Disclosure line templates for brands: ready-to-use labels and lines for every format

A disclosure line is the short sentence a creator puts first in a caption, on screen or in speech to tell viewers that a post is an ad. ASCI permits any one or more of eight labels, which are Advertisement, Ad, Sponsored, Collaboration, Partnership, Employee, Free gift and Affiliate, or a platform disclosure tool. The label must be upfront and prominent, and in English or the language of the ad. This post turns those words into lines you can paste into a brief.

Our post on disclosure hashtags and labels explains which tags are safe and where labels sit in each format, and our ASCI influencer guidelines explainer covers the rules in full. Here you get the sentences. This post sits under our complete guide to influencer marketing in India.

How to use this library

ASCI's text gives the label list, the placement and timing rules and a few quoted disclaimers. Everything else on this page is drafting we suggest, so treat each line as a starting point: have your legal team review it once, then reuse it. Three working rules apply throughout:

• The listed label word comes first, before any hook or hashtag.
• Fill the brackets with the real brand name and the real deal. A line that says "paid" when the post was gifted is a new problem.
• Give creators the exact line. "Disclose as per ASCI" produces twenty different captions.

Caption openers by deal type

ASCI's test is a material connection: money, free or discounted products even if unsolicited, gifts, trips, barter, awards, contest entries, and family or employment ties. Pick the line that matches what actually happened.

For giveaways, the line is not the whole job. ASCI's Code asks advertisers who invite the public into prize competitions to state all material conditions clearly, so the full rules must live somewhere easy to find.

On-screen and spoken lines by format

The placement and timing rules are in the hashtag post and the ASCI guide. This table gives the lines.

YouTube

YouTube's help page says that selecting the paid promotion setting adds a disclosure label at the start of the video, and that creators and partners remain responsible for legal requirements. Use the tool and add three lines.

• Spoken, before the integration: "This part of the video includes a paid promotion from [Brand]."
• On screen, for the whole brand section: "Ad: paid promotion by [Brand]".
• First line of the description: "Ad: includes a paid promotion from [Brand]."

Live streams, replays and podcasts

ASCI says a live-stream label must be announced at the beginning and the end, and that disclosure must be added to the text or caption if the post stays visible after the stream. For audio, it must be announced at the beginning, at the end, and before and after every break.

LinkedIn and other text posts

ASCI wants text-based disclosures at the top, not buried in hashtags or links. On LinkedIn, put "Ad: paid partnership with [Brand]." as the first line and switch on the Brand partnership toggle, which LinkedIn says is required when value is exchanged. For a thought leader ad, LinkedIn says a post promoted by a non-employer company shows "Promoted - Partnership with [company]" and that the author should add any further disclosure. An employee author can write "Employee: I work at [Company]." LinkedIn's own example is a hashtag such as #[Company]Employee in a visible place. ASCI found 121 LinkedIn disclosure violations in FY2024-25, so check the first line of every draft. Our post on LinkedIn creator content formats shows the formats.

Pair the line with the platform tool

Instagram's paid partnership label, YouTube's paid promotion setting and LinkedIn's brand partnership toggle all count as platform tools. ASCI permits platform tools as labels, but we pair them with a visible word because placement varies and viewers scroll past small labels. That pairing is our practice, not an ASCI rule.

Category lines

Some content needs more than the ad label. These are the lines the rules call for.

For regulated brands, the lines are only half the job. Our posts on health influencer rules, finfluencer rules under SEBI and education advertising rules explain the claims behind them, and the regulated industries map shows where each sits.

Lines to keep out of a brief

"Thanks @brand", "#sp" and "In association with" are not on ASCI's list, and a tagged handle is not a label. "#collab" abbreviates a listed word, so write Collaboration in full and never use it alone on a paid post. A "not an ad" line such as "Not sponsored, just love" needs the paperwork in ASCI's Addendum 1: a declaration signed by a senior member of the advertiser, or the influencer's proof of purchase where the advertiser cannot be traced. CCPA rule 14 separately requires full disclosure of a connection the audience would not reasonably expect.

A brief block you can paste

Disclosure. Your first caption line, and the on-screen text, must read exactly: "[chosen line]". Keep the platform's paid partnership tool on. For video, keep the label on screen for [3 seconds / one third of the video / the whole brand section]. In live or audio formats, say the line at the start and end, and around every break. Send the draft to [name] before posting. Do not edit the line after approval.

Run the same check on every draft, then screenshot the live post. If a line is wrong after going live, our content takedown process sets out the edit-first routine, and our ASCI complaint process post shows what follows if it is not fixed.

To have the lines written into your briefs, in the languages your creators work in, ask for a creator plan. Our Instagram influencer marketing service shows how we run creator campaigns on the platform.

This is general information, not legal advice.