Choosing Which Banner US Visitors See: US State Level Banner Format

Osano automatically decides which consent banner a visitor in the United States sees based on the state they are browsing from. By default, visitors in states with an active comprehensive privacy law see the opt-in banner, and visitors in every other state see the opt-out banner.

The US State Level Banner Format setting lets you change that behavior yourself. You can show the opt-out banner to every US visitor, require opt-in consent from every US visitor, or hand-pick exactly which states receive the opt-in banner. The setting is per configuration, needs no code changes, and takes effect when you publish.

Before you start

• This setting is available on customers on our enterprise platform plans. If you see the setting locked with an upgrade prompt, contact your Osano representative.

• If you have previously asked Osano Support to set up custom banner routing for US states, the setting will appear locked. See If the setting is locked below.

• Changing which banner a state receives can affect your compliance posture. We recommend reviewing your choice with your legal or privacy team before publishing.

How the two banners differ

The current list of US states with active comprehensive privacy legislation are:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, & Virginia

For a full description of each banner type and associated regions, see the Consent Banner Gallery.

The four routing options

When US State Level Banner Format is turned off, Osano's curated default applies. When it is turned on, you can choose one of three options:

A few things are the same no matter which option you choose:

• Visitors outside the US are not affected. Your geolocation and consent framework settings for other regions continue to work exactly as before.

• Osano still detects the visitor's state automatically using IP geolocation. There is nothing to add to your site.

• Banner content does not change. This setting decides which banner a visitor sees, not what the banner says or how it looks. Banner text and design are edited in the usual places.

Setting off: Osano's curated default

Osano maintains the list of US states with active comprehensive privacy legislation and routes them to the opt-in banner automatically. When a new state's law takes effect, Osano adds it to the list and visitors from that state start receiving the opt-in banner without any action on your part. Choose this if you want Osano to keep your US routing current for you.

Opt-out: All US States

Every visitor in the US, including visitors in states with active privacy legislation, receives the opt-out banner. If you previously had the older US State-Level Legislation Opt-Out Banner Format toggle turned on, this is the option your configuration was moved to, and your visitors' experience did not change.

Before enabling this setting, consult with your legal team to ensure it aligns with your organization’s privacy compliance requirements. Enabling this setting results in a banner that automatically opts users into tracking by default, rather than requesting their explicit consent. This format may reduce friction for end users, but could carry greater compliance risk depending on your interpretation of state privacy laws. If you want a more conservative, risk-averse setup, leave this setting OFF.

Opt-in: All US States

Every visitor in the US receives the opt-in banner and must give consent before non-essential cookies and scripts run. This is the most conservative posture. Choose this if your organization has decided to apply an opt-in standard nationwide rather than tracking state-by-state requirements.

Custom: Select Specific States

You choose which states receive the opt-in banner. Every state you do not select receives the opt-out banner, including states that have active privacy legislation.

This is the most flexible option and the one that needs the most care. For example, if you select only California, visitors in Texas, Colorado, Virginia, and every other state with a privacy law will receive the opt-out banner. The setting shows a reminder about this whenever Custom is selected. If you want Osano's legislation states plus a few extras, add all of the legislation states to your selection as well.

With Custom selected, your list stays exactly as you set it. When a new state passes a privacy law, Osano does not add it to your selection. You decide whether and when to add it.

Turn on US State Level Banner Format

1. In Osano, open Cookie Consent and select the configuration you want to change.

2. Go to Advanced Settings.

3. Find US State Level Banner Format and turn the toggle on.

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4. Choose one of the three options: Opt-out: All US States, Opt-in: All US States, or Custom: Select Specific States.

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5. If you chose Custom, an Opt-in US States field appears. Start typing a state name and select it to add it. Repeat for each state that should receive the opt-in banner. Remove a state by clicking the × on its chip, or clear the whole list with the clear-all control at the end of the field.

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6. Optionally, click Review states with active legislation to compare your selection against Osano's current list of legislation states.

7. Save, then Publish the configuration. Your change is live for visitors once the publish completes.

You must select at least one state to save a Custom selection. If the list is empty, Osano shows an error and will not save.

Return to Osano's default

Turn the US State Level Banner Format toggle off, save, and publish. Osano's curated default routing applies again immediately. Your previous option and any Custom state list are cleared.

Check your work with Preview

The configuration preview honors this setting. Simulate a visitor from a specific US state in the preview and you will see the banner that state would actually receive under your current selection. This is the quickest way to confirm a Custom list before publishing.

If the setting is locked

You may see US State Level Banner Format greyed out with the message:

US banner formats for this account are managed by Osano support through a custom mapping. Contact Osano support to make changes.

This means Osano Support previously set up custom banner routing for US states on your account, at your request. That custom routing is still in effect and continues to work as before. The self-service setting is locked so the two cannot conflict.

To manage US routing yourself, contact Osano Support and ask to have the US-state custom mapping removed. Support will confirm your intended configuration with you first, since removing the custom mapping returns your account to Osano's default routing until you enable the setting and publish your choice. Any custom routing you have for regions outside the US is not affected and stays in place.

Things to know

• The setting is per configuration. If you have several configurations in your account, each one can use a different option. Changing one does not affect the others.

• Osano's legislation-state list is maintained by Osano. You cannot edit it. If you want a different set of states to receive the opt-in banner, use Custom: Select Specific States.

• Changes appear in your activity log with the setting name, the option chosen, and full state names, so you can see who changed the routing and when.

Frequently asked questions

• I only care about California. Can I show the opt-in banner there and nowhere else?

• Yes. Turn on US State Level Banner Format, choose Custom: Select Specific States, and add California. Every other US state, including states with their own privacy laws such as Texas and Colorado, will then receive the opt-out banner. We recommend confirming with your privacy team that this is the outcome you want.

• Why is the setting greyed out for me?

• Your account's US banner routing is currently managed by Osano Support through a custom mapping. See If the setting is locked.

• Can different configurations in my account use different US settings?

• Yes. The setting belongs to the configuration, so each configuration can be routed independently.

• What happens when a new state passes a privacy law?

• With the setting off, Osano adds the state to its legislation list and visitors there automatically start receiving the opt-in banner. With Opt-in: All US States or Opt-out: All US States, nothing changes because every state already gets the same banner. With Custom, your list stays as you set it, so the new state keeps receiving the opt-out banner until you add it.

• Which states does Osano consider to have active privacy legislation?

• As of September 2026 there are 19: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The current list is always available from the Review states with active legislation link inside the setting, or at Consent Banner Regions

• I had the prior "US State-Level Legislation Opt-Out Banner Format" toggle turned on. What happened to it?

• The toggle was renamed US State Level Banner Format and gained the three options described above. Configurations that had the old toggle on were moved to Opt-out: All US States, which is exactly the behavior the old toggle provided. Configurations that had it off remain on Osano's curated default. Nothing changed for your visitors.

• Does this setting change what my banner says?

• No. It only determines which banner a visitor in a given state sees. Banner text, design, and behavior are configured separately.

• Does this affect visitors in the EU or other regions?

• No. This setting only governs visitors located in the United States. Routing for every other region is unchanged.