." If a PAC or party pays for an ad the candidate authorized, the notice names the payer and states that the campaign authorized it. And if you're running an independent expenditure that no candidate signed off on, the FEC wants the payer's full name, a permanent street address, phone number, or website, and a line saying no candidate authorized the ad.
Whatever form it takes, the disclaimer has to be clear and conspicuous. That means text large enough to read against a background with enough contrast to actually see it – not gray six-point type tucked into a corner where you're hoping nobody looks.
The Small Item Exemption
Not every ad unit has room for the full "paid for by" line, and the FEC knows it. When the complete disclaimer can't fit or would eat up more than a quarter of the ad, you can use what's called an adapted disclaimer – a short "paid for by [name]" paired with a clear indicator and a one-click mechanism, like hover-over text or a link to a landing page carrying the full language.
What you shouldn't do is assume a tiny ad needs nothing at all. The exception that lets you skip a disclaimer on pens and buttons has never been settled for digital ads, so don't treat a small banner like a lapel pin.
State Disclaimers
Federal disclaimer rules only preempt state law when your ad is strictly about federal candidates and elections. Running for state legislature or school board? Then you follow your state's rules, and more than 30 states require online ads to carry a disclaimer or link to one. Several of them go well beyond the simple text required at the federal level.
Platform Specific Disclaimers
Major ad platforms, including Meta, Google, and others also require disclaimers for ads about any political issues, regardless of whether federal or state law requires them. Setting up your disclaimer is a key part of being able to run Facebook and Instagram ads.
Publishers and ad networks also have their own policies about ads with political content, even if the sponsoring entity (like a nonprofit) isn’t otherwise required to place disclaimers.
Conclusion
Disclaimers are an important, yet often overlooked component of digital ads. Always be sure to check with experienced, trusted election attorneys or compliance professionals in your state to confirm that your ads have the required disclaimer language.