The ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. requires marketing and advertising to be prepared with a sense of social responsibility. Social responsibility is relevant to various topics, some of which have specific rules set out in the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's advertising codes. You can find further guidance on specific rules for advertising certain products, and ensuring your advertising does not cause harm or distress, in Q&A 3 and following. In general, you should consider issues such as the following to make sure your advertising is socially responsible:

1. Ads for alcohol should not encourage unwise drinking styles or encourage excessive drinking (see Q&A 7 for further guidance);

2. Ads should not encourage or condone excessive drug use (and should not feature drug use without actively condemning it);

3. Smoking should not be encouraged or presented in an appealing manner (see Q&A 8 for further guidance);

4. Vulnerable people, children and young people should be protected from being harmed by gambling advertising;

5. Advertisers should be conscious not to exploit people's insecurities about their bodies or present an unhealthy body image as being desirable;

6. Marketing of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic interventions (both invasive and non-invasive) must not be directed at those aged below 18 years and may not be advertised in (or adjacent to) programmes that appeal particularly to audiences below the age of 18;

7. Advertising addressed to or featuring children should not cause harm or exploit their vulnerability; and

8. Advertising should not objectify women or encourage or trivialise violence.

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there are specific rules that apply to medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products.

For example:

1. you are not allowed to advertise prescription-only medicines;

2. you should obtain specific scientific evidence before making claims;

3. you should not confuse consumersPeople purchasing goods and services for personal use/acting outside of their professional or working capacity. by using unfamiliar scientific words for common conditions;

4. you cannot use celebrities (which can include influencers who have a large number of followers) or health professionals to endorse medical products;

5. you cannot advertise medical treatments for humans or animals via teleshopping.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there are specific rules that apply to how claims about aids to weight-loss are backed up and presented.

For example:

1. before making any claims you should obtain scientific evidence and, where applicable, support a claim by having had rigorous trials on people;

2. you must ensure that any claims you make about a product assisting with weight loss are authorised by the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register (and are made in a socially responsible way). For example, claiming that a product will help consumersPeople purchasing goods and services for personal use/acting outside of their professional or working capacity. feel more fit, toned and healthy without backing this claim up with an authorised health claim, or photoshopping a model's body to make them look artificially thin while promoting a weight loss product, are likely to breachA violation of a legal or moral obligation. the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes of practice;

3. health claims in advertising for food products that refer to a rate of weight loss are not permitted; and

4. you should give prominence to the importance of dieting when attempting to lose weight and not exaggerate the effectiveness of the product.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. ’s codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there are specific rules about how claims about health and nutrition are backed up and presented.

For example:

1. you must not condone or encourage excessive consumption of food;

2. you cannot condone or encourage poor nutritional habits or an unhealthy lifestyle, particularly in children;

3. you must comply with Government rules around placement and promotion of high fat, salty and sugary foods; and

4. you cannot make a health or nutrition claim unless it is of a certain type listed in the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register. Strict rules also apply to advertising aids to weight loss, as set out in Q&A 4.

If you sell pre-packaged food for direct sale (PPDS), you are also required to provide certain information on its packaging. You can use the Food Standards Agency's interactive tool to help you determine which rules apply to you.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. ’s codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there is a specific scheme that applies to the way in which financial products or services are promoted, and you will generally need specialist advice on this.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there are specific rules to ensure that those who may be vulnerable are not taken advantage of, and to avoid irresponsible or dangerous behaviour being promoted.

For example:

1. you should not promote socially irresponsible gambling behaviour or suggest that it might provide an escape from personal problems;

2. you must take all reasonable steps to protect children or young people (under 18) from being harmed by gambling – such as ensuring you do not place gambling advertising in media aimed at children or young people (or media where children or young people make up more than 25% of the audience), you do not target gambling advertising at children or young people based on their online use, or use celebrities or sportspeople who are or appear under 25 to promote gambling;

3. marketing advertisements for gambling must not be likely to strongly appeal to children or young persons, particularly by being associated with youth culture. For example, they must not include a character or person who has a strong appeal to those aged under 18;

4. you should not encourage excessive alcohol consumption; and

5. your advertisements (including posts by influencers) must not feature people drinking (or playing a significant role in an advertisement for alcohol) who are under 25 or seem to be under 25.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, you are not allowed to advertise tobacco, and there are strict limitations on adverts concerning anything connected to tobacco (including rolling papers, filters and e-cigarettes). For example:

1. adverts should not encourage people to start smoking or to smoke more than they already do;

2. if advertising an e-cigarette, you must make it clear that the product is an e-cigarette and not a tobacco product; and

3. your advertisements (including posts by influencers) must not feature people using e-cigarettes who are, or seem to be, under 25 years old.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In addition to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there are particular rules about how road safety is presented. For example, you must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving.

Further guidance on the specific rules for these particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; if you intend to advertise any of these products, you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

In additional to the general rules set out in Q&A 1 and Q&A 2, there are particular rules about making environmental claims. Environmental claims are claims which suggest a product, brand, business, good or service has a positive impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other similar goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. or services (or a previous version of the same good or service). These include but are not limited to:

1. ensuring that claims are accurate and not misleading or exaggerated;

2. being very careful when using absolute claims like 'green' or 'environmentally friendly', as these types of claim require a high level of substantiation and you must show that your product does not damage the environment throughout its whole life cycle (from manufacture to disposal). The ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. advises that you should use claims like 'greener' or 'cleaner' instead and be clear about what you are comparing your product or service to;

3. ensuring all important information is included on your advertisement; and

4. using terminology that customers understand.

Further guidance on making environmental claims is currently beyond the scope of this service, but if you intend to make these types of claims you should refer to the specific sections in ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's codes:

1. For adverts on television and radio: Broadcasting code

2. For any other types of advert: Non-broadcasting code

You should consider what type of platform you intend to use to market your product or service, as particular factors affect some of these methods. Further guidance can be found for the following:

1. online advertising, through your own website or on social media: see Q&A 16 and following;

2. emails and text messages sent directly to a customer (see Q&A 18);

3. telephone marketing (see Q&A 19);

4. advertising on television or radio (see Q&A 20);

5. advertising in newspapers and magazines see (Q&A 21);

6. advertising on billboards and posters (see Q&A 22);

7. distributing flyers, leaflets or catalogues (see Q&A 23)

8. handing out free samples of your product (see Q&A 24); and

9. getting people in the public eye to endorse your product (see Q&A 25); and

10. Using promotional competitions and prize draws to market your product (see Q&A 28 and following).

When creating an advertisement, you must ensure you do not mislead customers about the product or service you are selling.

The way in which you might mislead, and therefore what to avoid this, depends upon what you are selling, and will therefore be a matter for your judgement. However, some general guidelines are as follows:

1. Whilst you can puff-up your product and use exaggerations which an average person would not take literally, you must not exaggerate the capability or performance of the product or service.

2. You must make sure that you do not mislead customers by leaving out or hiding information that the customer needs to know in order to make an informed decision about what is being advertised, or present such information in a way that is unclear or ambiguous. For example, if you are advertising 15% off the usual price of a product, you should ensure that the usual price is the price the product has usually been sold for over a recent period of time. You should not increase the price of a product temporarily in order to discount it by a more impressive amount. Whether or not you are misleading the customer will depend on the context of the advert and possibly the medium you are using (as this will affect how much time or space you have).

3. If you are giving an opinion, you must ensure it is clear it is an opinion and you must not imply that what you are saying is fact if it is not. If you do make a claim which customers are likely to regard as an objective piece of information, you must make sure that you have documentary evidence to back it up and you must not suggest that claims you make are generally accepted if there is a significant body of informed or scientific opinion in disagreement.

4. If a consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. has the legal right to something (such as the right to cancel orders placed online within 14 days), you must not present that right as something particular to your offer.

5. You must never advertise products or services which claim that they allow consumersPeople purchasing goods and services for personal use/acting outside of their professional or working capacity. to win in games of chance.

6. You must never say that your job or livelihood is at stake if the customer does not purchase your product or service.

7. If you include the price of the product or service in your advertisement, you need to ensure that this complies with the rules about the way that price is presented; see Q&A 41 and following.

8. You must not mislead people about the availability of a product or service at a certain price; if you think that you might not be able to meet the demand for the product or service advertised at that price then you should make it clear that stock is limited. If a product or service becomes unavailable then you should amend or withdraw any adverts accordingly. If there are limitations on who can purchase your products, for example due to age or geographical location, then you must state this.

9. You must not falsely claim that you are about to stop trading or that you will be moving premises; for example, by saying you are having a closing-down sale if you are not in fact closing-down. You cannot falsely say that something is only available for a very limited time if this is not true. In addition, you must not state that it will be very difficult for customers to find your goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. or services elsewhere, if this is not the case.

Whilst you are allowed to compare your product or service to that of a competitor, there are particular rules to be aware of when doing so; see Q&A 13 for further information.

You are allowed to compare your products or services to those of your competitors; however, you must make sure that such comparisons are justifiable and that you do not mislead customers either in relation to your own products or services or those of your competitors.

You should only compare similar products or services that are doing roughly similar things and the comparison should be of a particular feature (which may include price).

You must also be careful not to infringe on the intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs. of your competitor when creating your advert; this would include using their trademark in a way which might confuse customers about which products were theirs and which were yours. For further information about how to avoid infringing on someone else's intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs., see Market research and intellectual property when setting up a business.

You must take care when creating an advert to ensure that it does not cause any harm or serious or widespread offence, bearing in mind generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards. The fact that an advert is distasteful or potentially offensive to some people does not mean to say that it will fall short of the rules, and the context and potential audience for the advert (which will be affected by the scheduling time when the advert is being broadcast) can be taken into account.

However, as a general rule you should bear in mind public sensitivities and be particularly careful to avoid causing offence in relation to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disabilityA physical or mental impairment which has a substantial or long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities. or age. For example, the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. receives many complaints about the sexualisation and objectification of women in adverts when it has no bearing to the actual product or service being sold. In addition, you should ensure that you do not trivialise serious social issues such as domestic abuse as this is likely to cause offence.

Some further factors to bear in mind are as follows:

1. Your advert should not cause fear or distress if there is no justifiable reason for it; if there is a reason, the level of fear and distress that may be caused should not be excessive. In addition, you should not use any shocking claim or image just to attract attention to your advert. For example, if advertising something concerning Halloween, you should not use any particularly disturbing images that may frighten members of the public, especially if it is likely that children will see it.

2. Your advert should not condone or encourage dangerous practices. In particular, your advert must not encourage people to drink and drive and, where appropriate, should include a prominent warning about the dangers of doing so. There should be no suggestion that the effects of alcohol can be masked.

3. If you refer to someone who is dead, do so with care to avoid offence or distress.

4. Your advert must not encourage or condone any violence or anti-social behaviour or harm to the environment.

5. You should ensure that you do not include anything in the advert that is likely to harm someone with photosensitive epilepsy.

6. You must ensure that your advertisements do not contain gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence. Examples provided by the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. of advertisements that are likely to be harmful include an advertisement showing a woman to be solely responsible for cleaning up mess made by her family, an advertisement aimed at new mothers which suggests that looking attractive or keeping a home pristine is a priority over other factors such as their emotional wellbeing, and an ad that belittles a man for carrying out stereotypically 'female' roles or tasks. Advertisements are still allowed to show people carrying out gender-stereotypical roles (eg a man doing DIY) or display gender-stereotypical characteristics (eg a woman being sensitive to others' needs) but care must be taken to avoid suggestions that such roles or characteristics are always associated with one gender, are the only options available to one gender, or are never carried out or displayed by another gender. You should also ensure that your advertisements do not suggest that an individual's happiness, relationship success, or emotional wellbeing depend on having an idealised gender-stereotypical body shape or physical features. For more detailed guidance on the ban on harmful gender stereotypes, you can refer to the ASA guidance.

You need to take particular care when advertising to children, or when you feature children in your adverts. See Q&A 15 for more information.

A child, for the purposes of advertising, is someone below the age of 16, and you need to take particular care when you feature children in your adverts, or create adverts that are addressed to or targeted directly at children, to ensure that you do not take advantage of them or cause them harm or distress.

Some matters to be aware of are as follows:

1. You must not show anything that might encourage children to do something which could cause them harm. For example, you should not encourage them to enter strange places or talk to strangers and you should not depict children in dangerous situations, unless this is being done to promote safety. Children should have adult supervision in an advert if they are close to, or are using, dangerous substances or equipment.

2. You must not advertise the consumption of products containing high fat, salt or sugar to children. Note that the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. is using monitoring technology to identify ads for such products on children's websites and YouTube channels.

3. You must not condone or encourage any form of bullying and must avoid making children feel unpopular or inferior for not buying the product or service.

4. You must bear in mind that children cannot easily judge the size, characteristics and performance of advertised products or distinguish between real life and fantasy, so you must not take advantage of this.

5. You must not show children in a sexual way.

6. You must not undermine parental authority and must not encourage children to annoy parents so that they buy a particular product or service for them.

7. You must ensure that you do not expressly show children of a specific gender being excluded from (or dismissive of) an activity. You can still show children doing activities that are usually associated with their gender, or using colours, music or settings which are usually associated with their gender, but you must take care to avoid harmful gender stereotypes (the message that a child can or cannot do something, or should or should not demonstrate a certain characteristic, due to their gender).

You should be aware that children might see or hear an advert even if it is not intended for their age-range. If an advert is inappropriate for children because, for example, it might frighten them then you should not show that advert at a time or in a place where children are likely to see it.

Yes. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be a great way to advertise your products and services in a way that has instant, widespread reach.

However, the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. is still the authority in charge of any adverts posted on social media sites and therefore, you must bear in mind all of the general rules which apply to adverts; see Q&A 1 and following for further information about these rules. There may also be particular terms and conditions of advertising set by social media sites. Social media sites have stricter rules for certain products. For example, both Facebook and Twitter do not allow you to advertise any smoking products, including e-cigarettes and hookah pipes. You should therefore check the terms and conditions of the particular social media site that you wish to use.

You should bear in mind that it can be difficult to control who views your posts on social media, particularly if you have an open profile, and you should take this into account when applying the rules to your advert, particularly in relation to elements of the advert that may cause harm and offence (see Q&A 14) or where children might see it (see Q&A 15).

You also need to take care that no confusion arises about whether the advert is an advert as opposed, for example, to genuine user generated content. This can be particularly relevant in relation to advertorials or posts in which products are promoted by those paid to endorse them.

If such confusion is likely to arise, you should make sure that something is included in the post which identifies it as an advert; including the hashtag #ad is a way to do this. See Q&A 25 and Q&A 38 for further guidance on endorsements.

Bear in mind that if you are using direct messaging functions on social media platforms to send marketing messages directly to individuals (eg using Instagram or Facebook's private messaging service to send a message to a particular individual), this classifies as direct marketingAdvertising or marketing which is targeted specifically at a particular individual (as opposed to being aimed at a general market). For example, an email sent to individual email addresses with details of an online sale. for the purposes of data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. law. There are strict rules around this and businesses that do not comply can be fined up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual global turnoverThe amount of money taken by a business, before deductions (eg expenses, tax etc)., whichever is higher. For more information about what these rules are and how to comply, see Direct marketing - general.

Strict rules apply to sending marketing emails and texts (or any other form of electronic mail such as direct messages via social media) to individual members of the public. Businesses who do not comply with these rules can be fined, which in the most serious cases, can mean fines up to £17.5 million or 4% annual global turnoverThe amount of money taken by a business, before deductions (eg expenses, tax etc)., whichever is higher.

You will usually need the specific consent of the potential customer before sending marketing emails or texts.

However, there is a limited exception to this; you can send marketing texts and emails to an existing customer without specifically requesting consent if:

(a) you obtained their contact details in the course of a sale (or negotiations for a sale);

(b) you are marketing your own products or services, which are similar to the product or service the customer previously purchased; and

(c) you gave the person an opportunity to easily opt out of the marketing, both when you first obtained their contact details and again in every subsequent message you sent them.

Note that you do not need consent to send marketing emails or texts to businesses, unless they are sole tradersBusinesses each owned and operated by a single individual, which are not companies or partnerships. The individual is entitled to keep all profits made by the business (subject to any tax reduction) but is also personally responsible for any losses that the business makes. or some partnerships.

For more information about these rules and your other data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations when sending marketing emails or texts to potential customers, see Direct marketing - general.

You must bear in mind that the advertising codes The codes of conduct that all businesses must abide by when advertising their products or services, regardless of the method of advertising used (except for telephone marketing and handing out free samples). The Advertising Standards Authority can make a business amend or retract an advert which has breached any provision of the codes. still apply to any marketing texts and emails that you send so you must make sure your advert is compliant; see Q&A 1 and following for further information about these rules.

There are strict rules about when and how you can cold-call potential customers. The rules are stricter if you want to make automated calls (ie where you wish to play a recorded message) as opposed to making live calls.

Before making marketing calls, you should do the following:

1. check whether the individual is registered with the Telephone Preference ServiceAlso known as the TPS, it is the service which maintains the official register used by the Information Commissioner's Office for individual phone subscribers to be able to record their preference not to receive marketing phone calls. It is a legal requirement for a business not to make a marketing call to anyone who is on the TPS register unless the recipient has consented to receiving marketing calls from that business. (TPSAlso known as the Telephone Preference Service, it is the service which maintains the official register used by the Information Commissioner's Office for individual phone subscribers to be able to record their preference not to receive marketing phone calls. It is a legal requirement for a business not to make a marketing call to anyone who is on the TPS register unless the recipient has consented to receiving marketing calls from that business. ) or, for businesses, the Corporate Telephone Preference ServiceAlso known as the CTPS, it is the service which maintains the official register used by the Information Commissioner's Office for corporate bodies (including schools, government departments and agencies and hospitals) to be able to register their preference not to receive marketing phone calls. It is a legal requirement for a business not to make a marketing call to anyone who is on the CTPS register unless the recipient has consented to receiving marketing calls from that business. (CTPSAlso known as the Corporate Telephone Preference Service, it is the service which maintains the official register used by the Information Commissioner's Office for corporate bodies (including schools, government departments and agencies and hospitals) to be able to register their preference not to receive marketing phone calls. It is a legal requirement for a business not to make a marketing call to anyone who is on the CTPS register unless the recipient has consented to receiving marketing calls from that business.) as making marketing or sales calls to people on these lists is illegal unless you have their consent to call;

2. check your own do-not-call lists as you must not contact an individual who has told you they do not want to receive marketing calls. If a number is not listed on your list or the TPSAlso known as the Telephone Preference Service, it is the service which maintains the official register used by the Information Commissioner's Office for individual phone subscribers to be able to record their preference not to receive marketing phone calls. It is a legal requirement for a business not to make a marketing call to anyone who is on the TPS register unless the recipient has consented to receiving marketing calls from that business. or CTPSAlso known as the Corporate Telephone Preference Service, it is the service which maintains the official register used by the Information Commissioner's Office for corporate bodies (including schools, government departments and agencies and hospitals) to be able to register their preference not to receive marketing phone calls. It is a legal requirement for a business not to make a marketing call to anyone who is on the CTPS register unless the recipient has consented to receiving marketing calls from that business. lists, you are free to make live cold-calls without getting specific consent if you are doing this at random and you are not able to identify the individual you are calling;

3. if, instead of making calls to random numbers without knowing who they belong to, you know the name of the person you are calling, you are processingIn relation to data protection, processing data covers any action taken in respect of the data, including: collecting, storing, using, disclosing and erasing or destroying it. their personal dataAny information about an identifiable, living person. Information which cannot be used to identify someone on its own will still be personal data if it can be used in combination with other information to identify that individual. and you must comply with your data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations; these are set out in more detail in Customer data. For example, if you obtained the contact details from a third partyA person who is not directly involved in an existing relationship, transaction or dispute; for example, someone who is not a named party in a contract. marketing list, you need to make sure that those on the list have specifically agreed to your marketing. You must also give your identity and, if requested, the contact address of your business or a freephone number;

4. if you want to use automated calls, you need the prior consent of the individuals or businesses you will be contacting specifically for automated calls. Consent given for live marketing calls will not be sufficient. You must also give your identity and the contact address of your business or a freephone number; and

5. ensure that you are not overly aggressive or pushy when conducting marketing calls.

Individuals have the right to opt out of direct marketingAdvertising or marketing which is targeted specifically at a particular individual (as opposed to being aimed at a general market). For example, an email sent to individual email addresses with details of an online sale. calls at any time and you must inform individuals of this right when you first contact them and in your privacy policyA statement made by a business explaining what information it collects about individuals and how and why it will be used, stored and shared..

Failure to comply with data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. law can have serious financial and reputational consequences for your business, including in the most serious cases, fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of your global annual turnoverThe amount of money taken by a business, before deductions (eg expenses, tax etc)., whichever is higher

Full guidance on your data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations when making marketing calls is set out in Direct marketing - general. Note that if you use the call to sell something to the customer, there are certain rules you will have to follow. For more information about this see, Telephone sales.

Yes. However, adverts you make for television or radio must comply with the rules in the advertising codes; see Q&A 1 and following for further information about these rules.

As well as the general rules, you must take account of the following when creating the advert:

1. You must be careful in deciding which channels you choose to advertise your product or service through and at what time the advert will be seen or heard. This is to ensure that the audience is suitable for the content of the advert. You must be particularly wary of assessing whether children are likely to see the advert; see Q&A 15 for further information about matters to take into account where children are concerned.

2. If you are creating a radio advert you must ensure it does not include sounds that could create a safety hazard for drivers.

3. Television adverts should not contain visual effects or techniques that could affect those with photosensitive epilepsy and should not be excessively noisy or mean that customers need to adjust their television volume.

4. You must ensure that no animals are harmed or distressed in the production of a television advert.

Ultimately, broadcasters are responsible for ensuring that adverts placed on their television or radio channels are appropriate and in compliance with the advertising codes, but you will have to bear the cost of changing the advert and deal with the negative publicity of being named on ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's website if ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. decides to take action; see Q&A 38 for further information about this.

Yes. However, adverts which will be published in newspapers or magazines must comply with the advertising codes; see Q&A 1 and following for further information about these rules.

Particular care should be taken when advertising in children's magazines or in magazines that children are likely to see; see Q&A 15 for further information about this.

Yes. However, when creating poster or billboard adverts, you must comply with the rules in the advertising codes; see Q&A 1 and following for further information about these rules.

You need to be particularly careful about these types of advert, because they are inevitably very public and therefore there is a higher chance of people complaining about their content than for adverts whose audience is more limited or targeted. For example, Protein World's 'Are you beach body ready?' advertising campaign run in 2015 received many complaints and attracted negative publicity for so-called body-shaming, even though the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. ultimately ruled that the image used in the advert was not offensive. Transport for London has now banned similar adverts from appearing on London Underground. You should therefore bear in mind, particularly, the rules about not creating adverts that are likely to cause widespread offence; see Q&A 14 for further information about this.

There are no restrictions on posting flyers or leaflets through the door of every address in a certain area where you do so without knowing the identity of the people at those addresses. You should however consider screening your marketing posts against the Mailing Preference ServiceA free service that maintains a list of names and addresses of individuals who wish to limit the amount of direct marketing they receive by post. (MPSMailing Preference Service. A free service that maintains a list of names and addresses of individuals who wish to limit the amount of direct marketing they receive by post.), which contains the details of people who have registered not to receive unsolicited marketing mail. For more information about the MPSMailing Preference Service. A free service that maintains a list of names and addresses of individuals who wish to limit the amount of direct marketing they receive by post. see Direct marketing to individuals.

If you are sending marketing by post to a named individual, this is direct marketingAdvertising or marketing which is targeted specifically at a particular individual (as opposed to being aimed at a general market). For example, an email sent to individual email addresses with details of an online sale. and you must comply with data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. law as you are processingIn relation to data protection, processing data covers any action taken in respect of the data, including: collecting, storing, using, disclosing and erasing or destroying it. personal dataAny information about an identifiable, living person. Information which cannot be used to identify someone on its own will still be personal data if it can be used in combination with other information to identify that individual.. Failure to do so can have serious financial and reputational consequences for your business, including, in the most serious cases, fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of your global annual turnoverThe amount of money taken by a business, before deductions (eg expenses, tax etc)., whichever is higher. It is therefore important that you take your obligations seriously. Note that you cannot avoid data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. law by addressing your mailings to 'the occupier' instead of using the individual's name, because you are still processingIn relation to data protection, processing data covers any action taken in respect of the data, including: collecting, storing, using, disclosing and erasing or destroying it. their personal dataAny information about an identifiable, living person. Information which cannot be used to identify someone on its own will still be personal data if it can be used in combination with other information to identify that individual. behind the scenes. Bear in mind that individuals have a right to object to direct marketingAdvertising or marketing which is targeted specifically at a particular individual (as opposed to being aimed at a general market). For example, an email sent to individual email addresses with details of an online sale. at any time. For more information about what your data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations are when you are carrying out direct marketingAdvertising or marketing which is targeted specifically at a particular individual (as opposed to being aimed at a general market). For example, an email sent to individual email addresses with details of an online sale. like this, see Direct marketing to individuals.

You do not need consent to send mail to businesses (unless they are sole tradersBusinesses each owned and operated by a single individual, which are not companies or partnerships. The individual is entitled to keep all profits made by the business (subject to any tax reduction) but is also personally responsible for any losses that the business makes. or certain partnerships) and they do not have the same rights as individuals to require you to stop sending them marketing material. For more information about business to business marketing by post, see Direct marketing to companies.

Note that the rules in the advertising codes The codes of conduct that all businesses must abide by when advertising their products or services, regardless of the method of advertising used (except for telephone marketing and handing out free samples). The Advertising Standards Authority can make a business amend or retract an advert which has breached any provision of the codes. apply to marketing mail you send in the post or where you hand out such materials in public, so you must ensure the material is compliant; see Q&A 1 and following for more information about these rules.

If you send a catalogue which allows a customer to place an order via mail-order, there are further rules you must comply with; see Mail-order sales for more information about this.

Handing out free samples to members of the public or businesses can be a good way of marketing your product, as many will be inclined to try your product if they do not have to pay for it.

You will need to ensure that you seek the permission of the relevant council or authority who is in charge of the place where you are distributing the product and you should check whether a licence is required; see Licence and application requirements for further information about this.

In addition, you will need to ensure that all free samples are correctly labelled so that consumersPeople purchasing goods and services for personal use/acting outside of their professional or working capacity. are not misled. For information on the rules regarding product labelling, see Q&A 39 and following.

It is common for businesses to send free samples or offer free services to those in the public eye in order to promote their product or service to the fan-base of that particular celebrity.

However, if a celebrity is endorsing your product, it should be clear to audiences that this is what is happening rather than making members of the public believe that the celebrity is an ordinary consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. .

This is especially important when using celebrities to advertise on social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (see Q&A 17 for more information about advertising on sites such as these). It should be clear from the post that it is an endorsement rather than an ordinary post in which the celebrity is happening to use a particular product or service. This can be achieved in a number of ways, such as by stating #ad at the beginning of the post. See Q&A 26 for further guidance on how to use celebrities or other types of influencers to advertise your products.

Yes. Endorsements by celebrities (and other types of influencers) on social media are a very popular way to promote brands and products, as celebrities and other popular figures are able to influence the buying decisions of large numbers of consumersPeople purchasing goods and services for personal use/acting outside of their professional or working capacity. . However, if you want to use celebrity endorsements, you must be aware of the relevant consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. laws to avoid misleading the public about your brand or products.

Where you provide a celebrity or influencer with some kind of benefit to promote your product (which could include free products, the loan of a product, travel, money, or other gifts) the celebrity or influencer must make this clear to potential customers. You should work closely with your chosen celebrity or influencer to make sure their posts and content are labelled correctly as advertisements. This could be done by requiring them to include words on their social media post such as:

1. #ad

2. #advertisement

3. #advert

4. #advertising

5. Advertisement Feature.

The above words must not be buried within or at the end of a list of hashtags, or directly after the name of a brand (for example, #sparqalegalad). Additionally, if a celebrity is promoting a product they have not used themselves, this must be made clear on the post.

The following phrases are not sufficient to show that the celebrity or influencer has been given a benefit to promote the product:

1. #spon

2. #sponsorship

3. In association with

4. @Brandname

5. Thanks to [brand]

6. #collab.

See Q&A 27 for what can happen if the celebrity or influencer advertising your product does not make it clear they are receiving a benefit for doing so.

The CMACompetition and Markets Authority, a non-ministerial government department which works to promote competition for the benefit of consumers and ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. may investigate social media ads or other endorsements that they believe could be misleading to consumersPeople purchasing goods and services for personal use/acting outside of their professional or working capacity. . If you paid an influencer to endorse your products and the influencer did not make it clear that their endorsement was paid for, the CMACompetition and Markets Authority, a non-ministerial government department which works to promote competition for the benefit of consumers could require you and/or the influencer to provide undertakingsPromises to do or not do something, commonly contained in a contract. to ensure posts are clearly identified in future. The CMACompetition and Markets Authority, a non-ministerial government department which works to promote competition for the benefit of consumers could also issue fines against you and/or the influencer and in the most serious cases, imprisonment is a possible penalty. You will have a defence if you can prove that the misleading action was beyond your control or the act of someone else, and you took all reasonable precautions to avoid it happening. If you want to pay someone to endorse your products online, you should work closely with them to ensure the content is labelled correctly as an advertisement.

The ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. may also sanction influencers, and businesses that have control over influencers' endorsements, where the influencer does not make it clear they have been paid or received a benefit for making the endorsement. The ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. may require you or the influencer to withdraw or change the advertisement, and your business could receive negative publicity. If a business does not cooperate with the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's requests, the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. may refer the complaint to Trading StandardsThe government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. or disqualify the business from receiving any industry awards.

There are many different types of promotional activities that you could consider running to market your products or services and they can be an effective way of drawing attention to your products or services and boosting your business's sales. This section focuses on competitions and free prize draws; other promotions (eg "buy one get one free" deals) are currently outside the scope of this service. Similarly, there are additional rules to consider if you are running promotional competitions or prize draws which allow children under the age of 16 to enter and these are currently outside the scope of this service.

When setting up a promotional competition or prize draw, you will need to consider how it will run (eg how participants will enter, how you will choose competition winners and what your prize will be). In particular, you should be aware of the following:

1. ensuring your promotion is not an illegal lottery. See Q&A 29 for further information;

2. allow sufficient time. See Q&A 30 for further information;

3. provide clear terms and conditions. See Q&A 31 for further information;

4. ensuring you do not mislead anyone when advertising your promotional competition. See Q&A 32 for further information;

5. judging the competition fairly. See Q&A 33 for further information;

6. informing the winners. See Q&A 34 for further information;

7. your data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations. See Q&A 35 for further information;

8. intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs.. See Q&A 36 for further information; and

9. what the terms and conditions of the promotion will be. See Q&A 37 for further information.

A lottery can only be run for good causes and it is illegal to set up a lottery for private or commercial benefit. To ensure that your promotion does not amount to an illegal lottery, there must either be an element of skill or judgment involved in taking part (particularly if participants have to pay to enter) or it must genuinely be free to enter.

For example, if you are running a promotional competition and you will be charging for entry, the winner must be selected on the basis of their skill or knowledge rather than prizes being awarded by chance. This means that either:

1. a significant number of people would be put off entering the competition because of the skill or knowledge required to enter; or

2. a significant number of people should be preventing from winning a prize because of the level of skill involved (ie you competition should not be based on a very obvious question).

Equally, if you are running a prize draw (ie where prizes are allocated at random), it must genuinely be free to enter (eg participants should not have to pay to find out whether they have won or to claim their prize).

You should seek legal advice if you think that the way you want to run your promotional competition may amount to a lottery. For access to a specialist lawyer in a few simple steps, you can use our Ask a Lawyer service.

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

Think about the time frames for your contest in advance and ensure that you allow sufficient time for each phase of the promotion (eg from the start date to the closing date, and then to the announcement of the winners) to provide your business with adequate time to carry out judging and to announce the results.

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

You must clearly set out the rules of your promotional competition or prize draw in written terms and conditions and wherever possible, you should avoid changing these once your competition has begun.

The terms and conditions must be made available to entrants both when you advertise your competition before they enter (eg in your social media post if you promote it via social media) and throughout the course of the competition. While you could do this by providing a link to where the full terms and conditions can be found on your website in your marketing material, significant terms and conditions should always be included in your marketing material itself. If you have limited space in your marketing communication, you should try to include as much information as possible and then direct entrants to your full set of terms and conditions elsewhere.

For guidance about what to include in your terms and conditions and what the significant terms and conditions are, see Q&A 37.

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

You must ensure that you do not mislead any potential entrants when you advertise your promotional competition or prize draw. In particular, for a promotional competition or prize draw, this will include ensuring that you describe the prize properly and explain key information about how the promotion will work (eg the opening and closing dates, and how a winner will be selected).

When advertising your promotion, you must not mislead potential entrants about their chances of winning or make any claim that might lead them to believe that they are luckier than they are. For example, you must not use terms such as "finalist" to imply that a consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. has succeeded in progressing to a later stage of the competition or prize draw if they have not in fact done so. You should take particular care not to describe the prize as a "gift", "award", "reward" or anything similar unless all (or a significant portion) of the entrants will receive it, as otherwise you could mislead entrants into believing more people will win than is actually the case.

For detailed information on how to avoid misleading customers in your advertising, whether for a promotional contest or prize draw or otherwise, and other considerations to keep in mind when advertising your promotion, see Q&A 1.

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

If you are running a prize draw, all entrants must be included in the draw and the winner(s) must be selected at random either by an independent process (eg a computer program which produces random results) or by an independent person (ie someone who was not otherwise involved in the creation or running of the prize draw).

If you are running a competition and subjective interpretation is needed to choose the winner, your judging panel must include at least one independent judge (ie someone who was not otherwise involved in the creation or running of the competition).

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

You must take reasonable steps to let the winners know that they have won (eg just ringing them once will not be enough if they do not answer), but if you are unable to contact them, you do not have to award the prize(s).

You can only withhold a prize from a selected winner if they have not met any of the eligibility criteria (eg you cannot withhold prizes because you do not think that you had enough entrants, unless you had set this possibility out clearly in your terms and conditions).

The prize(s) must be provided to the winner(s) within 30 days of the closing date, unless you have provided a different date in your terms and conditions (see Q&A 37). If for some reason the original prize is unavailable, a reasonable equivalent must be offered (eg a cash alternative).

You must either publish the full names and countries of the winners or make them available if requested to do so. You must therefore obtain the consent of entrants to their personal information being made available in this way at the time in which they enter the competition (eg by including a tickbox which expressly asks the entrant to confirm they consent to this). You must also ensure that all of your other data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations are complied with at all times when handling personal dataAny information about an identifiable, living person. Information which cannot be used to identify someone on its own will still be personal data if it can be used in combination with other information to identify that individual. of entrants to your promotional competition or prize draw (see Using personal data, policies and record-keeping for more information).

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

You will inevitably need to gather and use entrants' personal dataAny information about an identifiable, living person. Information which cannot be used to identify someone on its own will still be personal data if it can be used in combination with other information to identify that individual. when running a promotional competition or prize draw. For example, you may need to gather entrants' names and contact details so that you can inform them if they have won, and so that you can publish the names of winners. You must ensure that you comply with data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. law at all times when you are collecting, storing and using this data, as failing to do so could lead to fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of your global annual turnoverThe amount of money taken by a business, before deductions (eg expenses, tax etc). (whichever is higher).

In particular, you will need to ensure that you only collect and use data which is absolutely necessary for running your promotion, that you store it securely and only for as long as you need it, and that, before you collect any personal information, you clearly set out exactly why you are collecting it and what you intend to do with it (usually by providing entrants with access to a privacy policyA statement made by a business explaining what information it collects about individuals and how and why it will be used, stored and shared. containing this information).

For full guidance about your data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations when handling customer data see Collecting personal data.

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

In some circumstances, you will need to consider who will own the intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs. of entries to your competition (eg if you are running a design competition where entrants have to submit an original piece of artwork). The intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs. submitted will almost always belong automatically to the creator, therefore you should ensure that your terms and conditions (see Q&A 37) require the entrant to either give you permission to use their submitted intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs. for the contest (and for any other purposes you have in mind) or to give you ownership of the intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs. directly. For information on how to ensure you can use the submitted intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs. in the way you want see Checking designs or logos, inventions and copyright.

See Q&A 28 for further requirements when setting up a promotional prize draw.

You must clearly set out the rules of your promotional competition or prize draw in written terms and conditions, which must be made available to entrants before they enter (see Q&A 31 for more information about when and how to do this). In some circumstances, you may have limited space in your marketing communication for the full set of terms and conditions, in which case you could include the significant terms and conditions only and provide entrants with a link to the full set (see Q&A 31 for further information). What the significant terms and conditions are will vary according to your promotion, but they are likely to include:

(a) details about how to participate (including any significant conditions and/or costs to participants eg the price of entry, what entrants need to do to participate, and how many entries are allowed per participant);

(b) the start and closing dates (if applicable);

(c) details about the prize (including how many there are);

(d) any restrictions on entry (eg because of the location of the entrant); and

(e) your business's name and address (unless this is obvious eg because you are advertising the promotion on your website or social media page).

Other terms that you must include in your full set of terms and conditions are:

(a) any restrictions on the number of entries per person;

(b) whether you are permitted to substitute the prize with a cash alternative;

(c) the date by which winners will receive their prizes (if this will be more than 30 days after the closing date);

(d) how and when winners will be notified of the results;

(e) if you are running a competition, what criteria you will be using to judge it;

(f) if relevant, who owns the copyrightA legal protection which gives people who create literary, musical, artistic or certain other types of work the exclusive right to use the work, meaning that others cannot generally use it without the owner's permission. of the entries (eg if you will be running a design competition); see Q&A 36);

(g) how you will return entries (if applicable); and

(h) if you intend to use winners in any post-competition publicity and, if so, how (bearing in mind your data protectionThe area of law which deals with the way in which data can be handled. obligations; see Q&A 35 above).

The ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. is the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UKUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and acts as an independent adjudicator for complaints brought by members of the public and businesses. It can carry out an investigation into an advert after receiving just one complaint. The ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. does not have any remit over telephone marketing or marketing by handing out free samples.

If the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. believes that the complaint should be upheld (ie the advert has breachedViolation of a legal or moral obligation. the advertising codes) it can order that the advert be withdrawn or amended in its current form. If the advert has appeared on the television or radio, it is the responsibility of the broadcaster to ensure the advert is not shown again in its current format.

Whilst the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. does not have the power to issue fines, you will have wasted time, money and resources if it rules that your advert must be withdrawn.

In addition, complaints to ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. can result in bad publicity for your business as the complaints, which identify the specific advert and the name of your business, are placed on the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. website for five years (even if the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. decided that the advert did not breachA violation of a legal or moral obligation. the advertising codes).

Legal action can be brought against you for failing to follow the ASAAdvertising Standards Authority - the main authority for monitoring adverts in the UK. Acts as an independent adjudicator for any complaints brought by members of the public or businesses. 's instructions or for persistently breaching The act of violating a legal or moral obligation.the advertising codes, with fines or even imprisonment being the penalties. However, this is rare.

You must avoid being misleading, inaccurate or deceitful when describing your products or services.

You are allowed to puff-up your product, but only in a way which does not give a misleading impression of what you are selling (or of how or why you are selling it). This could include presenting facts in a confusing way, or omitting facts or information so as to give an overall false impression of what you are selling. For example, you should not tell a consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. that you have carried out a 'full service' of their car if in fact you have not fixed certain faults and/or informed the consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. about them, nor should you imply that you are the 'official' provider of a service if that is not the case.

As well as the product or service itself, this also applies to information which relates to it, such as its availability, its benefits or risks, any accessories which come with it, after-sale assistance you offer or delivery. Equally, if you charge an upfront fee for a service, you should be clear and transparent about what this is for and how it will be used.

If you mislead a customer with your description, they may be entitled to a refund, repair or replacement; see Dealing with consumers who want to return goods or Dealing with consumers who want to return goods bought online as appropriate for information about this.

In more serious cases (such as where you deliberately mislead customers), your local trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. could become involved and you may face a fine or even imprisonment if it is very serious. It is therefore very important to take time and care when creating descriptions for your products and services.

The rules apply to descriptions you give at any point in the sales process, so this could include descriptions next to products on your website or claims on your packaging.

If you are describing the product or service in an advertisement, there are additional matters to consider; see Q&A 1 for further information about this.

You must also ensure that the way in which you describe your product does not infringe upon somebody else’s intellectual propertyA product of human creativity such as copyrights, trademarks, patents and designs.; see Market research and intellectual property when setting up a business for further information about this.

You are generally free to determine the prices of the goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. or services you sell however you see fit. Any recommended retail prices (RRPRecommended retail price. A price recommendation independently supplied by the manufacture or supplier of a product. RRPs are not binding.s) set by the manufacturer of products you sell are not binding, and you can charge more or less if you want to.

The key point to know about setting prices for goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. and services is that it is illegal to agree with another business to fix your prices so as to be able to charge more than if you were competing on price. This can also apply where a supplier is trying to make you agree to sell a product for no less than the RRPRecommended retail price. A price recommendation independently supplied by the manufacture or supplier of a product. RRPs are not binding.. You should therefore make decisions about pricing for yourself, and not as part of a pact or deal with others.

You are obliged to display the price for your goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. and services and there are particular rules about how you must do this; see Q&A 43 for further information about this.

Not without getting the customer's express agreement to paying for it, if the customer is a consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. . If you do not get the customer's express consent (eg the default position is that expensive electronic goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. come with insurance), you may be required to reimburse the customer for the additional costs. It will also likely erode trust in your business.

This is a consumerA person who purchases goods and services for personal use. Someone who is acting outside of their professional or working capacity. protection law that does not apply if you are selling to other businesses, but it is good practice to be clear with any customer about what they are buying.

You are required to provide or display the price of goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. or services you are selling to customers clearly and in a way that can be easily understood. This should include all mandatory charges (eg VATValue Added Tax. A type of tax which is charged when goods or services are supplied to a person in the UK. or a compulsory booking fee).

You must ensure you are not misleading when setting out your prices, either by saying or by not saying something. For example:

1. If you want to make a comparison with RRPRecommended retail price. A price recommendation independently supplied by the manufacture or supplier of a product. RRPs are not binding., you need to make sure that it is the supplier's RRPRecommended retail price. A price recommendation independently supplied by the manufacture or supplier of a product. RRPs are not binding. you are comparing to and not, for example, a previous price of your own.

2. If you say something is included for free, there cannot be hidden charges connected with it (other than the costs of delivery, if applicable). For example, you should not describe an accessory as 'free' if it is only offered as part of a bundled package that you offer.

3. If you want to indicate a reduced price on a label, you need to be honest about the price history of the product. For example, if a table was £500, subsequently reduced to £300 and finally £200, your label should indicate this.

Prices should be given in pounds sterling and be inclusive of tax (including VATValue Added Tax. A type of tax which is charged when goods or services are supplied to a person in the UK.).

If you are willing to accept payment in foreign currencies, you must give the price in that currency, together with the conversion rate you will use and any commission charged on the conversion.

The way you should display the price will depend upon the method you are using to sell the products or services, but the key thing is to make sure it is clear. For example, if you are selling in a shop, you should display the price on the products themselves or close by. If you are selling online or in a catalogue, you should display the price next to your description of the products or services. If you are selling over the telephone, you will need to tell the customer the price of the products or services clearly and audibly.

See Q&A 48 for information about the position where you have marked something with the wrong price.

See Customer service in a shop or other business premises or Customer service when selling online as appropriate for further information about what to do if there is a disagreement between you and a customer about the price you agreed to before you started carrying out a service.

Yes. You should provide information about service charges, tips, gratuities or cover charges clearly on the premises and before your customer decides to make any discretionary payment. You should let customers know whether any additional charge is mandatory or optional, whether you deduct administration fees or any other fees from the additional charge, whether card tips and cash tips are distributed differently, and how the charges are distributed between your business and your staffAnybody who works for a business, whether as an employee, casual worker, apprentice, agency worker or freelancer.. You could write this information in places such as the door to your entrance or on a wall notice, on menus if you run a restaurant, on a customer's bill, or in a reception area. You and your staffAnybody who works for a business, whether as an employee, casual worker, apprentice, agency worker or freelancer. should also be able to direct customers to a full policy on how you deal with tips, service charges, gratuities and cover charges.

If you are unable to give a precise price (for example, because you do not know precisely how long work will take), you need to give the method used to calculate the price instead; this might be done by giving a cost per hour, for example. If you are selling something via a repeat subscription, you need to make sure the customer knows how much they are being charged at each billing date.

When you are selling goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. in bulk, or if they have to be marked with their weight or other quantity, you must display the cost of the goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. per unit (known as the unit price). The unit price should usually be the cost per kilogram, litre, metre, square metre or cubic metre of a product, depending on which of these is suitable for your product.

You must set out separately any delivery charges and any other additional charges that may be relevant.

You do not have to include prices in advertisements, but if you do then what you say must be true and not misleading (either by actively giving the wrong impression or leaving out something important, such as a compulsory delivery fee or taxes). For more detail on what you can include in adverts, see Q&A 1 and following.

It is commonly thought that if you mark something for the wrong price, then you are obliged to sell at that price.

This is not, in fact, the case if you notice the error before you have made a sale; you can correct the error and you do not have to sell at the mistaken price. This means that, for example, if you have put the wrong pricing label on something in a shop and a customer brings it to the till, you do not have to sell it for the mistaken price.

In most cases, once you have made the sale then there will be nothing you can do. Where you are selling online, you may be able to cancel the order if you realise your mistake after the customer has placed the order but before delivery has taken place. However, this will usually depend upon what your terms and conditions say about when you can be taken to have accepted the order; this does not necessarily occur when the order has been placed, and may be when the goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. are dispatched (meaning that the order can be cancelled at any time before dispatch). See Terms and conditions for sales online for further information about how to draft your terms and conditions for selling online.

Occasionally, you might be able to cancel the contract even after it has been agreed if the price was very obviously wrong because it was far too low. However, situations in which this is applicable and advisable will be rare.

The majority of goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. can be sold in whatever quantity you wish, although in some cases you must make clear to the buyer the weight or measurements of the product before they buy it. See Q&A 50 for further information about this.

The exception to this is alcohol when servedDelivered or sent documents to someone for use in court proceedings in a way that complies with court rules. in a glass at a licensed venue, as in that case you can only serveTo deliver or send documents to be used in court proceedings to someone in a way that complies with court rules. in certain measures. There are individual requirements for spirits, beer and the most commonly-consumed types of wine. Also note that alcohol retailers in Wales must charge customers at least £0.50 per unit of alcohol sold. This rule also applies to alcohol sold as part of a multi-buy or special offer. To calculate the minimum price an alcoholic drink must be sold for, retailers must multiply the unit price of £0.50 by the drink’s strength and volume.

Detailed advice about the sale of alcoholic beverages is outside the scope of this service and you should contact your local trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. for further details. You can find your nearest trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. by using the tool here.

You must give information about the weight or measurements of certain types of product when you sell them; these include food and drink, cosmetics, seeds and fertilisers, nails, paint, thread, ribbon, wood, and fuel.

However, this is not an exhaustive list and the requirements vary enormously; detailed advice is beyond the scope of this service. You should contact your local trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. for specific advice if you are selling anything which you think might be subject to weights and measurement rules. You can find your nearest trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. by using the tool here.

For general advice about how to weigh and measure products and what to say on the product labelling, see Q&A 51.

There are criminal penalties for omitting measurements from things which have to be sold by weight or misstating the weight or measurements on goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items.. The penalties can range from a small fine for minor offences to a potentially unlimited fine for more serious errors.

In addition, a customer might be entitled to a refund, replacement or discount; see Customer service or Customer service for online sales as appropriate for information about this.

Usually, you must use the metric system when you weigh or measure your products. You are also allowed to include imperial measures on your packaging or labelling as supplementary information (eg by placing a weight in pounds in small print beneath a weight in kilograms), though the non-metric measurement cannot be more prominent than the metric measurement.

You are not necessarily allowed to use any metric measurement you like: for specific products you are often limited to specific units. You should contact your local trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. for specific advice if you are selling anything which you think might be subject to weights and measurement rules. You can find your nearest trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing. by using the tool here.

Where you are weighing or measuring goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. for sale you must use equipment which is accurate and reliable. Using equipment which has a government stamp to demonstrate that it has been certified by the government as sufficiently accurate is the best way of ensuring this, so you should check for this.

If you are selling goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. over the counter, you should usually weigh or measure the goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. in the presence of the buyer so that they can clearly see the weight or measurement and put the goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. into a container with the measurement clearly marked.

If you are selling goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. which are pre-packaged for sale according to their weight or other quantity, you must mark the package with the weight or other relevant quantity of the product inside. You must also clearly mark your name and address (or, if you are packing the products for somebody else, the name and address of the business who asked you to pack the product) on the packaging. The writing has to be clear and non-erasable, and must be a minimum height which depends on the weight/volume of the goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items.:

You must check pre-packaged products to make sure that the weight on the label is accurate. You can do this either by checking every package you make, or by checking a sample of packages. Note that your products must be, at a minimum, the quantity displayed on your label, but this can be averaged out across a random sample (within reason). If you are unsure, then contact your local Trading Standards office for guidance.

If you want to export goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. overseas, there are further requirements; advice about this is beyond the scope of this service and you should seek guidance from your local trading standards officeThe local office of the government department which is responsible for regulating business sales and marketing..

There are often legal requirements for product labelling beyond price and weight/quantity. These tend to be highly specific to the product in question. For example, shoes must be marked with the materials that they are made from, and packages of food must have information allowing the food to be traced back up the supply chain if needed (as well as, in both cases, other information).

Advice about the labelling requirements of particular types of product is beyond the scope of this service; however, you must check what requirements there are for your product before you offer goodsPhysical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. for sale. A good place to start might be with a trade association in your sector, for instance the UKUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Fashion & Textile Association if you make and sell clothing, or with a regulator, for instance the Food Standards Agency if you prepare food. Note that certain labelling and packaging requirements (for example, food labelling and product markings showing conformity assessments) changed due to the end of the transition period for Brexit.