How to use the Rules Generator

What it does and who it's for

Official rules are what make a promotion defensible: who can enter, how, what the prize is worth, how the winner is picked, and the disclaimers that limit your liability. Writing them from scratch means juggling lottery law, tax thresholds and platform policies. The Rules Generator asks eight sets of questions in plain language and assembles the document from your answers.

It is built for simple promotions with a total prize value of $500 or less, open to entrants in the United States, or in the US and Canada excluding Quebec. A bigger prize, or entrants outside those places, needs an attorney rather than a template.

Before you start

• No account needed. It runs in your browser with JavaScript enabled.
• Have ready: your sponsor's legal name and full street address, a monitored contact email, exact start and end dates and times, prize descriptions with retail values, and the URL where your entry form will live.
• Set aside about five minutes. Progress saves automatically in that browser.

Step by step

1. Choose your promotion type

Sweepstakes means the winner is drawn at random and you can't require a purchase. Contest means the winner is judged on skill or merit against criteria you publish. This choice changes the entire legal structure of the document, so get it right — most giveaways are legally sweepstakes.

2. Say how people enter

Pick your entry mechanics. The tool only offers actions a platform's API can actually collect, so likes on a Page, follows and shares aren't options. If your entry path involves a purchase, the tool adds a free alternate method of entry.

3. Enter sponsor information

The legal name and full street address of whoever is running the promotion, plus a contact email. This is the address winner-list requests and any mail-in entries go to, so it needs to be real and complete.

4. Add promotion details and dates

Promotion name, start and end dates and times, timezone, and your entry page URL. Start and end times are legally binding. The tool warns you if the end date falls before the start, if the start is in the past, or if the promotion runs more than a year.

5. Set eligibility

Minimum age, where entrants can live, and who's excluded. Including Canada adds a mandatory skill-testing question for Canadian winners, and Quebec is excluded because of its own registration and language requirements.

6. Describe the prize

Prize description, retail value each, and number of winners. Be specific — "$250 Visa prepaid card" is better than "gift card." The tool totals the approximate retail value and warns you above $500.

7. Choose winner selection and notification

How the winner is determined, when, how they're contacted, and how long they have to respond. Sweepstakes winners must be chosen by chance — judging or voting isn't permitted. For contests, list what you'll judge entries on — originality, creativity, how well it fits the theme — and how much each one counts toward the decision. The weightings have to add up to 100%, so entrants can see exactly how the winner will be chosen. A public vote counts as judging, so it needs stated criteria too.

8. Review and generate

Check the summary, work through the quick-check list, accept the disclaimer, and generate. You'll get the full official rules plus a short-form version for social captions, both ready to copy, print or save as a PDF.

Limits and what it can't do

• Built for prizes of $500 or less. Above $600 the IRS requires a 1099-MISC, and states including New York and Florida require registration and bonding. The tool will let you continue past $500 if you tick the acknowledgment, but that's the point at which you want an attorney.
• North America only. Eligibility covers US states, or the US plus Canada excluding Quebec. There's no option for entrants anywhere else.
• Only collectible entry mechanics are offered — no like-to-enter on a Page, follow-to-enter or share-to-enter.
• Nothing is saved on our side. Progress is stored in that browser only. A different device, a private window, or clearing site data loses it.
• It does not file, register or review anything on your behalf.

Troubleshooting

I closed the tab and lost my rules

Progress auto-saves in the browser you used, so reopening the tool in that browser usually restores it. It does not follow you to another device, and a private window or cleared site data loses it. Generate and save the PDF before you leave — nothing is stored on our side.

I need to change something after generating

Use Back to Editor to change your answers and generate again, or edit the document you saved. There's no way to retrieve a generated document later.

The tool won't let me continue

Check for a blocking warning: an end date before the start date, an incomplete sponsor address, or a prize left unfinished. Warnings marked with an exclamation are advisory and don't block you.

My ZIP and state don't match

The tool flags this because winner-list requests and mail-in entries go to that address. Correct whichever is wrong.

Privacy and what happens to your data

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type — sponsor details, prize values, dates — is sent to a ShortStack server. Your progress is saved on your own device, and ShortStack keeps no copy of the rules you generate. If you want the document later, save the PDF now.

Related resources

Sweepstakes and Contest Rules Guide (Help Doc)

How to use the Campaign Checker (Help Doc)

How to use Winner Reveal (Help Doc)