How to disclose a YouTube sponsorship: the paid promotion label, what to say on camera, and the rules by country

Disclosing a sponsorship is the easiest part of a deal to get right and the most common part creators get wrong. The rules in most countries say the same thing: if a brand paid you, gave you a product or offered any benefit in exchange for the video, the viewer has to be told in a way they cannot miss. A line in the description does not count on its own. A label YouTube shows for a few seconds does not count on its own either.

This guide covers what has to be disclosed, how YouTube's paid promotion setting works, what to say and show in the video, how the rules differ by country, and what brands expect from you. It is a practical summary, not legal advice; if you work with brands in a country not covered here, check that country's advertising regulator.

What has to be disclosed

Disclosure is required whenever there is a material connection between you and the brand that viewers would not expect. In practice that covers:

• Paid sponsorships and dedicated sponsored videos.
• Free products or services, even with no payment and no obligation to post.
• Affiliate links, where you earn a commission on sales.
• Discount codes that pay you per use.
• Brand ambassadorships and long-term partnerships, in every video where the brand appears.
• Gifts, trips, event tickets and anything else of value from a brand you then feature.

It does not matter whether you were asked to say anything positive, whether you would have bought the product anyway, or whether the brand told you disclosure was unnecessary. The obligation is yours, not the brand's.

YouTube's paid promotion setting

When you upload, under the video details there is a checkbox for a video that contains paid promotion. Ticking it does two things: YouTube shows a "Includes paid promotion" notice in the corner of the player for the first few seconds, and the video is recorded as containing paid content, which matters for how YouTube treats it and for your agreement with the brand.

Three things to know:

• Tick it for every video that contains a sponsorship, product placement or endorsement, including affiliate-only videos. YouTube's policy requires it, separately from the law.
• The notice is not enough by itself. Regulators in the US and the UK have both said that platform labels help but do not replace a clear disclosure in the content. Treat the checkbox as the minimum.
• Do not put the brand's ad into the video as a separate clip. YouTube's policy allows sponsorships you produce yourself but not third-party ads inserted into the content, and a video that does this can be removed.

What to say and show in the video

The standard regulators use is that the disclosure must be clear, easy to notice and placed where the viewer sees it before or as they encounter the sponsored content. That means:

• Say it in the audio. "This video is sponsored by [Brand]" or "Thanks to [Brand] for sponsoring this video" at the start of the sponsored segment, in plain words. "Partner", "collab" and "thanks to our friends at" are treated as unclear by regulators in several countries.
• Show it on screen at the same time. A text overlay such as "Sponsored by [Brand]" or "Paid promotion" during the segment, large enough to read on a phone, for the length of the segment or at least long enough to read twice.
• Disclose at the start when the whole video is sponsored. If the product is the subject of the video, say so in the first few seconds and in the title or thumbnail where practical. Viewers should not watch five minutes before learning it is an ad.
• Repeat it in the description, in the first lines, not below the fold, and next to any affiliate link or discount code.
• Mark affiliate links where they appear. "Affiliate link, I earn a small commission" next to the link is enough.

A short, honest disclosure does not hurt the segment. Viewers expect sponsorships and skip videos that feel sneaky, not videos that are upfront.

How the rules differ by country

The principle is the same everywhere; the details and the enforcement differ. The three regimes most YouTube creators deal with:

• United States. The Federal Trade Commission's endorsement guides apply. Disclosures must be clear and conspicuous, in the same medium as the endorsement, and placed so that viewers notice them before the claim. The FTC has sent warning letters to creators and brands, and it holds both responsible. The FTC's own guidance for influencers is short and worth reading once.
• United Kingdom. The Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority both enforce. Content that a brand paid for and had control over is an ad and must be labelled as one upfront, typically with "Ad" at the start of the video and in the title or description. Gifted products need a disclosure too. The ASA has published rulings against creators by name.
• European Union. Consumer protection law requires that commercial content is identifiable as such, and several member states have their own labelling rules. Germany is the strictest in practice: "Werbung" or "Anzeige" at the start, with court rulings against creators who labelled too softly. France and the Netherlands have their own guidance and have fined creators. If your audience is mainly in one EU country, follow that country's wording.

Many other countries, including Canada, Australia, India and Turkey, have adopted similar rules. The safe approach for a creator with an international audience is to use the strictest practice: a spoken and on-screen disclosure at the start of the sponsored content, the YouTube paid promotion setting, and a line at the top of the description.

What brands expect

Brands have their own exposure, so most sponsorship agreements include a disclosure clause. Expect the contract to require:

• The paid promotion setting ticked.
• A spoken disclosure and an on-screen label, sometimes with the brand's exact wording.
• A disclosure in the description with the tracking link.
• No edits to the disclosure after approval.

A creator who handles disclosure without being asked is easier to work with, and brands notice. Mention in your pitch that you mark sponsored content clearly; the pitch guide suggests where. If a brand ever asks you to leave the disclosure out or soften it, treat that as a reason not to work with them. The penalty lands on you, and your audience's trust is the asset every future sponsor is paying for.

A disclosure checklist

Before the video goes live:

• Paid promotion setting ticked.
• Spoken disclosure at the start of the sponsored segment, naming the brand.
• On-screen label during the segment.
• Disclosure in the first lines of the description.
• Affiliate links and codes labelled where they appear.
• Wording matches the contract and the rules of your main audience's country.
• The brand has approved the segment, including the disclosure.

For what goes inside the segment once the disclosure is in place, see the guide on writing a sponsored segment viewers don't skip. For the contract terms around it, including usage rights and exclusivity, see how to negotiate a YouTube sponsorship.

And if you are still looking for brands to disclose, DiscoverSponsors shows which brands already sponsor channels your size in your niche, with the sponsored videos as proof, so you can pitch the ones most likely to say yes.