ASCI influencer disclosure rules in India

An influencer advertisement in India needs a clear disclosure when the creator has a material connection with the brand. Payment is a common example, but free products, services and other benefits can also count. ASCI's guidance asks for a disclosure that viewers can notice and understand. 1

Plan the label before filming or writing the caption. Agree who checks it and look at the final content on a phone. A label added in a private brief does not tell the audience that the post is advertising.

Work out whether there is a commercial connection

Look at what the creator received or may receive, and the relationship with the business. A gift, hosted meal, trip, discount, affiliate arrangement or employment relationship can affect how viewers understand a recommendation. A sincere opinion can still need disclosure. ASCI's FAQs explain that barter and unsolicited benefits can be relevant. 2

For a creator, keep the brand's original message and your accepted terms. For a business, describe the arrangement plainly rather than calling everything an invitation. That record helps both sides choose an accurate disclosure before content is approved.

Someone who independently buys and likes a product, with no material connection, is in a different position under ASCI's guideline. Keep your purchase record if the circumstances could later be unclear. Do not claim independence while omitting a relevant benefit. 3

Use a label people understand immediately

ASCI allows labels including Ad, Sponsored, Collaboration, Partnership, Employee, Free gift and Affiliate, as well as a platform's disclosure tool. Choose wording that accurately describes the relationship. Use English or the advertisement's language so the audience can understand it. 3

For a Gujarati café video or a Hindi product explanation, read the disclosure with the rest of the content. Check that a viewer can understand the commercial relationship without knowing the creator's earlier posts or reading a separate explanation.

Avoid decorative wording that makes the relationship unclear. A thank-you to the brand can accompany the disclosure, but the audience should not have to infer advertising from gratitude or a tagged account. Give the label enough space in the design before other text fills the screen.

Put disclosure where viewers will see it

ASCI calls for upfront, prominent disclosure. Its guidance identifies labels buried among hashtags, hidden behind caption expansion or placed only in a profile as likely to be missed. Content without accompanying text needs a visible label on the picture or video. 1

During review, look at the post as a viewer would encounter it. Does a caption collapse before the disclosure? Does the app's interface cover the label? Does the label remain readable over a bright plate, patterned clothing or a moving background?

These viewing checks are practical editorial steps. Run them on the actual export and caption, not only the design file. If the team supplies a translated or cropped version, check that version too. A clear original does not establish that every later version remains clear.

Follow the video timing rules

ASCI's FAQs set out the following overlay timing for videos without accompanying text. Keep disclosure prominent in other formats too; this table does not remove the wider disclosure duty. 2

Video length	Disclosure duration
15 seconds or less	At least 3 seconds
Longer than 15 seconds but shorter than 2 minutes	At least one-third of the video
2 minutes or longer	Throughout the sections mentioning the promoted brand, its features or benefits

The timings in this table come from ASCI's guidance. Its rules also call for disclosure at the beginning and end of a live stream. Audio disclosure belongs at the start, end and around breaks. 2 3

Build the timing into the edit. Check that an animation, transition or subtitle does not make the label unreadable while it is supposed to be visible. Keep a copy of the final exported content with the approved caption for your own records.

Check the platform setting as well

YouTube requires creators to declare branded content through its paid promotion setting. It says benefits such as free products can count, and that local rules can require additional steps. Apply the platform setting and assess the Indian disclosure requirements together. 4

Ask the creator how the relationship will appear in the finished post. Do not ask for their password or direct access to their account. The person publishing can confirm the setting and share the visible result through the agreed review process.

If content is repurposed from a longer video into a Short or Story, review the disclosure again. The new version has its own opening, text and viewing context. Make sure the commercial relationship remains understandable when the extract is seen alone.

Keep claims honest under the consumer rules

ASCI is an advertising self-regulatory body. India's Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the CCPA's Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 form a separate legal framework. The government guidance addresses misleading claims, endorsement duties and disclaimers that conceal information or try to correct a misleading main claim. 5

Send evidence for the facts in the brief. If the script describes an ingredient, price condition or product capability, check it against the business's current records. The creator should describe an experience they actually had and raise claims they cannot support.

For a restaurant visit, showing the meal does not establish a claim about medical benefits. For a service, an advertising label does not establish that a promised result is true. Remove or rewrite unsupported claims before publication rather than relying on a small disclaimer.

Take extra care with health and financial advice

ASCI's health and finance addendum of 6 March 2025 requires relevant qualifications for technical advice and prominent disclosure of those qualifications. It distinguishes that advice from generic information about products or services. Sector-specific rules can also apply. 3

If the proposed content moves into investment recommendations, medical treatment or a cure claim, stop the ordinary approval process and get a suitable specialist to review it. A food creator's ability to describe a meal does not establish medical expertise.

Keep the brief within the creator's actual experience and competence. Do not turn an everyday product description into technical advice simply because the audience trusts the person speaking. Agree how factual concerns will be raised before the creator records the script.

Give both sides a clear review job

Before production, the brand should provide accurate facts, accepted claims and the agreed relationship. The creator should decide how to express the content honestly and make the disclosure visible. ASCI places responsibility on both the advertiser and influencer. 3

Before publication, check the final file, caption and platform setting together. Name the person authorised to approve factual changes. If a problem appears after posting, contact the other party promptly and agree a correction without hiding the change from the people affected.

Keep the agreement, approvals and final post link together. Those records do not guarantee compliance, but they let you establish what was requested, approved and published if a question arises.

For a recurring collaboration, review each new post rather than carrying forward approval of an earlier file. Offers, product facts and the content format can change. If an agency coordinates the work, name who checks the facts and who confirms the published disclosure so the task is not left between teams.

What to do next

Add a disclosure field to your next creator brief. For a product exchange, use the barter guide. Creators can also put the process in their media kit.

Read Influcius for brands or Influcius for creators, then agree the disclosure before production starts.