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To Whom It May Concern:

Below please find a summary regarding the proper use of the BBB Accredited Business Seal and/or the BBB rating, used in advertising and editorial content. We are required to communicate this information to you on an annual basis.

Because of the increasingly frequent instances of trademark infringement of the trademarks owned by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (“CBBB”), including, but not limited to, the BBB Accredited Business Seal, we request that your publication assist us in ensuring that only Accredited Businesses which meet requisite BBB standards display the BBB Accredited Business Seal. Acceptable uses of the BBB Accredited Business Seal are displayed in Attachment A. No other version of the Seal may be used, except as outlined in Attachment A.    

Please have the business provide you with confirmation of their accreditation status and/or rating by providing a link to its BBB Business Review prior to accepting such business’s advertisement.  You may also independently look up a business’s accreditation status and rating by visiting http://www.bbb.org and searching by city, state and/or business name. When in doubt, you may contact Wendy Dych, Accreditation Services Director, at wdych@indybbb.org or 855-371-5873. 

When accepting an advertisement from a business that wants to use the BBB Accredited Business Seal, please refer to these guidelines to confirm that only Accredited Businesses are advertising as such. 

We have different guidelines depending on whether the advertisement is online or in traditional print media.          

FOR ONLINE ADVERTISING, INCLUDING SOCIAL MEDIA

Accredited Businesses are permitted to:

• Use the BBB Accredited Business seal to advertise their BBB accreditation with a hyperlink to their BBB Business Review. The minimum size the seal may be reproduced is 63x101 pixels for vertical seals and 96x37 pixels for horizontal seals.  See Attachment A.
• Advertise as a “BBB Accredited Business” and, at the business’s discretion, include their current rating, with or without the seal.

FOR TRADITIONAL, PRINT MEDIA ADVERTISING

Accredited Businesses are permitted to:

• Advertise the BBB Accredited Business Seal and/or the statement “BBB Accredited Business.”
• The Accredited Business may only advertise in the geographic area in which they are accredited.

NON-ACCREDITED BUSINESSES

BBBs also provide Business Reviews and ratings for non-accredited businesses based upon the same set of ratings standards as applied to BBB Accredited Businesses.  Such non-accredited businesses are not allowed to display the BBB Accredited Business Seal because they have not agreed to adhere to the BBB Code of Business Practices and have not paid the requisite licensing fee.

Non-accredited businesses, however, may advertise their current BBB rating.  For instance, “BBB rating of A+” is acceptable. 

Again, we request that you verify the correct rating is being advertised by checking the online BBB Business Review.  Note that ratings can change at any time based on business complaints and other activity; thus we require that a business always display a current rating.

GENERAL PROHIBITIONS

Under no circumstances can any advertisement imply that a product or service is endorsed or preferred by BBB. Prohibited statements include “Member, BBB,” “Registered with BBB” or “Check out our record with the BBB.”

Under no circumstances can any advertising include the “Start with Trust^®” service mark owned by CBBB.

If you or any of your colleagues have questions, or if questions arise when reviewing an ad copy, please do not hesitate to call or email me at tmaniscalo@indybbb.org or 317.488.2202.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission to Start with Trust^®.

 

Sincerely,

Tim Maniscalo

President and CEO of BBB Serving Central Indiana

 

 

ATTACHMENT A

Seals for Offline Use

Seals for Online Use