Companion guide
How to Write a Disclaimer (2026)
The 8 disclaimer types every YMYL site needs, the 2023 FTC Endorsement Guides, SEC hedge-clause traps, state UPL rules, and when a generator is enough.
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About the Disclaimer Generator
A disclaimer is a legal notice that limits your liability and discloses relationships, risks, or limitations relevant to your content. It sits between you and the consequences of someone acting on your content in a way you didn't intend. Well-drafted disclaimers survive in litigation. Badly drafted ones — or missing ones — cost real money.
This generator covers the eight disclaimer types most sites need, with particular focus on YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) verticals where regulatory enforcement is highest: medical, legal, financial, fitness, earnings, and affiliate content. It incorporates the 2023 Federal Trade Commission Endorsement Guides (the first update since 2009), the 2024 FTC Final Rule banning fake reviews (penalties up to $51,744 per violation), SEC Marketing Rule guidance on hedge clauses, and state-specific unauthorized-practice-of-law rules.
What makes this different
Most free disclaimer generators give you one or two generic types and leave you to figure out the rest. Paid tools (Termly, TermsFeed, Iubenda) charge $10-99/month and paywall the YMYL-specific types, regulatory updates, and compliance checks. This generator is free forever, runs 100% in your browser with no signup, and ships with:
- 8 disclaimer types covering YMYL verticals — General/Website, Affiliate (FTC 2023+2024), Medical (HIPAA-adjacent), Legal (UPL with state-specific rules), Financial (SEC-aware), Fitness (assumption-of-risk), Earnings (FTC atypical-results), AI-Generated Content
- 10 jurisdictions with specific rules — US Federal, California, New York, Florida, Texas, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, India (CCPA 2023 endorsement guidelines)
- FTC 2023 Endorsement Guides compliance — "Clear and conspicuous" definition ("difficult to miss, easily understood, unavoidable" on digital interactive media), format-matching disclosures, rejection of platform-only disclosure tools
- FTC 2024 Final Rule on fake reviews — Effective October 21, 2024; fines up to $51,744 per violation; includes AI-generated fake reviews
- SEC hedge-clause detection — Scans custom clauses for language the SEC's 2019 Interpretation treats as misleading to retail investors
- State-specific UPL rules — California (Bus & Prof Code 6125), New York (Judiciary Law 478/484), Florida (Bar Rule 4-5.5), Texas (Govt Code 81.101), with proper citations
- AI-generated content disclaimer — 2024-2026 novel: hallucination warnings, verification requirements, professional-advice limitations
- Placement scorecard — FTC "clear and conspicuous" rating for footer, pre-content, in-content, modal, dedicated page
- 13+ compliance checks — Each cites a specific regulatory source: FTC guides, SEC rules, state bar rules, case law
- 7 export formats + placement copy generator — Full disclaimer plus short-form in-content banner copy
The 8 disclaimer types explained
1. General / Website Disclaimer. Baseline every site needs. No warranty, accuracy disclaimer, external-links disclaimer, use-at-own-risk. Foundational; most other types build on it.
2. Affiliate / FTC Disclosure. Required by the 2023 Endorsement Guides if your site has any material connection with products you recommend. The 2024 Final Rule adds per-violation fines for fake reviews. This is the disclaimer that Kim Kardashian's $1.26M FTC fine (2022) was about — she promoted EthereumMax without disclosing her payment. Applies to anyone with affiliate links, sponsorships, paid partnerships, or received free products.
3. Medical / Health Disclaimer. For anything health-related. "Not medical advice, no doctor-patient relationship, consult your physician, 911 for emergencies, drug interactions." HIPAA-adjacent because HIPAA itself applies to covered entities and their business associates, but state medical-board UPL-equivalents apply to everyone sharing medical information.
4. Legal Disclaimer (UPL). Every state regulates unauthorized practice of law differently. A legal-information website must disclaim attorney-client relationship formation and warn that content is not legal advice. The generator includes state-specific language for California, New York, Florida, and Texas — the highest-enforcement states.
5. Financial / Investment Disclaimer. SEC-aware. The critical trap here is "hedge clauses" — language that purports to waive client rights or limit adviser liability. The SEC's 2019 Interpretation Regarding Standard of Conduct states these are generally misleading to retail investors and violate the Advisers Act's antifraud provisions. The generator's scorecard specifically audits for this.
6. Fitness / Physical Activity. Assumption of risk, physician clearance, stop-if-unwell warnings. Three intensity levels (light, moderate, intense) adjust language. Critical for workout content, yoga instructors, personal trainers, fitness apps, sports coaches.
7. Earnings / Results Disclaimer. "Atypical results" language per FTC 2023. Generic "results may vary" is no longer sufficient — if you feature a user earning $10K/month, the typical user's result must be disclosed at the point of presentation. Critical for coaching, info products, business-opportunity content.
8. AI-Generated Content Disclaimer. New in 2024-2026. Discloses AI use, warns of hallucinations, cautions against reliance for consequential decisions, addresses the 2024 FTC ban on AI-generated fake reviews. If any content on your site is AI-assisted, this disclaimer closes a growing regulatory gap.
The 2023 FTC "clear and conspicuous" test
This is what regulators actually check. The 2023 Endorsement Guides define "clear and conspicuous" as:
- Difficult to miss — A reasonable user shouldn't be able to scroll past the endorsement without also seeing the disclosure.
- Easily understood — Plain language, not legalese. Words like "sponsored" or "ad" beat "we have a commercial relationship with the promoted brand."
- Unavoidable on digital interactive media — The user cannot defeat the disclosure by scrolling, hiding a panel, or clicking away. Above-the-fold placement.
- Format-matching — Visual endorsements need visual disclosures. Audible endorsements need audible disclosures. Video needs both where relevant.
- Platform tools are not sufficient — The FTC explicitly stated Instagram's "paid partnership" label and similar platform tools may not meet the standard on their own.
For most sites, this means footer-only disclosure does not satisfy FTC requirements for in-content endorsements. You need in-content disclosure (right where the affiliate link or endorsement appears) plus a comprehensive footer-linked disclaimer. The generator produces both.
SEC hedge-clause traps
If you run a financial website, this trap is real. Language that says things like:
- "You waive all claims against us..."
- "We shall not be liable for any investment losses..."
- "By using this site you release us from any and all claims..."
- "Your rights are limited to the extent permitted by law..."
...is exactly what the SEC's 2019 Interpretation calls a "hedge clause." When these appear in an investment adviser's agreement or disclaimer, the SEC takes the position they are generally "likely to mislead" retail clients into not exercising legal rights they actually have — which is a violation of the Advisers Act antifraud provisions (Sections 206(1) and 206(2)). The scorecard scans your custom-clause input for this pattern and flags it as a red.
Enforcement in 2024-2026
This isn't abstract. Recent cases the generator accounts for:
- Kim Kardashian v. SEC (2022) — $1.26M settlement for promoting EthereumMax crypto token without disclosing her $250K payment. The template this case established for influencer disclosure is what the 2023 Endorsement Guides codified.
- Google & iHeartMedia (2023) — FTC action against Google and iHeartMedia for paying influencers to promote Pixel 4 without ever actually using the phone. Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine specifically called out "blatant disrespect for truth-in-advertising rules."
- FTC Final Rule on Consumer Reviews (effective Oct 21, 2024) — First US rule explicitly banning fake reviews, AI-generated fake reviews, incentivized reviews without disclosure, and review suppression. Penalties up to $51,744 per violation.
- Fundrise Advisors (SEC) — Penalized for failing to ensure proper disclosures across 200+ influencer creators. Important precedent: brands are liable for their influencers' disclosure failures.
- Cadia Healthcare / OCR HIPAA settlement (Sept 2025) — HIPAA website rules enforcement against access-control failures. Most HIPAA-covered sites are missing tracking-pixel audits.
When this generator is enough, and when it isn't
The generator is enough when: you run a content site, SaaS, e-commerce store, newsletter, coaching program, affiliate site, or fitness/wellness site. You're in a typical business model. You operate in the covered jurisdictions (US, EU, UK, CA, AU, IN). You've reviewed your content and matched disclaimer types to what you actually do.
Get a lawyer involved when: you're a licensed medical practitioner; you're a bar-admitted attorney providing online services; you're SEC-registered or FINRA-registered; you're in a regulated industry (broker-dealer, insurance, cannabis, pharmaceuticals, firearms); you've had a prior enforcement action; you're going through due diligence or M&A; you run programmatic affiliate networks at scale. A 1-2 hour attorney review ($300-1,500) is cheap insurance at those stakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this disclaimer legally binding?
A disclaimer is a notice, not a contract, so "binding" isn't quite right. What matters is whether courts will treat it as having reduced or shifted liability. Well-drafted disclaimers presented with adequate notice (conspicuously placed, clearly worded, user acknowledgment where possible) have consistently been upheld by US courts for general liability limitation. Regulatory disclaimers (FTC affiliate, medical, legal, financial) are disclosures required by law rather than contractual terms, and their effectiveness depends on whether the disclosure meets the specific regulatory standard. The generator produces templates that follow widely-accepted drafting patterns; it is not legal advice.
How is this different from Termly, TermsFeed, or Disclaimer Generator sites?
Three ways. First, all features are free with no paywalls — competitors gate multi-type disclaimers, SEC compliance, UPL jurisdiction mapping, and AI clauses behind $10-99/month subscriptions. Second, depth: 8 YMYL-critical disclaimer types, 10 jurisdictions with state-specific UPL rules, the 2023 FTC Endorsement Guides, 2024 Final Rule on fake reviews, SEC Marketing Rule hedge-clause detection, and HIPAA PHI warnings — most competitors haven't updated for any of this. Third, privacy: runs 100% in your browser, no signup, no account.
Does this cover the 2023 FTC Endorsement Guides update?
Yes. The affiliate disclosure templates follow the revised 16 CFR Part 255 Endorsement Guides finalized in June 2023 — the first update since 2009. This includes the new "clear and conspicuous" definition ("difficult to miss, easily understood, unavoidable" on digital interactive media), the rejection of platform-only disclosure tools, the requirement for format-matching disclosures (visual/audible), and the 2024 Final Rule banning fake or AI-generated reviews with penalties up to $51,744 per violation.
Can I use this for a medical, legal, or financial site?
The generator produces templates for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) verticals — medical, legal, financial, earnings, fitness — with the specific liability language those industries need. The templates are starting points. For regulated industries (licensed medical practice, bar-admitted legal services, SEC/FINRA-registered financial advisers), we strongly recommend attorney review before publishing. The generator's scorecard flags UPL risks, SEC hedge-clause violations, and HIPAA mentions that require professional review.
What about AI-generated content disclaimers?
Included. The AI-generated content disclaimer covers the 2024-2026 landscape: disclosure that content was AI-produced or AI-assisted, the risk of hallucination or factual inaccuracy, the recommendation that users verify outputs for consequential decisions, and specific warnings where AI content touches professional-advice domains. This addresses both the FTC's 2024 ban on AI-generated fake reviews and the growing expectation that AI involvement be disclosed in content generally.
Does it address state-specific UPL (unauthorized practice of law) rules?
Yes. Every US state has its own definition of unauthorized practice of law, and legal-information websites must be careful not to cross from "general information" into "legal advice." The Legal Disclaimer templates include jurisdiction-aware UPL disclaimers that disclaim attorney-client relationship formation, warn that content is not legal advice specific to the reader's situation, and include state-specific language for California (Bus & Prof Code 6125), New York (Judiciary Law 478/484), Florida (Bar Rule 4-5.5), and Texas (Govt Code 81.101). The scorecard flags UPL risk language.
What's a 'hedge clause' and why does the SEC care?
A hedge clause is language in an adviser's agreement or disclaimer that purports to limit the adviser's liability or waive the client's legal rights. The SEC's 2019 Interpretation Regarding Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers held that hedge clauses with retail clients are generally likely to mislead those clients into not exercising their legal rights, in violation of the Advisers Act's antifraud provisions. The generator's scorecard flags language that could constitute an improper hedge clause and suggests compliant alternatives.
Can I save my progress and update later?
Yes. Your configuration auto-saves in your browser's localStorage and persists across sessions on the same device. You can also export your configuration as JSON to back up, transfer, or share with a team or attorney. When regulations change, load the JSON, review the affected sections, and re-export.