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Almost no state requires an “Attorney Advertising” label on every lawyer ad. Labels are tied to targeted messages: letters, emails and texts to a person known to need a lawyer carry “Advertisement” or “Advertising Material” in several states. New York dropped its label on most ads in June. The table quotes each state’s label sentence.
Key facts
- 2 states in our library asks for a set sentence in every ad: Mississippi and Missouri.
- 25 states set label words for certain messages, mostly targeted letters, emails and texts: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
- No longer required in : the library’s cell says the label was dropped.
Does every lawyer ad need an “Attorney Advertising” label?
No. What nearly every state asks of every ad is a responsible lawyer’s or firm’s name, often with an office city; the middle column of the table shows that requirement for each state. Set labels come in only for particular messages, and only one state in our library asks for a set sentence in every ad.
New York was the familiar exception: its old label covered most ads, though not radio, TV or billboards. The NYSBA’s summary of the amended rules says the requirement that ads be labeled “Attorney Advertising” “has been eliminated” (NYSBA, August 2026). Our New York note covers what to change on your site and in email.
Which messages need a label?
Targeted solicitations: a letter, email, text or recorded message to someone you know needs help with a specific matter. Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota and Wisconsin use “Advertising Material.” California uses “the word ‘Advertisement’ or words of similar import on the outside envelope” (California Rule 7.3(c)).
A few states attach set wording to other content, such as comparisons with other lawyers or drug-lawsuit TV ads. Those sentences appear in the same column, because they also tell the viewer the message is an ad.
Every state and DC: what each rule says about a label
The right-hand column quotes, in context, every sentence of our state rules library that names a label, with the status of its source: P for the primary source, S for a secondary summary we verify before relying on it for a client, D for the ABA default. A state with no label sentence in the library says so.
| State | Every ad must carry | What the rule says about a label |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted mail is marked "advertisement" (7.3(f)), email carries it in the subject line (7.3(g)), and the first sentence of targeted mail or email is a set advertisement statement (7.3(i)). PPrimary source source |
| Alaska | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Written, recorded or electronic solicitations of a person known to need legal help in a matter carry the words "advertising material" (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Arizona | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Arkansas | Name plus office address or city DABA model default source | No label wording in our record |
| California | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Written, recorded or electronic solicitation carries "advertisement" on the envelope and at the start and end of a recording (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Colorado | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations carry the words "Advertising Material" on any outside envelope and at the beginning and end of any recorded or electronic communication, and the envelope must not reveal the nature of the person's legal problem (Rule 7.3(f)(1)-(2)). PPrimary source source |
| Connecticut | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations are labeled "advertising material" in red ink (7.3(e)). PPrimary source source |
| Delaware | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted written, recorded or electronic solicitations must carry the words "advertising material" on the outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and ending of recorded or electronic messages (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| District of Columbia | No explicit clause PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Florida | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Georgia | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Hawaii | A responsible lawyer or firm named PPrimary source source | A targeted written, recorded or electronic solicitation carries the words "Advertising Material" on the outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and ending of a recorded or electronic message (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Idaho | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | A targeted written, recorded or electronic solicitation carries the words "Advertising Material" on the outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and ending of a recorded or electronic message (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Illinois | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Indiana | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations also carry the words "advertising material" on the envelope and at the start of the letter, and at the start and end of recorded or electronic messages (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Iowa | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Kansas | A responsible lawyer or firm named PPrimary source source | A targeted written, recorded or electronic solicitation carries the words "Advertising Material" on the outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and ending of a recorded or electronic message (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Kentucky | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations carry the words "Advertising Material" (4.5(3)). PPrimary source source |
| Louisiana | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Mailed targeted ads are marked "advertisement" and carry the filing number (7.4(b)(2)(b)). PPrimary source source |
| Maine | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Maryland | A responsible lawyer or firm named PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Massachusetts | A responsible lawyer or firm named PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Michigan | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Minnesota | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Mississippi | A set sentence in every ad PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Missouri | A set sentence in every ad PPrimary source source | Written solicitations must be marked "advertisement" and carry a set statement (4-7.3(b)(1), (3)). PPrimary source source |
| Montana | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | Written or electronic solicitation of a person known to need legal services must carry the words "advertising material" (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Nebraska | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Nevada | A responsible lawyer or firm named PPrimary source source | Mailers carry "NOTICE: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT!" in red ink (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| New Hampshire | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | A written, recorded or electronic message soliciting a person known to need legal services in a particular matter must carry the word "Advertising" on the outside envelope, if any, and at the beginning and end of recorded or electronic messages (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| New Jersey | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| New Mexico | Name plus contact details DABA model default source | No label wording in our record |
| New York | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | The rules set no "Attorney Advertising" label, no set disclaimer and no required office address. PPrimary source source |
| North Carolina | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| North Dakota | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Ohio | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Oklahoma | Name plus office address or city DABA model default source | No label wording in our record |
| Oregon | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Pennsylvania | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Rhode Island | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations carry the words "advertising material" (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| South Carolina | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations carry "advertising material" in capitals, set statements and a disciplinary-counsel notice (7.3(d)). PPrimary source source |
| South Dakota | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Targeted solicitations must carry "Advertising Material" on the envelope and at the start and end of recorded or electronic messages, in at least 18-point type if written (7.3(d)). PPrimary source source |
| Tennessee | Name plus contact details PPrimary source source | A written, recorded or electronic solicitation to someone known to need legal help in a matter carries the words "advertising material" (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Texas | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | A solicitation communication must be plainly marked "advertisement" (7.03(d)(2)); comment 10 presumes this is met when the first word of a text or social message is "ADVERTISEMENT" in capitals. PPrimary source source Every TV ad for legal services states “This is a paid advertisement for legal services.” at the start, spoken and on screen, and names the sponsor and the responsible lawyer or firm; an ad about injuries from a prescription drug adds a warning not to stop the medication without a doctor. PPrimary source source |
| Utah | No explicit clause PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Vermont | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | A written, recorded or electronic solicitation to a person known to need legal services in a matter carries the words "advertising material" (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Virginia | No explicit clause PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| Washington | No explicit clause PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
| West Virginia | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | A written, recorded or electronic solicitation to a person known to need legal services in a matter carries the words "advertising material" (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source |
| Wisconsin | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | Solicitations of someone known to need legal services in a particular matter must carry "advertising material" on the outside envelope and at the beginning and ending of printed, recorded or electronic messages (7.3(c)), unless the recipient is a lawyer or has a family, close personal or prior professional relationship. PPrimary source source |
| Wyoming | Name plus office address or city PPrimary source source | No label wording in our record |
What the table shows: a label is a rule about targeted messages in a minority of states, not a rule about every ad, and where it exists the exact words and their placement differ from state to state.
How is a label different from a disclaimer?
A label tells the reader the message is an advertisement. A disclaimer qualifies something the ad says: “results may vary” next to a past result, a cost statement next to a fee offer, “dramatization” over a re-enacted scene. An ad can need both, either, or neither. Our disclaimer page lists the set disclaimer sentences, with character counts for search ads.
What this means for your firm
- Build one template per message type, letter, email and text, with the state’s label in the right place, and lock it.
- Audit old templates after a rule change. New York’s change left many firms carrying a label they no longer need, which only takes up space.
- Keep a dated copy of each version you send, with the list it went to.
We handle your state’s ad rules for you. See where your firm stands, or get a free review of your current ads and pages.
Reviewed by our rules reviewer. Marketing information, not legal advice. Confirm every rule with your state bar and your own counsel before you send or run an ad.