When a UK business may say free: the CAP Code rules behind every free offer
The direct answer
Under CAP Code rule 3.23 a UK ad must avoid describing a product as free if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding and collecting or paying for delivery. Rule 3.24 requires the ad to make clear the extent of the commitment needed to take advantage of a free offer, such as a purchase, a sign up or a subscription. Words that mean the same thing, including gratis, complimentary, without charge and gift, follow the same rules. A business may charge only uninflated postage, must absorb packing, handling and administration fees, must keep the paid item's price and the free item's size and quality unchanged, and must say when a free trial rolls into a paid subscription unless cancelled. An item that is genuinely separate from and additional to the paid item can be a conditional purchase promotion and called free; an item that is part of a package is inclusive, and the word free misleads.
Five conclusions
The argument, compressed.
- Free means the customer pays nothing beyond genuine postage. Packing, handling and admin fees end the claim (rule 3.23).
- The ad must state the commitment: a purchase, a sign up, a subscription (rule 3.24).
- Gratis, complimentary, without charge and gift are treated as free.
- Raising the paid item's price or shrinking the free item to fund the offer makes free misleading.
- A free trial must say if a paid subscription starts automatically, and what it will cost.
Working framework · 5 decisions
The free claim check
Five checks before the word free goes into a headline, a caption or a promotion.
Decision 01 / 05
Cost
The customer pays nothing except the real postage. No packing, handling, admin or insurance charge.
What free is allowed to mean
The CAP Code's rule 3.23 is narrow by design: a product may be described as free only if the consumer pays nothing other than the unavoidable cost of responding and collecting, or paying for delivery of, the item. The ASA applied it in November 2024 to Samsung's claim of six months' free Persil detergent with a washing machine, where coupons covered only part of the cost; the ad breached the Code.
The rule reaches any word a reader would take to mean free. CAP lists gratis, complimentary and without charge, and the ASA has treated gift the same way.
The short version
Free costs the customer nothing but real postage, and the ad says what they must do to get it.
Say what the customer must do
Rule 3.24 requires the ad to make clear the extent of the commitment needed to take advantage of a free offer. If a purchase, a newsletter sign up or a subscription is required, the ad says so. In 2023 the ASA ruled that a free egg chair and a free parasol were misleading because they could be had only with orders above a minimum value that the ad left out, and in 2024 it upheld complaints against Complete Savings because free cashback required a paid monthly subscription and an active claim.
Free trials get specific treatment. The ad should make clear whether a paid subscription starts automatically after the trial unless cancelled, and if so what the financial commitment will be, along with any other significant condition.
Postage, price and quality
A business offering free goods may charge postage and nothing else. Packaging, packing, administration and handling charges, and insurance, stay with the business, and the postage must be the real cost rather than inflated to recover the giveaway. The ASA ruled against a photo printing app in 2022 whose free prints cost some customers more than the minimum postage.
The paid item must never quietly fund the free one. Rule 3.23.2 bars describing a product as free where the cost of response, including the price of the item the customer must buy, has been increased, unless the increase comes from unrelated factors. John Lewis fell foul of this in 2017 when a television sold at £1,749 became £1,999 with a free sound bar. Rule 3.23.3 bars reducing the size or quality of the free item to cut the cost of giving it away.
- Works: "Free wine with two courses for £10", where the £10 menu costs the same without the wine.
- Works: "Free sample, pay £2.95 postage", where £2.95 is the real postage.
- Fails: "Free egg chair" that requires a minimum order the ad leaves out.
- Fails: A free sound bar bundled with a television whose price rose to cover it.
Free, or inclusive
The ASA's distinction is whether the free item is genuinely separate from and additional to what the customer pays for. Wine that is supplied only under the promotion, with the menu price unchanged, was a conditional purchase promotion and could be called free. An item that always comes with the package is part of the package price and should be described as inclusive.
For a brand the word free is a borrowed trust. Used accurately it signals generosity a customer can verify; used loosely it becomes the moment a customer learns to read the small print on everything else the business says.
Before you use it
Questions that can change the recommendation.
Can I charge postage on a free item in the UK?
Yes. CAP Code rule 3.23 allows the unavoidable cost of responding and collecting or paying for delivery. The postage must be the real cost, and packing, handling, administration and insurance charges may be passed on under no circumstances.
Does a free gift with purchase count as free?
It can, as a conditional purchase promotion, when the gift is genuinely separate from and additional to the paid item, the paid item's price has stayed the same, the gift's size and quality are unchanged, and the ad makes the purchase condition clear.
What must a free trial ad say?
Whether a paid subscription starts automatically after the trial unless cancelled, and if so the extent of the financial commitment, along with any other significant conditions.
Is complimentary treated differently from free?
No. CAP says words likely to mean the same as free in context, including gratis, complimentary and without charge, are covered by the same rules, and the ASA has treated gift the same way.
What does brand strategy cost in the UK?
At Branding Tatva the Foundation engagement starts at £1,950 for UK clients. Its published scope includes discovery and positioning, audience definition, a core visual identity, starter brand guidelines and launch messaging direction. Review of promotional terms is outside the scope.
Research record
What this guide draws from.
Each source note describes what the reference supports. Platform guidance, research findings and Branding Tatva's practical suggestions have different scopes.
- Use of "free"
Committee of Advertising Practice
AdviceOnline updated 11 December 2025. Rules 3.23 and 3.24 and the Samsung, Rattan Hut, Complete Savings, PlanetArt, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer rulings.
