FEC Disclaimer Requirements: What Campaigns Must Include

Of all the ways a federal campaign can draw an avoidable complaint, forgetting a disclaimer may be the most preventable. FEC disclaimer requirements are not complicated, they rarely change, and they apply to material your campaign is already producing — yard signs, mailers, digital ads, broadcast spots. Yet missing or malformed disclaimers remain one of the most common issues campaigns face, largely because the line gets treated as a design afterthought rather than a compliance requirement.

In the experience of Thomas Datwyler, who has overseen compliance for more than 400 federal committees, FEC disclaimer requirements are the rules campaigns know best and check least. This guide covers what a disclaimer is, when it is required, what it has to say, how it has to appear, and the handful of situations where it can be left off entirely.

What Is an FEC Disclaimer?

A disclaimer is a statement identifying who paid for a communication and, where applicable, whether a candidate authorized it. Its purpose is straightforward: a voter who sees the message should be able to tell who is behind it.

The governing standard behind all FEC disclaimer requirements is that every disclaimer must be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner, giving the reader, observer or listener adequate notice of the identity of the person who paid for the communication. That phrase does real work. A disclaimer printed in three-point grey type on a busy photograph technically exists, but it does not satisfy the standard.

When FEC Disclaimer Requirements Apply

The Commission has been clear that the obligation is broad. Any public communication made by a political committee must display the proper disclaimer — including communications that do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate and do not solicit a contribution. Billboards, yard signs and media advertising are all named examples, and the list is not exhaustive.

Beyond a committee’s own public communications, FEC disclaimer requirements also reach:

• Public communications by any person that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified federal candidate
• Public communications by any person that solicit contributions
• Electioneering communications
• Political committee websites
• Bulk email — more than 500 substantially similar communications

The working assumption Thomas Datwyler gives treasurers is deliberately simple: if your committee paid for it and the public will see it, plan on a disclaimer.

What FEC Disclaimer Requirements Say

The required wording depends on who paid for the communication and whether a candidate authorized it. There are three basic scenarios.

Paid for and authorized by the candidate’s committee

When the candidate, the authorized committee or an agent of either pays for and authorizes the communication, the disclaimer must state that the communication was paid for by the authorized committee. This is the simple case, and it is the one most campaigns encounter daily.

Authorized by the candidate but paid for by another party

When someone other than the campaign pays for a communication that the candidate authorized, the disclaimer must identify who paid for it and state that the candidate or the candidate’s committee authorized it.

Not authorized by any candidate

Independent communications carry the longest requirement. The disclaimer must clearly state the full name and permanent street address, telephone number or website of the person who paid for the communication, and must state that the communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Both halves are required — naming the payer without the non-authorization statement is incomplete.

How FEC Disclaimer Requirements Appear by Medium

Content is only half of it. Format matters, and the standards differ by medium.

Printed materials

Black text in 12-point font on a white background is one way to satisfy the clear-and-conspicuous requirement for printed material measuring no more than 24 by 36 inches. That is a safe harbour rather than the only acceptable treatment, but it is a sensible default for meeting FEC disclaimer requirements on signs, palm cards and mailers.

For a multiple-page document, the disclaimer does not have to appear on the front page or cover, provided it appears somewhere within the communication.

Television

Television carries the most prescriptive FEC disclaimer requirements of any medium. Both authorized and unauthorized television communications must include a clearly readable written statement that appears at the end of the spot for at least four seconds, with a reasonable degree of colour contrast between the background and the statement. The written statement must occupy at least four percent of the vertical picture height.

Broadcast also carries a spoken requirement on top of the written one. For a candidate committee communication, the candidate personally delivers an audio statement identifying themself and stating that they approved the communication. For communications by PACs, party committees, individuals or groups, the ad must include an audio statement from a representative of the payer identifying who is responsible for it. These are the stand-by-your-ad provisions, and a staff voiceover does not satisfy the candidate version.

Radio

Radio follows the same spoken logic as television. The written formatting rules obviously do not apply, but the audio statement does, and among all the FEC disclaimer requirements it is the one Thomas Datwyler sees overlooked most often when a spot is produced quickly.

Internet and digital advertising

Paid internet communications are subject to FEC disclaimer requirements, but the rules are their own. Where an ad can accommodate a full written disclaimer on its face, it must carry one. Where the format genuinely cannot — a small banner, a character-limited message — an adapted disclaimer may be used: a clear statement that the communication is paid for, identifying the payer by full name or a commonly understood abbreviation, accompanied by an indicator and a mechanism that lets the viewer reach the full disclaimer after no more than one action.

One point causes recurring confusion. The stand-by-your-ad requirements are not applied to internet communications; they apply to radio and television. Campaigns that assume a single standard covers every channel tend to get this wrong in both directions — adding spoken approval language where it is not needed or omitting it where it is.

When FEC Disclaimer Requirements Do Not Apply

Not every piece of campaign material needs a disclaimer. The exceptions are narrow and practical rather than discretionary. A disclaimer is not required where it cannot be conveniently printed, or where its display is not practicable. Examples the Commission gives include:

• Pens and similar small items
• Bumper stickers
• Clothing
• Water towers and skywriting

The safest way to apply these exceptions is to treat them as genuinely limited. If the item can reasonably carry the line, assume it must.

Common Mistakes with FEC Disclaimer Requirements

• Reusing artwork across media. A design that was compliant as a mailer may not be compliant as a television end card, where the four-second and four-percent rules apply.
• Dropping the non-authorization language. Independent communications need both the payer identification and the statement that no candidate authorized the ad.
• Shrinking the line to fit the layout. Legibility is part of the requirement, not a design preference.
• Treating digital like broadcast. Stand-by-your-ad language does not extend to internet communications.
• Approving proofs without a compliance review. A vendor’s template is not a compliance opinion, and the committee carries the obligation.

How Thomas Datwyler and 9Seven Consulting Help with FEC Disclaimer Requirements

Media and printing are among the largest disbursements a campaign makes. A disclaimer problem discovered after the mail drops or the flight starts is expensive, visible and slow to fix. Discovered at the proof stage, it costs nothing, which is why proof review sits inside every engagement Thomas Datwyler oversees at 9Seven Consulting rather than being billed as an extra.

Founded in 2013 by Thomas Datwyler — former controller of a $52 million presidential campaign — the firm has served more than 400 political committees and filed more than 4,000 FEC reports. Campaigns, PACs, party committees and nonprofits work with us because the review happens before the money is spent, not after the report is filed. If no one is checking your artwork against FEC disclaimer requirements before it goes to print, that is a gap worth closing this cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do yard signs need an FEC disclaimer?

Yes. Yard signs are named directly as a public communication that requires a proper disclaimer, even where the sign carries no express advocacy and asks for no money.

Do bumper stickers need a disclaimer?

Generally, no. Bumper stickers fall within the exception for items on which a disclaimer cannot be conveniently printed. The exception is narrow, so it should not be extended by analogy to larger printed pieces.

What does a compliant disclaimer say?

It identifies who paid for the communication and, where applicable, whether a candidate authorized it. Independent communications must additionally state the payer’s full name and permanent street address, telephone number or website, along with a statement that no candidate or candidate’s committee authorized the ad.

Do online ads follow the same rules as television?

No. Paid internet communications require disclaimers, and small formats may use an adapted disclaimer with an indicator and mechanism, but the spoken stand-by-your-ad requirements apply only to radio and television.

Who is responsible if a disclaimer is missing?

The committee that paid for the communication carries the obligation, and the treasurer signs the reports that disclose the spending. A vendor error does not transfer the responsibility.

Who should review campaign artwork against FEC disclaimer requirements?

A compliance professional who sees the proof before the vendor does. Thomas Datwyler and the team at 9Seven Consulting review disclaimers for campaigns, PACs, party committees and nonprofits at the proof stage, across print, broadcast and digital.

This article is general information about federal campaign finance reporting. It is not legal advice.