How to disclose affiliate codes and commissions

What triggers the duty

The Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255, revised 2023) require disclosure whenever a material connection exists that the audience would not expect: monetary payment, free or discounted products, or even the possibility of being paid. Commission on a code redemption is squarely inside that. So is a credit-paid referral code; the classification does not change the duty, as noted in affiliate code vs referral code.

What counts as clear and conspicuous

• The 2023 definition: difficult to miss and easily understandable, and on social media, unavoidable.
• Same medium as the claim: say it in the video if you said the endorsement in the video, and show it on screen too when the claim is visual.
• Placement matters: FTC staff guidance flags disclosures as likely missed when they sit only on a profile page, at the end of posts, or behind a More tap. Each endorsing post carries its own disclosure; a bio-page disclosure supports but does not replace them.
• Adequate wording: "ad", "advertisement", "sponsored", #ad, #sponsored, or the FTC's suggested "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post", adapted to codes: "I earn a commission when you use my code." Inadequate: #sp, #spon, #collab, a bare "thanks", "affiliate link" alone, or the code itself.

The code-specific answer most guides skip

The FTC's own FAQ takes the question head-on: a clearly personalized code like "iammike20%" probably conveys a relationship, but whether it conveys a financial one is less clear, and if a significant minority of the audience would not understand you get paid, a clearer disclosure is needed, with the FTC recommending erring on the side of disclosure. Practical translation: keep saying the code, and pair it with the paid-partnership sentence.

Stakes and jurisdictions

• The FTC has warned influencers directly (November 2023 letters over inadequately disclosed paid posts) and its penalty-offense notices contemplate civil penalties per violation in the tens of thousands of dollars.
• Outside the US, rules differ: the UK's ASA has ruled that including a discount code is, by itself, insufficient to identify an ad. If your audience is international, meet the strictest standard you face.
• This guide is general information about published rules, not legal advice; for a specific campaign, a lawyer beats a blog, including this one.