Paid Promotions and Sponsorships

YouTube requires creators to declare any sponsorship, product placement, endorsement or other branded content by ticking the paid promotion box in YouTube Studio, which shows viewers a disclosure at the start of the video; some products may never be promoted and burned-in video ads are not allowed.

1:58 If a brand gave you anything of value (money, free products, a sponsorship, now or later) to feature or promote it, YouTube calls the video branded content, and you must declare it: in YouTube Studio open the video, click Show more, and tick My video contains paid promotion like a product placement, sponsorship, or endorsement, then Save (YouTube Branded Content Policies). YouTube then shows a disclosure at the start of the video. The rule covers videos, Shorts, live streams, descriptions and comments, and the whole video must follow YouTube's Community Guidelines and Google Ads policies, with some exceptions; some products may not be promoted at all.

Quick facts

What must be declared	Branded content, sponsorships, endorsements, product placements, other commercial relationships
Where	YouTube Studio > Content > video > Show more > paid promotion box
What viewers see	A disclosure at the start of the video
Undisclosed	YouTube may add the label itself and notify you, or remove the video
Ads	Still shown; YouTube may avoid a competitor's ad
YouTube Kids	Videos with branded content are removed from the app
Burned-in pre, mid or post rolls	Not allowed
Find declared videos	youtube.com/results?sv=1

Sources: YouTube Branded Content Policies and Embedded third-party sponsorships and ads, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026.

What counts as a paid promotion?

YouTube's viewer guide splits branded content into three kinds (Watching videos with branded content):

Kind	What it means
Branded content	A video made for a company, or featuring its brand, product or message, in exchange for money or free products, or because of a connection between creator and maker
Endorsement	A video made for an advertiser that carries the creator's own opinions or experiences
Sponsorship	A video paid for in whole or part by a company, usually promoting it without building the product into the content

The test is the exchange of value, not the format. A free product sent for review, an affiliate deal agreed with the brand, a paid integration in the middle of a video, a sponsor read in a live stream and a promotional link in a pinned comment all count. Simply mentioning or showing something you bought yourself, with no deal, does not.

How do I mark a YouTube video as a paid promotion?

On a computer, for an uploaded video:

Sign in to YouTube Studio.
Click Content in the left menu, then the video.
At the bottom of the details, click Show more.
Tick My video contains paid promotion like a product placement, sponsorship, or endorsement.
Optionally set a minimum age, overall or per country.
Click Save.

While uploading, the same choice is under Show more > Paid Promotion: select Yes, my video includes branded content, then Set Up (Add branded content restrictions & disclosure labels).

In the YouTube or YouTube Studio app: open the video, tap Show More > Products, Paid promotion, and brands > Paid promotion and brands, and under Paid Promotion tap Yes. The age and country limits can only be set in Studio on a computer.

What the box changes

Viewers are told: a disclosure appears at the start of the video and links to YouTube's explanation of sponsorships and endorsements. Even YouTube Premium members, who see no YouTube ads, still see sponsor segments that creators put in their videos, and the disclosure.
Ads keep running: in the YouTube Partner Program, a declared video can still earn ad revenue if it meets the Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines. YouTube may swap out an ad from your sponsor's direct competitor.
YouTube Kids drops it: videos with branded content are removed from the YouTube Kids app. Branded content in videos for children must also carry a disclosure children can understand (Watching videos with branded content); see Made for Kids.
Age and country limits: you can choose the countries where it shows, an overall minimum age and a minimum age per country, for local advertising laws such as those on alcohol.

If YouTube's systems find undeclared branded content, they may add the label and notify you; if it was wrong, you may be able to certify there is no branded content and remove it (YouTube Branded Content Policies).

Banned and restricted sponsors

Some products may not be promoted in branded content at all. YouTube's examples (YouTube Branded Content Policies):

Recreational drugs or drug paraphernalia
Weapons or ammunition
Hacking software
Counterfeit goods
Academic essay-writing services

Others are restricted: alcohol, financial services, healthcare and medicines, gambling, and elections and political content. For these the creator must check the brand holds any Google certification it needs, and apply age and country limits where the law asks. Both lists are examples, not complete; the full rules are Google's advertising policies.

George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! network, recorded YouTube removing videos that promoted sexually explicit products and an essay-writing service, with a warning that more violations put a channel's place in the Partner Program at risk.

Can I put a sponsor's ad inside my video?

3:10 Not a video ad. YouTube does not allow creators to burn advertiser-made video ads, such as pre-rolls, mid-rolls, post-rolls or bumpers, into their videos where YouTube sells a comparable ad format, and may turn off monetization or remove videos that do (Embedded third-party sponsorships and ads). What is allowed is a paid product placement or endorsement that is part of your own content and is declared. Older guidance that YouTube gave networks, preserved in George Vanous's notes, also allowed a short static sponsor title card near the start and a static end card at the very end; today's Help page no longer spells those out.

When the policy bites

The policy applies to the whole video, not only the sponsored minute. A violation can get the video removed or age-restricted, and can affect the channel's standing, YouTube Partner Program eligibility and access to features. YouTube's disclosure does not replace the law: creators and brands answer for their own obligations to regulators such as the US Federal Trade Commission, the UK Advertising Standards Authority and the Australian ACCC (YouTube Branded Content Policies). Help is explicit that its article is not legal advice.

Sponsorships as income

Sponsorships pay creators who are not in the Partner Program, since the deal is between creator and brand. George Vanous's Oct 4, 2020 video "Monetize ANY video with sponsorships! (even demonetized channels)" makes that case: sponsorships and affiliate links earn money on videos YouTube does not monetize. The disclosure rules apply either way. YouTube's own marketplace for brand deals is Creator Partnerships, and product links are covered on YouTube Shopping and Links in Descriptions.

What creators say

6:39 In a 2020 video, George Vanous of Freedom! held up one of the network's partner channels, a Bosnian game review channel sponsored by the chair maker E-Shark, which it promotes in its channel banner too, and advised creators to add their webcam and branding to every video and "try to get a sponsorship" like it. His view is that a sponsor and a recognizable host help a channel grow; the disclosure rules above apply to such deals.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to disclose a sponsorship on YouTube? Yes. Any video with branded content, sponsorships, endorsements or product placements must be declared with YouTube's paid promotion box, and local advertising laws may require more, such as saying it in the video.

What happens if I don't tick paid promotion on YouTube? YouTube may add the disclosure label itself and notify you, or remove the video. Repeated or serious violations can affect the channel and its YouTube Partner Program eligibility.

Do free products count as paid promotion on YouTube? Yes. YouTube's policy covers anything of value received in exchange for featuring a brand, including free products, whether received now or later.

Can a sponsored YouTube video still make ad money? Yes. A declared video can earn ad revenue in the YouTube Partner Program if it follows the advertiser-friendly guidelines; YouTube may avoid showing a competitor's ad.

What sponsors are banned on YouTube? YouTube's examples include recreational drugs, weapons and ammunition, hacking software, counterfeit goods and essay-writing services. Alcohol, gambling, finance, health and political content are restricted.

How do I find YouTube videos with paid promotions? YouTube's search page at youtube.com/results?sv=1 searches only videos whose creators declared paid product placements, sponsorships and endorsements.