Ethics Commission
City and County of San Francisco

Electioneering Communications

VIII. Electioneering Communications

CommunicationDisclaimer and Manner of Display
Print ads designed to be individually distributed including mailings, door hangers, flyers, faxes, posters, newspaper and magazine ads and oversized campaign buttons and bumper stickers (buttons ten (10) inches in diameter or larger and stickers sixty (60) square inches or larger) 

  • “Paid for by [committee’s name]” (on file with Form 410 or 461)
  • “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”
  • Disclaimer Format: Text must be in Arial equivalent font, in at least 14-point size, in a contrasting color, and located in a printed or drawn box with a solid white background at the bottom of at least one page and set apart from other printed matter
Billboards and signs (including yard signs)
  • “Paid for by [committee’s name]” (on file with Form 410 or 461)
  • “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”
  • Disclaimer Format: Text must be in Arial equivalent font with a height of at least five percent (5%) of the advertisement on a solid background with sufficient contrast that is easily readable by the average viewer
Radio ads, telephone calls and audio only electronic media ads
  • “Paid for by [committee’s name]” (on file with Form 410 or 461)
  • “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”
  • Disclaimer Format: Must be spoken clearly for at least three (3) seconds at the end of the ad or call, in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement
Television and video ads (including those disseminated over the Internet)
  • “Paid for by [committee’s name]” (on file with Form 410 or 461)
  • “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”
  • Disclaimer Format:
    • Text must be in a contrasting color and in Arial equivalent type and must be underlined
    • The size for the smallest letters in the disclaimer must be four percent (4%) of the height of the display screen.
    • Disclaimer must appear on a solid black background on the entire bottom third (1/3) of the display screen
    • Disclaimer must be displayed at the end of the ad for at least five (5) seconds of a broadcast of thirty (30) seconds or less or for at least ten (10) seconds of a broadcast longer than thirty (30) seconds
    • Disclaimer must also be spoken at the end of the ad.
Electronic media ads not covered below (except video ads, see above)
    • “Who funded this ad” text as a hyperlink in a contrasting color and font size that is easily readable by the average viewer*
          • Must hyperlink to a website containing the “Paid for by” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” disclaimers in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font
          • Must remain online until thirty (30) days after the date of election

        *This text is not required if including it is impracticable. In such circumstances the ad need only include a hyperlink to a website containing the website disclaimers

Social media ads
    • “Paid for by” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” disclaimers in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font on the committee’s profile, landing page, or similar location and is not required to include disclaimers on each individual post or comment
Website and email
    • “Paid for by” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” disclaimers in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font at the top or bottom of the email message and every publicly accessible page of the Internet Web site
Electronic media ads that are audio only
  • See disclaimer requirements for radio ads above

The guidance above incorporates requirements imposed pursuant to state and San Francisco law. The information on this chart does not carry the force of law. If there are any discrepancies between the chart and state or local law or their corresponding regulations and opinions, the law, regulations and opinions will control.

Revised: June 2019

Was this page helpful?

Scan with a QR reader to access page:
QR Code to Access Page
https://sfethics.org/compliance/campaigns/committees/committee-disclaimer-requirements/electioneering-communications