How to put a legal disclaimer on screen so it is actually readable

Last updated 2026-09-10 · 8 min read

What is the short version?

A disclaimer that nobody can read is a disclaimer nobody read. The two ways it fails are always the same: the type is set too small to survive a phone screen, and it is on screen for less time than it takes to read.

1. Go to Vizard Agent with the exact wording.
2. Ask how long it needs to be readable.
3. Ask to see it on a rendered frame at full size.

What do you need before you start?

The wording, verbatim. Vizard Agent will not decide what a disclaimer should say or whether it satisfies anybody's rules — that is a decision for whoever wrote it — but it will make sure the words you were given end up legible on screen for long enough.

• The exact text. Copied, not paraphrased.
• Where it must appear. The end, or over a claim.
• Any required duration. Some rules specify one.
• The languages. Second versions need the same care.
• Whether it can move. A static card is safest.

What do you type into Vizard Agent?

Hand over the text and ask about time rather than about size. Duration is the constraint people forget, and it is the one that decides whether the disclaimer is doing its job or decorating the end of the video.

Prompt

Variants worth knowing:

• "Here is the exact wording." No rewriting.
• "How long does it need?" The real question.
• "A full-resolution frame." Timeline previews lie.

What does Vizard Agent actually do?

Here is the pattern across several real ads and explainers that carried compliance text. Notice that the size is settled by looking at a rendered frame, and the duration is settled by the length of the text rather than by what fits the edit.

1. Takes the wording exactly as given.
2. Lays it out at the placement you asked for.
3. Renders a frame and inspects it at full resolution.
4. Enlarges the type where it does not hold up.
5. Re-inspects rather than assuming the change was enough.
6. Measures the reading time the text actually needs.
7. Times the lines to the narration so it advances as it is spoken.
8. Builds the second-language version on the same timing.
9. Checks it against the safe area so nothing overlaps it.
10. Confirms the final frames carry the whole text.

Step three is the one that changes the result. Type that looks fine in a timeline preview is routinely unreadable at phone size, and the only honest test is a rendered frame viewed at the size a viewer will see.

Step seven is what turns a wall of text into something readable. When the disclaimer advances word by word alongside the narration, the viewer reads it at the pace it is being said instead of being handed four lines and two seconds.

Step four and step five belong together. Enlarging type once and moving on is how a disclaimer ends up almost readable, so Vizard Agent renders again and looks again rather than trusting that one adjustment was the right size.

Step eight matters for anyone running in more than one market. A translated disclaimer is usually longer than the original, so Vizard Agent builds it against the same timing and tells you when the extra length no longer fits.

What does the result look like?

Text large enough to read on a phone, on screen for as long as it takes to read it, sitting clear of the platform's own interface. On the narrated versions it moves with the voice rather than appearing in one block.

Vizard Agent tells you the duration it settled on, which is what a reviewer will ask about.

When does this not work well?

This is a legibility job, not a legal one. Vizard Agent can make the words readable; it cannot tell you whether the words are the right ones, whether the placement satisfies a regulator, or whether the video needs a disclaimer at all.

• Deciding the wording. That is not Vizard Agent's call.
• Whether it satisfies a rule. Ask whoever wrote it.
• Very long text in a short ad. The maths may not work.
• Text over busy footage. It may need its own card.
• Platform-specific rules. They vary and they change.

How do you fix a result that came back wrong?

Say which of the two problems it is. Size and duration are separate failures with separate fixes, and Vizard Agent will do the wrong thing if a note about one is read as a note about the other.

• "Too small on a phone." Vizard Agent enlarges and re-checks.
• "Not long enough to read." The duration extends.
• "It overlaps the buttons." Moved inside the safe area.
• "The Spanish version is cut off." Longer text needs more time.

How does Vizard Agent compare to doing it yourself?

By hand a disclaimer is added last, sized to fit the space left over, and given whatever seconds the edit had spare. Both of those are the wrong way round: the text decides the time, and the phone decides the size.

Common questions

Will it write the disclaimer for me? No. Vizard Agent uses the wording you give it, unchanged.

How long should it be on screen? As long as it takes to read. Vizard Agent measures that.

Can it check it is legally sufficient? No. That is a question for whoever wrote the text.

What size should the type be? Big enough on a phone. Vizard Agent checks a real frame.

Can it advance with the voiceover? Yes, word by word, which reads far better than a block.

What about a second language? Vizard Agent builds it on the same timing and flags overflow.

Will it sit under the platform's buttons? Not if Vizard Agent checks the safe area, which it will.

Can it go over footage? It can, but a plain card is easier to read.

Does it work mid-video? Yes, over the claim it relates to if you want it there.

Can I set a minimum duration? Yes. Tell Vizard Agent the number and it holds it.

What if the ad is too short? Vizard Agent will say the text does not fit rather than shrinking it.

Does it check the final render? Yes, on the actual output frames.

Can it match my brand type? Yes, as long as legibility survives it.

Why do most disclaimers fail? Because they are sized to the leftover space and timed to the leftover seconds.