The Facebook branded content tool is the tag that puts a “Paid partnership” label on a sponsored post and names the brand that paid you or gave you something of value. Eligible creators switch it on in Meta Business Suite under Monetization, then Branded Content, then Settings, where Meta shows whether the Page qualifies and offers an Enable Tag button. After that, you tag the business partner every time you publish branded content, as Meta's guide to getting branded content tag access explains.
This guide covers the Facebook side only. Instagram's version has its own steps, covered in our guide to the Instagram paid partnership label. Every Meta page cited here was read on 1 October 2026.
Who can use the branded content tag on Facebook
Meta's creator page on earning from brands on Facebook lists three requirements: follow the Branded Content Policies and Partner Monetization Policies, stay compliant with the Community Standards and Content Monetization Policies, and manage a Facebook Page or run your profile in professional mode. The tag-access page makes passing the Partner Monetization Policies a hard gate for adding the tag to any Facebook post.
Meta's fuller eligibility requirements for branded content and partnership ads add the softer tests. You need an authentic, established presence, which Meta says includes a sufficient follower base without naming a figure. Misinformation flags and breaches of the intellectual property, authenticity or safety rules can cost you eligibility. Current officials, candidates, parties, registered political committees and government agencies are ineligible. Meta also reserves the right to change or withdraw these features, and people in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland have limited ability to monetize with ads when their Accounts Center uses an ad-free subscription or less-personalized ads.
If the settings screen says your Page isn't eligible, one of those tests is failing, and no other composer gets around it. Meta's Branded Content Policies say branded content may only be posted with the tool, and only by Pages, groups, profiles and Instagram accounts that have access to it.
Turning the tag on in Meta Business Suite
The access steps Meta publishes are short:
- Open Meta Business Suite for the Page you will post sponsored content from.
- Go to Monetization, then Branded Content, then Settings.
- Find the Branded content tag section, which says whether that Page is eligible for branded content posts.
- If it is eligible, click Enable Tag, read the notification and click Confirm.
Once the tag is on, a sponsored post shows your Page “with” the brand's Page and carries a gray Paid partnership label, and viewers can open About this partnership for details, as Meta's page on what branded content posts look like describes. Meta's help pages call the same feature the branded content tool, the branded content tag and the Paid partnership label, and the app composer labels it Brand partnerships or Tag business partner.
Tagging the business partner, and how approval works
Meta's guide on how to add a branded content tag lists several entry points. In Business Suite you create a post, open More features under Post details, click Tag brand and search for the partner. In the Facebook app, the expanded composer offers Tag business partner, and reels show the same option on the share screen. Live videos take it in Live Producer or the mobile live menu. Meta's list of post formats that can be branded content covers photos, videos, links, text, live broadcasts, carousels and stories, plus messages in Facebook and Messenger channels.
Whether the tag goes through immediately depends on the brand. Meta's page on managing branded content permissions says Pages and professional-mode profiles are set up by default to make any eligible Page or profile request permission before tagging them. A brand can keep that default and approve partners onto an allow list, or switch Tagging approvals off and block named accounts instead. In the app, a brand you lack permission for shows a Request button; once you have permission, the tag simply applies.
When a brand that uses Tagging approvals has you on its approved list, it is notified each time you tag it, and the notification opens Page Insights or Business Suite, where it can approve or remove the tag. Meta's page on tagging a business partner says a tagged sponsor sees reach and engagement for that content, and if the post is boosted or run as an ad, total spend and cost per thousand impressions as well.
The Facebook rule that catches people out: Meta's page on content-level permissions for partnership ads says that once content is posted to Facebook, it cannot be turned into branded content. Instagram lets you add the label to a published post; Facebook does not. Because there is no way to fix it in place, plan on deleting and republishing any sponsored post that went out without the tag.
Affiliate posts are a special case. Meta's overview, About branded content, says content featuring an affiliate link should carry the Paid partnership with label but does not need a business partner tagged. The same page notes that partnership ads and boosting are not currently available on Threads, which supports only the organic label.
Boost, button and partnership ad permissions
Tagging a brand and letting that brand advertise with your post are separate decisions, though Facebook puts them on the same screen. Meta's page on letting business partners boost branded content says Allow post boosting is switched on by default when you have permission to tag the brand. Leave it on only if paid usage is part of your agreement.
| Permission on Facebook | What the brand can do with it | Changing it after you publish | Meta source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allow post boosting, on by default once tagging is permitted | Pay to show that individual post to more people; you can also share your audience for its targeting | The boost page mentions no end date, so put one in the deal | Boost permissions |
| Custom call-to-action button chosen while tagging | Add a button to a destination it picks and change that button without notice or approval; the button may crop a photo | Cannot be edited or removed after publishing; you would have to delete the post and start over | Call-to-action permission |
| Comment controls on boosted branded posts | Hide comments on the ads you run together and on your original branded post | You can unhide anything the brand hid; deleting comments stays with you | Boost permissions |
| Partnership ad code for one post | Turn that post into a partnership ad, whether or not it is branded; a code can be used by up to two advertisers at a time | Switching the code off stops new ads, but active ads keep running; archived Facebook content cannot be boosted | Content-level permissions |
| Account-level partnership ad permission | Create partnership ads from your handle, even without existing content, and from Facebook posts that tag it with the Paid partnership label | Lasts until you remove it, and covers your linked Instagram account if the two are linked | Account-level permissions |
Payment never runs through Facebook. The branded content overview says creators whose content is used in partnership ads are paid off the platform, and that Meta does not support payments made on Facebook or through the Instagram app. Meta's creator FAQ on brand deals adds that nearly any organic branded post can become a partnership ad if the permissions are in place and it avoids licensed music, so clear the soundtrack before you hand over an ad code. Price that paid usage separately from the post; our UGC rate worksheet shows how to charge for usage on top of the content fee.
Restricted categories and pre-authorization check
The Branded Content Policies sort products into three tiers. Some can never be promoted as branded content: illegal products or services; tobacco, vapes and anything that simulates smoking; drugs; unsafe supplements; weapons, ammunition and explosives; adult products or services other than family planning and contraception; payday loans, paycheck advances and bail bonds; multi-level marketing; initial coin offerings, binary options and contracts for difference; state lotteries; and the exploitative use of political or social issues for commercial gain. The second tier is allowed with audience restrictions, and the third needs Meta's written approval for the sponsor. This table sets out the second and third tiers as the policy page showed them on 1 October 2026.
| Category | What the policy requires | Check before you post | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | Comply with local laws and industry codes, and age-gate to 18 or older in permitted countries, except: prohibited in Afghanistan, Brunei, Bangladesh, Egypt, Estonia, Gambia, India, Kuwait, Libya, Lithuania, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen; 25 or older in Sweden; 21 or older in Cameroon, Micronesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka and the United States; 20 or older in Japan, Iceland, Thailand and Paraguay; 19 or older in Canada, South Korea and Nicaragua | Set the age and country restrictions for where your audience lives, and confirm the brand holds the licenses its market needs | Meta policy |
| Subscription services | Follow local laws on negative options, automatic renewal and free-to-paid conversions; age-gate to 18 or older | Make sure the renewal terms you describe match the brand's checkout | Meta policy |
| Financial and insurance products | Target credit card, loan and insurance posts to people 18 or older; no misleading student loan consolidation, forgiveness or refinancing offers | Ask whether financial promotion rules in your country also apply to you | Meta policy |
| Cosmetic procedures and weight loss | Age-gate to 18 or older | Keep claims to what the brand can substantiate | Meta policy |
| Family planning and contraception | Focus on contraceptive features rather than sexual pleasure or enhancement; age-gate to 18 or older | Read your script against that focus rule before filming | Meta policy |
| Dating services | The sponsor needs Meta's written permission; target people 18 or older | Ask the brand for proof of its Meta approval and keep a copy | Meta policy |
| Real-money gambling | Both the sponsor and the creator need written permission; target 18 or older; restrict to the jurisdiction the permission covers | Confirm your own written permission, not only the brand's | Meta policy |
| Pharmacies | The sponsor must be LegitScript certified and hold written permission | Check the certification is current before agreeing dates | Meta policy |
| Prescription drugs | Online pharmacies, telehealth providers and manufacturers may apply; posts restricted to 18 or older and to the United States, New Zealand or Canada | If your audience sits elsewhere, decline: promotion is prohibited outside those locations | Meta policy |
| Cryptocurrency products and services | The sponsor needs Meta's written permission | Get that approval in writing before you script anything | Meta policy |
| Drug and alcohol treatment centers | The sponsor must be LegitScript certified and hold written permission | Ask for both documents, since either one alone falls short | Meta policy |
| Government, elections and politics | Officials, candidates, parties and political committees may not use branded content; in the United States the tool may be used if the paying partner is authorized to run ads about social issues, elections or politics | Outside the United States, treat political sponsorship as unavailable through the tool | Meta policy |
For reels, Meta's page on branded content on Facebook Reels shows where the restriction lives: on the Tag business partner screen, switch on Is this post in a restricted category, tap Audience restrictions and set the age and location the category requires. The overview warns that branded content without an appropriate age minimum will be removed. If a post is taken down, Meta's page on prohibited, restricted and pre-authorized content says you can request a review and should hear back within 24-48 hours, and that once a violation is confirmed you cannot request another review.
Format rules for the sponsored post itself
The policies also restrict how the sponsor appears inside your content. Meta's page on branded content that's not allowed in a published post bans roll ads before, during or after video and audio, and banner ads in published images and videos, which it defines as a branded column laid over the original content and visually separated from it, often by a different background color. Under the same Branded Content Policies, title cards featuring the partner are barred from a video's first three seconds, and interstitial cards elsewhere may not stay up for more than three consecutive seconds.
Facebook Stories have a stricter rule on the same page: interstitial cards must not appear at the beginning, middle or end of an individual story. Branded content posted as an ad or an unpublished post must also meet Meta's Advertising Standards.
Pre-publish branded content checklist for Facebook
- Business Suite shows the branded content tag as enabled for the exact Page or professional-mode profile you are posting from.
- The deal involves payment, a gift, a loan or affiliate commission, so this post needs the label.
- The product sits outside Meta's prohibited list for branded content.
- Restricted categories have their age and country settings ready, and pre-authorization categories come with the sponsor's written Meta permission (plus your own for real-money gambling).
- You can tag the brand directly, or your request has gone out and the brand knows to approve it.
- The tag goes on before publishing, because a published Facebook post can't be converted later.
- Allow post boosting matches what you agreed, instead of sitting at its default.
- The call-to-action choice, any ad code and any account-level request are settled in writing, including duration, placements and fee, knowing a button stays until the post is deleted.
- The video or image contains no roll ads, overlaid banners or early title cards.
- Your own wording discloses the partnership in the caption or on screen, not only in the label.
The label is a platform rule, not your legal disclosure
Meta's policy page says you must also comply with all applicable laws, including any disclosures needed to show that your content is commercial. The label meets Meta's requirement; whether it satisfies an advertising regulator depends on where you and your audience are and on how visible your own wording is. Our guides to the FTC influencer disclosure rules and to influencer disclosure rules in Australia cover two of the main regimes.
Brands that find you through Meta's marketplace work under the same policy tests. Meta's page on eligibility for Meta Creator Marketplace says the marketplace is available for brands in all countries except Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russia. Our guide to the creator marketplace on Instagram explains how marketplace briefs and messages work.
Limits of this Facebook branded content guide
This guide reflects Meta's help pages and Branded Content Policies as they read on 1 October 2026, and Meta revises both often. Its own pages are not fully consistent. The policy page, even in its Facebook-hosted copy, says branded content may only be posted where the tool is available, “such as Instagram posts.” The tagging page links “eligibility requirements for Facebook brand deals” to a page now titled for Creator Marketplace. Menu names also vary by region and app version, so if a step doesn't match your screen, follow the current help page.
The restricted-category table summarizes platform rules and does not replace the advertising law that governs alcohol, gambling, finance or health products where you live. This is general information rather than legal advice, and for a regulated category or a long ad-access deal, have a lawyer who handles advertising or creator agreements review the terms first.