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ASCI disclosure checker

Paste an influencer caption, and for a video the words spoken in its first 10 seconds, to check it against ASCI's influencer advertising guidelines: the label, where it sits, hashtag burial, video rules, AI influencer labels and health or finance credentials.

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Check a post

Choose the platform and category, paste the caption as it will be posted, and run the check. Each rule comes back with the ASCI clause behind it and a one line fix.

Paste a caption and run the check

The example on the left hides #ad at the end of a hashtag block, a common reason posts get flagged. Run it to see the result, then try your own draft.

Why this matters

Disclosure is not a courtesy in India. Two sets of rules apply, and both brand and creator carry them.

The brand and the creator are both responsible

ASCI's guidelines place responsibility on the advertiser as well as the influencer (clause 1.5). The creator makes the disclosure; the brand has to make sure the post follows the ASCI Code and, where needed, ask the creator to edit or delete it. A brand cannot point at the creator after a complaint. Read the ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media.

The CCPA can fine and ban

The Central Consumer Protection Authority's Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022 allow a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh on manufacturers, advertisers and endorsers, and up to Rs 50 lakh for a repeat. An endorser can be barred from endorsing for up to one year, and up to three years on a repeat. The Department of Consumer Affairs' Endorsement Know-hows (January 2023) spell out how influencers, celebrities and virtual influencers must disclose, and warn that failing to disclose a material connection invites strict action under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Posts are monitored

ASCI says it uses AI tools through its National Advertising Monitoring Service to find undisclosed paid posts, writes to the influencer and the advertiser, and can escalate cases to the government and sector regulators. See ASCI's Guide for Social Media Influencers.

What the checker looks at

Eleven rules, each tied to a clause. Where a rule cannot be judged from text, the result says so instead of guessing.

A permitted label

ASCI lists the labels it accepts (clause 1.3): Advertisement, Ad, Sponsored, Collaboration, Partnership, Employee, Free gift and Affiliate, plus Instagram's Paid partnership tag and YouTube's Includes paid promotion tag. Tags such as #promo, #sp or #gifted are not on the list, so the checker flags them. The CCPA's guide names a shorter list (ad, advertisement, sponsored, paid promotion), so a post that relies only on #collab or #partnership gets a nudge to add #ad as well.

Upfront, before the fold

A label is likely to be missed if it sits in a bio, at the end of a post or anywhere a viewer has to tap "more" to read (clause 1.2). The checker treats a label as upfront when it appears in the first two lines and within the characters a platform shows before it cuts the caption off: about 125 on Instagram and Facebook, 100 on TikTok, 150 in a YouTube description and the opening of a post on X, where ASCI's own guide asks for the label at the beginning.

Not buried in hashtags

A disclosure must not be buried in a group of hashtags or links (clause 1.2(c)). The checker flags a label inside an unbroken run of four or more hashtags, mentions or links, counting itself. A label that opens the caption is fine even when tags follow it.

Videos: say it, and show it

The Department of Consumer Affairs asks for video disclosures in the video itself, not just the description, and in both audio and video format. ASCI asks for disclosures upfront and warns that one at the end of a video is likely to be missed. Many Indian legal advisers now read upfront as a spoken disclosure within the first 10 seconds, which is the window this checker uses when you paste the opening words. The on screen label has its own minimum (clause 1.2(e)): at least 3 seconds for a video of 15 seconds or less, a third of the length for a video up to 2 minutes, and the whole section that mentions the brand for anything longer. Live streams need the disclosure announced at the start and the end, and audio at the start, the end and around every break.

AI generated and virtual influencers

A virtual influencer must also tell viewers, upfront and prominently, that they are not interacting with a real person (clause 1.4). ASCI's guidelines on labelling synthetically generated content, released on 29 September 2026 and in force after a three month transition, make synthetic influencers and ambassadors a case where a label is required, with suggested wording such as "Video created using AI". A label in the profile bio does not count, and the ad label is still needed.

Health and finance credentials

Since August 2023, creators who give advice or make claims about banking, financial services, insurance, health or nutrition must hold the right qualification and state it upfront (Addendum 2). Investment advice needs a SEBI registration number next to the creator's name; other financial advice needs a qualification such as an IRDAI licence, CA or CS; health and nutrition advice needs a medical degree or a certification such as nutritionist, dietitian or physiotherapist. Creators without one can still share general information that is not technical advice.

Food and drink claims

Food and drink posts are also held to the FSSAI (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, which cover advertisements as well as labels. A food ad cannot claim to prevent, treat or cure a disease or condition, say that doctors recommend it, or call itself home-made (regulations 9 and 10). Words such as natural, fresh, pure, traditional and authentic, and nutrition claims such as sugar free or high protein, are allowed only when the product meets the conditions the regulations set. Choose Food or drink as the category and the checker fails the prohibited claims and lists the conditional ones to check against the pack label.

Language

The label can be in English or in the language of the post (clause 1.3(b)). The checker accepts the word for advertisement in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Urdu, and the Hindi word for sponsored. ASCI publishes no official translation list, so treat these as plain readings of the word. The CCPA's guide asks for the disclosure in the same language as the endorsement, so a Hindi caption with only #ad gets a suggestion to add the Hindi label too.

The same check inside Limurse

Brands running campaigns on Limurse get this check on every draft a creator submits for review.

When a creator submits a deliverable with a caption, Limurse runs these rules on it and shows the brand and the creator any rule that fails, next to the draft, before anything is approved. It never blocks a submission; it makes the problem visible while it is still cheap to fix. Spoken and on screen rules are marked for checking by hand, because they need the video, not the caption.

This checker reads text. It is a fast first pass, not legal advice, and it cannot see the video, the platform's paid partnership setting or the contract behind a post. When in doubt, follow ASCI's own advice and call it out.

Sources

Primary documents only. Read them in full before relying on a summary, including this one.

Frequently asked questions

What are the ASCI guidelines for influencers?

ASCI's Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media require every post with a material connection to a brand, whether payment, free products, a barter, an affiliate link or an employment or family tie, to carry a clear disclosure label. The label must be upfront and hard to miss, not hidden in a bio, at the end of a post or among hashtags, and videos need it on screen for a minimum time.

Which disclosure labels does ASCI accept?

Advertisement, Ad, Sponsored, Collaboration, Partnership, Employee, Free gift and Affiliate, plus Instagram's Paid partnership tag and YouTube's Includes paid promotion tag. The label can be in English or in the language of the post. Tags like #promo, #sp or #gifted are not on the list.

Is the platform paid partnership tag enough on its own?

No. ASCI says the platform's disclosure tool should be used in addition to the influencer's own label, and the Department of Consumer Affairs says the same. Turn on the paid partnership setting and keep #ad at the start of the caption.

Does a video need a spoken disclosure?

The Department of Consumer Affairs' Endorsement Know-hows ask for video disclosures in the video itself, in both audio and video format, and ASCI asks for disclosure upfront rather than at the end. Saying it in the first 10 seconds is the safe reading. The on screen label must also stay up for at least 3 seconds on a video of 15 seconds or less, a third of the length up to 2 minutes, and the whole brand section from 2 minutes.

Who is liable if a creator does not disclose?

Both. ASCI places responsibility on the advertiser and the influencer, and the brand is expected to ask the creator to fix or remove a non compliant post. Under the CCPA's 2022 guidelines a misleading advertisement can draw a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh, up to Rs 50 lakh for a repeat, and an endorser can be barred for up to one year, or three years on a repeat.

Do AI generated or virtual influencers need a different label?

Yes. A virtual influencer must also say upfront that viewers are not interacting with a real person, and ASCI's 2026 guidelines on synthetically generated content make synthetic influencers a case where an AI label is required, for example Video created using AI. The ad label is still needed alongside it.

Does this checker store what I paste?

No. The caption and transcript are checked and the result is returned; nothing is saved. The checker reads text only, so it cannot see the video itself or the platform setting, and it is a first pass, not legal advice.

Run creator campaigns that stay compliant

Brands get every creator draft checked for disclosure before approval. Creators get briefs that spell out the label from day one.

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