Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

UK Advertising Standards Authority: Lawyers’ Guide to Complaints Handling, Investigations, Decisions, Appeals, Enforcement Powers, CAP/BCAP Codes, and Regulatory Overlaps (CMA, Trading Standards, Ofcom), with Common Breaches

Published by a LexisNexis TMT expert

Practice notes

Who/what is the ASA?

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK’s independent regulator overseeing advertising in every type of media. It applies and enforces the Advertising Codes of Practice. The ASA Council serves as the final decision‑maker, ruling on whether advertisements meet the Codes of Practice, and you would generally only encounter the Council at the closing stage of the complaints process. For more information visit www.ASA.org.uk...

Statutory regulatory objectives

The UK’s regulatory framework is shaped by two committees that create the Codes implemented by the ASA:

the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), and
the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP)

CAP develops the UK Code of Non‑Broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code), while BCAP authors the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) (together, the Codes of Practice). For further guidance, see Practice Note: Advertising law and regulation...

The ASA complaints process

The ASA website enables both consumers and the industry—i.e. other advertisers or competitors—to submit complaints. The process for handling complaints is outlined below...

Notification

Upon receiving a complaint, the ASA will...

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Paul Jordan

Bristows

Paul is a Partner in the Intellectual Property department specialising in advertising and marketing law and brand protection matters generally. He joined Bristows in 2009.Though his experience covers the full range of intellectual property issues (both contentious and non-contentious), Paul's work focuses on content licensing, trade mark and copyright infringement, and advertising clearance. His experience includes advising on: global IP protection; global brand restructuring; passing off disputes; brand launches; and the defence of ASA and PhonepayPlus investigations.Paul's wide range of clients includes major brand owners, car manufacturers, retailers, airlines, financial service providers and media companies.Paul regularly speaks on brand protection and advertising law matters and has been widely published, including in the leading advertising industry guide - Ad Law - published by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising....

Timothy Heaps

Bristows

Tim trained with Bristows and qualified into the Intellectual Property Litigation department in 2014. His experience covers both contentious and non-contentious matters, with a focus on trade mark and copyright disputes, patents, confidential information and advertising advisory work. Since joining Bristows, he has spent time on secondment in the in-house legal department of a multi-national company, advising on brand protection and marketing....

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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