How to Write a MAP Policy: Clause by Clause Checklist

A MAP policy is a short document that does a lot of work. It tells every reseller the lowest price they may show for your products, defines what "show" means, states what happens when someone goes below the floor, and does all of that without ever becoming an agreement between the brand and any reseller. Most policies that fail in practice fail because one of those pieces was left vague, and the reseller found the gap.

This is a clause by clause checklist: what each section needs to do and why it exists, so the person drafting understands the problem each sentence solves. It is not a template, none of the wording is taken from any brand's live policy, and it is not legal advice. Every MAP policy should go to counsel before it goes to resellers.

If the terminology is new, start with the primer on what MAP pricing means, and for the choice between MAP and its neighbors, see MAP vs MSRP vs UPP. This checklist assumes you have decided a MAP policy is the right instrument.

Before the clauses: the structural rule that governs all of them

US antitrust practice, as the Federal Trade Commission summarizes it, allows a manufacturer that adopts a pricing policy on its own to deal only with retailers who follow that policy, and to stop dealing with a retailer that does not. The word carrying the weight is "on its own." A MAP policy is an announcement, not a contract. The brand does not ask resellers to sign it and does not negotiate its terms. It promises nothing in exchange for compliance.

Wherever a draft starts to sound like "the reseller agrees to," it has drifted toward an agreement. The correct voice throughout is the brand stating what it will do.

Clause 1: Scope and covered products

What it does. Names which products the policy applies to, in which markets, and from what date. The product list itself usually lives in an attached schedule with the MAP price for each item, so the policy body can stay stable while prices change.

Why it exists. A policy that says "all products" without a schedule invites the argument that a new SKU or a bundle was not included. The schedule also fixes the effective date, which matters when a price changes while a reseller's old advertising is still live. State how much notice precedes a schedule update and where the current schedule is published.

Common gap. Bundles and multipacks. If a reseller can sell a two unit bundle at a price that works out below the single unit floor, the policy needs to say whether bundles are covered and how their floor is calculated. Silence here lets a reseller stay technically compliant while undercutting everyone.

Clause 2: Advertised price versus sale price

What it does. States that the policy governs the price a reseller advertises, and says whether it also reaches the price a customer actually pays. A MAP policy typically governs only the advertised price, and this clause makes that choice explicit.

Why it exists. The advertised versus sale price distinction is what separates MAP from a policy on resale prices, and it is the distinction that keeps MAP in the lower risk category under US practice. A clause that says the reseller "may sell at any price they choose, but may not advertise below the MAP" is doing legal work as well as descriptive work. Leave it out and the policy can be read as controlling the transaction price, which is a different instrument with a different legal weight.

Clause 3: What counts as advertising

What it does. Defines "advertising" broadly enough that the floor cannot be evaded by moving the price somewhere the policy did not name. Typical coverage includes print, broadcast, email, social media, paid search, display ads, product feeds, comparison shopping engines, and any price shown on a web page or app before checkout.

Why it exists. Enforcement disputes tend to start with a reseller saying "that was not advertising." They mean the price in a promotional email, in a shopping feed, or on the screen after "add to cart." A policy that lists these turns the dispute into a lookup. A policy that relies on a general word leaves the brand arguing definitions with someone whose margin depends on winning the argument.

Common gap. The cart. Whether a cart price is advertising is a question resellers will contest, and the policy should answer it. Many brands treat any price visible before payment as advertised. Others allow a "see price in cart" mechanism, where the listing shows no price. Either choice can work. Not choosing does not.

Clause 4: Marketplace and coupon language

What it does. Addresses online marketplaces by name, states that the listing price on a marketplace is an advertised price, and covers the discount mechanics those platforms offer: clipped coupons, promotional codes, subscription discounts, deal events, and any strikethrough or "was" price the platform generates.

Why it exists. On a marketplace the listing price is the advertisement and, usually, the checkout price. A policy written for print and shelf pricing does not obviously reach a listing, and it does not reach a coupon that lowers the effective price while the displayed number stays at the floor. Amazon is one marketplace where this shows up, and the clause should cover marketplaces generally so it survives each new channel. The enforcement playbook covers what marketplace monitoring looks like once this clause is in place.

Common gap. Discounts the platform applies rather than the seller. The policy should say whether the reseller is responsible for the effective price on their offer regardless of who initiated the discount. The usual answer is yes, because the alternative is a floor any platform feature can defeat.

Clause 5: Violation tiers

What it does. Lays out the consequences the brand will apply when it observes a violation, in escalating steps. Early steps typically involve written notice and a pause on incentives such as cooperative advertising support. Later steps involve holding orders or suspending shipments. The terminal step is the brand ceasing to supply the reseller.

Why it exists. A policy with no stated consequence is a suggestion, and one whose consequences are invented case by case is an invitation to negotiate. Writing the ladder down gives every reseller the same information in advance and removes discretion from the person enforcing, which protects the brand from the accusation that it treated one reseller differently from another. Consistency is only possible when the steps are fixed beforehand.

Common gap. Reset periods. The policy should say whether a reseller's record clears after a period of clean behavior, and how long that period is. Without it, a reseller with an old violation lives permanently one step from cutoff, which makes the brand reluctant to enforce or the reseller reluctant to keep carrying the line.

Clause 6: Notice and cure

What it does. States how the brand will notify a reseller of a violation, by what channel, and how long the reseller has to correct the advertised price before the next consequence applies. Some policies give no cure window at all, which is a valid choice. Others give a short one.

Why it exists. Many violations are accidents: a repricing tool with the floor set wrong, or a promotion that ran past its end date. A short cure window fixes those without burning the relationship. A documented notice, sent the same way every time, is also the evidence trail that shows the brand applied the policy as written.

Common gap. Treating the cure window as a conversation. The notice should state the violation, the evidence, the required correction, and the deadline, and should not invite a reply or offer to discuss. The moment the brand negotiates a cure, the policy has stopped being unilateral for that reseller.

Clause 7: The unilateral statement

What it does. States, in plain terms, that the policy is adopted by the brand alone, is not an agreement with any reseller, is not subject to negotiation, and may be changed or withdrawn by the brand at any time. It usually also says that the brand will not discuss the policy with resellers beyond confirming its terms, and that resellers should not report on one another's pricing.

Why it exists. This clause is the policy's legal foundation written out loud. The principle that a manufacturer may announce in advance the circumstances under which it will refuse to sell, and may choose independently whom to deal with, goes back to United States v. Colgate & Co. in 1919. The clause also works inside the company: it tells the sales team they cannot promise leniency to close an order.

Common gap. Contradicting it elsewhere. A policy with a unilateral statement in one section and a reseller signature block in another has undermined itself. Counsel will have views on how the MAP policy should relate to the reseller agreement; the two documents cannot say opposite things about whether the reseller has agreed to the floor.

Clause 8: Monitoring

What it does. States that the brand or its designated agent monitors advertised prices, what forms of evidence it relies on, and that the brand's determination of a violation is made at its own discretion based on that evidence.

Why it exists. A policy nobody watches is a policy nobody follows, and resellers learn quickly whether a brand is looking. Stating that monitoring happens sets the expectation that violations will be seen. Describing the evidence, typically a dated capture of the advertised price, tells the reseller in advance what counts as proof and shortens the dispute when a notice arrives. Our MAP strategy guide covers how monitoring fits into the wider channel program.

Clause 9: Authorized reseller list linkage

What it does. Connects the MAP policy to the brand's list of authorized resellers. It states that the policy applies to authorized resellers, that authorization can be withdrawn for non compliance, and that authorized resellers may not supply product to anyone who is not on the list.

Why it exists. A MAP policy has direct grip only on resellers the brand supplies. A seller who bought from a wholesaler or a liquidator never received the policy and has no authorization to lose. The only way to reach that seller is through the account that supplied them, which is why the policy must prohibit authorized resellers from selling to unauthorized ones. Without this clause, every unauthorized seller under the floor is a dead end. With it, each one is a lead back to an authorized account that broke the supply term. The guide on unauthorized sellers covers what that tracing looks like in practice.

Common gap. Leaving the list unmaintained. The list can be private and shared on request, or public, but it has to exist as a current document, and the policy should say where it lives.

A short assembly order

Write Clause 7 first, because the unilateral statement sets the voice for everything else. Then the definitions in Clauses 2 to 4, then the consequences in 5 and 6, then the operational links in 8 and 9, and only then attach the schedule from Clause 1. A policy written in that order reads as a single announcement rather than a list of rules with a disclaimer stapled on.

Then send it to counsel and publish it to every authorized reseller the same way on the same day. Start monitoring immediately. A MAP policy earns its authority early, when resellers find out whether the brand meant it.

Frequently asked questions

Do resellers need to sign a MAP policy?

No. A MAP policy is a unilateral announcement by the brand, and asking for a signature works against that. A signature turns it toward an agreement on price, which is a different instrument under US antitrust practice. The brand publishes the policy, and resellers decide whether to keep carrying the product on those terms.

Should the MAP policy cover cart prices?

The policy should answer the question one way or the other. Many brands treat any price visible before payment as advertised, which closes the cart gap. Others allow a "see price in cart" mechanism where no price is shown on the listing. What does not work is a policy that never mentions the cart, because that is where discounting moves first.

How should a MAP policy handle Amazon and other marketplaces?

By stating that a marketplace listing price is an advertised price, and by naming the platform discount mechanics the policy reaches: coupons, promotional codes, subscription discounts, and deal events. The reseller should be responsible for the effective price on their offer regardless of which party applied the discount.

How long should the cure window be?

Long enough to fix a repricing tool or pull a stale feed, and short enough that the reseller cannot run a promotion through it. The policy should state the window, the channel the notice arrives by, and the fact that the notice is not an invitation to negotiate. The exact length is a business decision that depends on the channel.

What happens when an unauthorized seller advertises below MAP?

The policy has no direct grip on a seller the brand never supplied. Enforcement shifts to tracing that seller's inventory back to an authorized account, which is only possible if the policy prohibits authorized resellers from supplying unauthorized ones. That is why the authorized reseller list clause belongs in the MAP policy.

How often should a MAP policy be updated?

The price schedule changes whenever prices do, with the notice period the policy states. The policy body should change rarely, because every reissue is a chance for resellers to argue the old version applied to their conduct. Review it with counsel when the channel changes materially, for example when the brand opens a new marketplace or a new market.