Selling a course, coaching program, or anything with income claims? You need an earnings disclaimer. The FTC is very specific about what you can and can't say about money. Generate one free.
Three things that actually happen to online educators without proper disclaimers.
Lularoe settled for $4.75 million over income claims. Dozens of online marketers have faced FTC action over unqualified income claims. An earnings disclaimer doesn't make you immune, but it's a required piece of the compliance puzzle. Without it, you're not just at risk of fines. You're at risk of your entire business being shut down.
Showing a screenshot of someone making $10,000 in a month without explaining it's not typical is an FTC violation. Your disclaimer frames all testimonials correctly. It tells readers what those results required, how long they took, and whether they represent what most students experience. That context is not optional.
When someone buys your course and doesn't get results, they look for who to blame. A clear earnings disclaimer sets expectations upfront and reduces chargebacks, refund demands, and legal threats. It won't stop every unhappy customer, but it changes the conversation from "you promised me X" to "you disclosed that results vary."
What the FTC Act actually says about money claims — and what it means for your business.
The online education industry is worth over $300 billion. A good chunk of that market is courses and coaching programs that teach people how to make money — dropshipping, affiliate marketing, real estate wholesaling, day trading, freelancing, you name it. The FTC has watched this space closely for years, because where there are income claims, there are sometimes misleading income claims. And the FTC's job is to protect consumers from those.
Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce." That's deliberately broad. An income claim is deceptive if it creates a false impression about what consumers can expect to earn. Even a technically true claim can be deceptive if it omits material context. Showing a testimonial from someone who made $50,000 in three months is technically true. But if most students make $500 over the same period, showing only the $50,000 result creates a false impression. That's a deceptive practice under Section 5.
What counts as a "material claim" about earnings? Any representation that is likely to affect a consumer's decision to buy. If you say "students have made up to $100,000 using this system," that claim is material. If you show someone's PayPal dashboard with $5,000 in it, that's a material claim. If your sales page headline says "Quit your job in 90 days," that is definitely a material claim. The FTC applies a "reasonable consumer" standard: would a normal person read this and think they're likely to earn that kind of money?
In 2021, the Washington state attorney general settled with Lularoe for $4.75 million after the company promoted exaggerated income claims to recruit distributors. The settlement required changes to income disclosure practices, refunds to harmed consumers, and ongoing compliance monitoring. This wasn't just about false advertising. The claims changed people's financial decisions — people quit jobs, took out loans, and invested life savings based on income representations that didn't hold up. The law treats that seriously.
For a long time, adding "results not typical" to a testimonial or income claim was treated as a get-out-of-jail-free card. It isn't anymore. The FTC updated its guidance on endorsements and testimonials in 2023, making clear that this phrase alone does not cure a misleading income claim. What you actually need is substantiation. That means you need data about what typical results look like, and you need to present that data clearly alongside the exceptional results.
The FTC wants the typical results disclosed as prominently as the exceptional ones. If your best student made $250,000, and your typical student made $2,000, both numbers need to be part of the story. The FTC's position is that if you can't honestly show what typical results look like, you probably shouldn't be showing exceptional results at all. That's a high bar, and it's why a proper earnings disclaimer is just the start. You also need to actually know your student results and be honest about them.
Before you make any income claim, you need substantiation. That means you need evidence to back it up before you publish it, not after the FTC calls. For earnings claims, substantiation typically means data from your students showing what results they actually achieved, under what conditions, and over what time period. If you're a new course creator with no student data yet, the honest and compliant approach is to not make specific income claims until you have data to support them.
For affiliate marketing programs specifically, the FTC has paid close attention to what they call "business opportunity" disclosures. If your course teaches people how to build an affiliate marketing business and you show income screenshots as proof of what's possible, you're in business opportunity territory. This triggers additional scrutiny and a higher standard for what your typical results disclosure needs to say.
Here's where it gets nuanced. A course that teaches skills — coding, copywriting, graphic design, public speaking — is educational content. A course that teaches skills explicitly in the context of "here's how much money you can make doing this" crosses into income claim territory. The difference matters because the compliance requirements are different. Teaching someone how to write better is fine. Teaching someone how to write copy and showing income screenshots of how much you make is different and needs proper disclaimers and substantiation.
The safe approach is to treat any content on your site that might create an expectation of income as income claim content. If someone could read your sales page and come away thinking "I could make $X if I buy this," you have an income claim on your hands. A proper earnings disclaimer makes clear that your income and your students' results depend on many individual factors, that nothing is guaranteed, and that past results do not predict future outcomes.
Every clause that matters, built for courses, coaching, and income content.
A clear opening statement that any income figures, results, or earning potential discussed on your site are not guarantees of what any individual will earn.
FTC-aligned language clarifying that any results shown or referenced are exceptional cases and that typical results will vary based on effort, experience, and market conditions.
A statement acknowledging that results depend on individual factors including background, experience, effort, and market conditions that vary from person to person.
An explicit statement that you make no income guarantees of any kind, that purchasing your product does not guarantee any particular result, and that nothing on your site constitutes a promise of earnings.
Language clarifying that achieving any meaningful results requires significant time, effort, and resources — and that passive income claims require active work to set up and maintain.
Framing for all testimonials clarifying that they represent individual experiences and may not reflect typical outcomes, aligned with FTC's updated 2023 endorsement guidance.
Specific language for case studies explaining that they represent individual successes achieved under specific conditions and are not representative of average student experiences.
A statement acknowledging that any business or income-generating activity carries financial risk and that consumers should make independent decisions based on their own research and risk tolerance.
An explicit statement that your earnings disclaimer is provided in compliance with FTC guidelines regarding income claims and testimonials.
Your contact details for questions about your income claims, results, or the content of your disclaimer — a best practice the FTC recommends for transparency.
What course creators and coaches actually want to know about earnings disclaimers
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| Feature | FreeTOS | Termly | TermsFeed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $14/mo | $9/mo |
| Signup Required | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDF Download | Free | Paid plan | Paid plan |
| Course Creator Specific | Yes | Generic | Generic |
| FTC 2023 Guidance | Included | Varies | Varies |
| AI-Tailored Output | Yes | Template-based | Template-based |
| Instant Generation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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