US: Creating disclaimers to run ads about social issues, elections or politics

To help increase transparency, all ads about social issues, elections or politics must be clearly labeled with a “Paid for by” disclaimer that accurately reflects the organization or person paying for your ads. As part of that process, we offer advertisers five options for providing more information, three of which rely on US government resources to confirm an organization so they can use its registered name in disclaimers.

How do I start the disclaimer creation process?

1. You must have fully completed the authorization process via your personal profile account.
2. You must have Facebook Access - Full Control (Admin) to the Page you intend to create a disclaimer for to run ads about social issues, elections or politics.
3. You must be on a desktop and switched into the Page to create the disclaimer. See video with steps below.

What options do I have in the disclaimer creation process?

Advertisers can demonstrate their registration with the US government by providing:

• Option 1: Employer identification number (EIN)
• Option 2: Federal Election Commission (FEC) identification number
• Option 3: Government website and email address ending in .gov or .mil

For these options you will be required to provide additional details such as an organization address, phone number and email address. All social issue, electoral and political ads will be public in our Ad Library for seven years.

Advertisers, including local politicians or smaller organizations, who do not have these credentials can choose from two options:

• Option 4: Contact information, website and email: Submitting an organization name by providing a verifiable phone number, business email, mail-deliverable address and a business website with a domain that matches the email provided.
• Option 5: Page Name – Advertisers that don’t have a website or a related email address that matches the website domain can use this option. The advertiser will need to provide: a local mail-deliverable business address, a verifiable local phone number and any verifiable email address (including email domains such as Gmail, Yahoo, Aol and others)

Why is it important to demonstrate registration with the US government?

By providing an EIN, government website domain or FEC identification number, you:

1. Signal to people, regulators and journalists that you are a legitimate, established organization
2. Have your ads run with a “Confirmed Organization” icon
   1. Note: If you choose options 4 or 5 above, your ads will run with an “About this ad” icon.

Don’t forget to link your disclaimer to your desired ad account and mark your ads and boosted posts as about “Social Issues, Elections or Politics” in the Special Ad Category section.

Additional tips

• Disclaimers don’t take the place of any legally required disclaimers and disclosures. Advertisers have an independent obligation to make sure their ads comply with all applicable laws.
• If you are a Tax-Exempt organization (e.g., certain advocacy groups and nonprofits), you can provide your Tax-Registered organization identification number (i.e., EIN) and provide required documents available directly on the IRS website (a Form 990). View our Help Center for information on the documents that are accepted.

If you are a government organization but do not have a .gov or .mil website and email, visit facebook.com/gpa/help for more information, FAQs and access to our support team.