Get legal permission to use customer testimonials, reviews, and success stories in your marketing materials. Generate a comprehensive release form covering permitted uses, media rights, editing permissions, compensation disclosures, and revocation terms.
I built this testimonial release form generator to help businesses properly secure permission before using customer testimonials, reviews, and success stories in their marketing. Using customer testimonials without a signed release exposes your business to potential claims related to right of publicity, misrepresentation, and false endorsement. A proper testimonial release form provides the legal foundation for using customer words, images, and likenesses across your marketing channels.
This generator produces a comprehensive testimonial release form that covers all essential elements: party identification, the full testimonial text, a detailed grant of rights specifying whether the license is perpetual or time-limited and exclusive or non-exclusive, a complete list of permitted uses across digital and traditional media, media release provisions for photographs, video recordings, and company logos, editing and modification rights, compensation disclosure for FTC compliance, representations and warranties, release and indemnification, revocation terms, confidentiality protections, and governing law provisions.
Every field updates the live preview instantly, so you can see exactly how your release form will look before downloading. The generator includes conditional sections that appear only when relevant, such as media release provisions that display only when photo, video, or logo permissions are selected, and revocation terms that appear only when the revocable option is enabled. Whether you are collecting testimonials for your website, social media campaigns, case studies, or trade show materials, this tool generates a professional document that protects both your business and your customers.
Key features include: eight granular permitted use checkboxes covering website, social media, email, print, video, proposals, case studies, and trade shows; four media release options for photos, videos, logos, and name/title usage; flexible compensation options with FTC disclosure language; configurable editing permissions; perpetual or limited license terms; exclusive or non-exclusive rights; and a revocable option with 30-day notice provisions.
Yes, businesses should obtain written permission before using customer testimonials in their marketing materials. While some jurisdictions allow limited use of publicly posted reviews, a formal testimonial release form protects your business from potential claims related to right of publicity, defamation, or misrepresentation. A signed release ensures the customer consents to the specific ways you intend to use their words, image, and likeness.
The FTC requires that testimonials and endorsements be truthful, not misleading, and reflect the honest opinions of the endorser. If a material connection exists between the endorser and the company, such as compensation or free products, that connection must be clearly disclosed. The FTC's Endorsement Guides also require that any claims made in testimonials be substantiated.
You can edit a customer's testimonial for grammar, spelling, and length, provided the edits do not change the overall meaning or intent of the original statement. Your testimonial release form should explicitly state whether editing is permitted. Material changes without consent could expose your business to claims of misrepresentation or false advertising.
Whether to make a testimonial release perpetual or time-limited depends on your business needs. A perpetual license provides the most flexibility, allowing indefinite use without renewal. A common compromise is a perpetual license with a revocation clause that allows the customer to withdraw permission with 30 days advance written notice.
If your release includes a revocation clause, the customer can withdraw permission by providing written notice within the specified timeframe, typically 30 days. Upon revocation, you must cease using the testimonial in new materials. However, revocation is generally non-retroactive, meaning materials already published may remain in circulation.
A comprehensive testimonial release form should include: identification of the company and releasor, the full testimonial text, a grant of rights, a list of permitted uses, media release provisions, editing permissions, compensation disclosure, representations and warranties, release and indemnification, revocation terms, confidentiality provisions, and governing law. This generator creates all of these sections automatically.