Advertising Standards Authority & the CAP Code
Whether a piece of marketing is obviously identifiable as marketing — and whether its claims stack up.
Anyone posting paid, gifted or affiliate content, and the brand and agency behind them. Responsibility is joint: a brand does not escape a ruling because a creator wrote the caption.
8 rules · last verified 2 October 2026 · see changes
The rules
Labels the ASA accepts
"Ad", "Advert", "Advertising", "Advertisement", "Advertisement Feature" — with or without a hashtag.
Verified 22 Sept 2026 · Read the source
Where an ad label must appear
Upfront and prominent — noticeable without clicking or expanding, visible before the consumer engages. Not behind a "See more" link, not buried in a block of hashtags, not only in the bio.
Verified 2 Oct 2026 · Read the source
When an affiliate link turns content into an ad
Any content referring to a product for which there is also an affiliate link or code counts as advertising. If everything in the post is affiliate-linked, the whole post is an ad.
Verified 22 Sept 2026 · Read the source
The core rule requiring ads to be identifiable
CAP Code rule 2.1: "Marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such."
Verified 2 Oct 2026 · Read the source
The control limb of the ASA's remit test
The brand must have editorial control over the content — which includes merely reserving the right to check or approve it before posting, specifying key messages, or dictating a posting schedule.
Verified 22 Sept 2026 · Read the source
Date the DMCC-driven CAP Code amendments took effect
8 April 2025, immediately on publication.
Verified 22 Sept 2026 · Read the source
Labels the ASA says are not sufficient
"Sponsorship", "Sponsored", "Gifted", "Supported by", "Funded by", "In association with", "Thanks to [brand]", @-mentioning the brand alone, and the abbreviations "aff", "affiliate", "spon" and "sp".
Verified 22 Sept 2026 · Read the source
Whether a platform's own Paid partnership label is enough on its own
It may be sufficient if upfront, clear and prominent, but ASA research found it "can help consumers recognise ads, but may not be enough on its own" — add a separate "Ad" label if in any doubt.
Verified 22 Sept 2026 · Read the source
What people get wrong
Not hypotheticals — these are the three failure modes that recur, and what follows from them.
The post fails rule 2.1 even though a label exists. Upheld rulings are published with the brand and the influencer named, and repeat offenders go onto the ASA's non-compliant influencers page, with ASA-funded ads run against them on their own platform.
Treated as no disclosure at all, by the ASA and by the CMA — whose own creator guidance lists exactly these as unacceptable.
Brand, agency and creator are jointly responsible. Brands are held liable for affiliate content they never saw, and the ruling names the brand.
The other four
Knowing the rule is not the same as having a process
Module 22 turns these into the things you actually need: the disclosure wording, the consent flow, the review policy, the sign-off step. Take the free assessment and see where it lands on your path.
Take the free assessmentNothing here is legal advice. Every rule links to the regulator’s own words so you can read them yourself.
