Google Ads Policy Manager: Fix Disapproved and Limited Ads

This guide uses Google's Advertising Policies Help: Fix a disapproved ad or appeal a policy decision, About the ad review process and About enforcement procedures for repeat violations, plus the other Google pages linked below. Checked on 8 November 2026.

How ad review works

Every ad and asset is reviewed against the Google Ads policies before it can run. Google says the review "begins automatically" after you create or edit an ad or asset, and it covers the headline, description, keywords, destination and any images and video. Most reviews finish within one business day; more complex ones take longer.

Two points from Google's review page save a lot of confusion:

• Edits restart the review. "Changes to your ad or assets restart the review process and may cause delays." Google's status page adds that changing budgets, bid strategies or ad text while an ad is under review "resets the review clock".
• Paused ads are reviewed too. If you need an ad approved for a launch date, Google suggests submitting it several days early and pausing it until the day. The landing page must be complete for the ad to be reviewed; Google suggests keeping a not-yet-launched page unlinked and blocked in robots.txt until launch.

How long to wait: Google says to check the status if an ad is under review for more than 2 full business days, and to contact support after more than a week. Its review status page gives longer standard times for some formats: 3 to 5 business days for Demand Gen and Discovery campaigns, and up to 7 business days for some complex formats. If nothing has changed after 7 full business days, Google suggests "a minor one-time edit" to re-trigger the review queue.

What each status means

The "Status" column on the Ads, Ad groups and Assets pages shows where an ad stands. Google's definitions:

An ad can also be "Eligible" and still not show. Google's first check is whether its campaign is paused. After that, the auction decides: Google's Ad Rank page says Ad Rank is calculated in each auction to determine whether an ad is eligible to show and where, based on factors including the competition, the search context and ad quality.

Finding the reason

Google gives three routes to the reason behind a disapproval:

1. The Status column. In the Campaigns menu, open Ads or Ad groups, hover over "Disapproved" and select Read the policy.
2. The Policy details column. On the Ads or Assets page, select the Columns icon, expand Attributes, tick Policy details and apply. It explains why a disapproved ad isn't "Eligible" or why an "Eligible (limited)" ad is limited, and is useful when you are checking many ads at once.
3. The disapproval email. Select "View and fix policy issues", then "View ads" for the flagged policy, which opens the affected ads in Policy manager.

Google notes that full policy information is in the Google Ads web interface. If you build campaigns in Google Ads Editor, the mobile app or a third-party tool, open the web interface to see it. Smart Mode users need to switch to Expert Mode for the full detail.

Policy manager and the Policy Summary page

Policy manager sits under Tools > Troubleshooting > Policy manager. Google describes two tabs:

• Policy issues: the ads affected by a policy, each with an Appeal option.
• Appeal history: every appeal you have filed, its status and its result, "including how many ads had their policy status updated after the review."

The Policy Summary page is Google's overview of an account's policy status. It has two cards:

• Account issues: account-level restrictions and requirements, ordered by impact: issues that stop the account or campaigns first, then required verifications, then recommended ones. Most tasks need Admin access; without it they show greyed out. Verification itself is covered in our advertiser verification guide.
• Ad issues: creative policy problems sorted by a performance metric you choose and grouped into policy families, so the issues on your best-performing assets come first.

You can dismiss an issue to move to the next one, but it comes back the next time you open or refresh the page. Completed tasks are listed in the History section of the Account page.

Edit or appeal?

Google's rule of thumb: if the ad or its landing page breaks a policy, fix it; if you have fixed it, or you think the review was wrong, appeal. The cause can sit in three places, and the fix differs:

• The ad or asset. Google's examples include repeated punctuation or symbols in a headline (Editorial policy) and mentioning tobacco in the ad text. Edit the ad on the Ads page and select Save; saving resubmits it for review automatically. With responsive search ads, check each headline and description, since the review covers all the text in the ad.
• The destination. Google's examples: a typo in the URL (Destination not working), a display URL that doesn't match the final URL (Destination mismatch), a page Google can't crawl, or a page promoting something prohibited. Fix the page against Google's destination requirements, or point the ad at a different, compliant page. Our landing page basics guide covers the basics a page should have.
• A label you disagree with. If an ad is marked "Eligible (limited)" for a policy that doesn't apply to it, Google's route is an appeal, not an edit.

One trap Google warns about: if you have fixed the issue but your appeal fails or is marked as a duplicate, "don't repeatedly submit appeals." Make a minor edit to the ad text or final URL and save it, which forces a new crawl.

Filing an appeal and its limits

From Policy manager: Tools > Troubleshooting > Policy manager, open the Policy issues tab, select Appeal on the ad, choose a reason ("Dispute decision" or "Made changes to comply with policy") and select Submit. From the Ads page: tick the disapproved ads, select Edit > Appeal policy decision and choose the same reasons. Google says you can appeal in batches by ad group or campaign; appealing every ad in the account at once may make the review take longer.

The limits, as Google states them:

• 3 appeals per ad. After 3 unsuccessful appeals on one ad, you can't appeal it again until you contact customer support.
• 24 hours between appeals on the same ads or campaigns, or they are marked as duplicates. Too many different appeals within 24 hours can also pause processing for that window.
• Suspected misuse of the appeals function suspends processing of certain appeals until you contact support.
• 6 months. From 21 July 2026, decisions made more than 6 months earlier can't be appealed from the account; contact Google Ads support instead.
• Most formats and policies can be appealed in the account. For the rest, Google points to its support contact for disapproved ads and policy questions. Advertisers in the EU may have extra options under the Digital Services Act.

Appeal statuses in the Appeal history tab are Review complete, In progress (check back in 24 hours) and Not reviewed. The Results column then shows one of:

Eligible (limited) and limited ad serving

Google's Eligible (limited) definition: ads that comply but are limited in where and when they can show, because policies such as Alcohol, Gambling, Healthcare and Trademarks restrict certain locations, ages or devices. Google adds that this can apply when your website "contains terms associated with regulated industries, even if your products or services themselves are compliant." Google says these policy restrictions are permanent and territorial restrictions apply globally unless stated otherwise.

A label doesn't always mean less traffic. Google's example: an ad labelled for Alcohol and targeting the US shows "Eligible (limited)" but serves as normal to US users under the alcohol rules. Where a policy requires you to apply to advertise, ads stay disapproved in a location until that application is approved there.

Limited ad serving is a separate policy. Google limits impressions in certain scenarios for advertisers it hasn't yet judged "qualified", based on factors such as account maturity, user reports, policy history and verification status. Individual ads are not disapproved; affected advertisers with a meaningful share of impressions in scope get an in-account notification and can appeal with Google's Limited Ad Serving Appeals Form. Google's advice is to follow the policies, complete advertiser verification if eligible, and use clear branding in ads and on the landing page.

Strikes and temporary holds

For some policies, repeat violations bring account-level penalties. Google lists them: Enabling dishonest behavior, Unapproved substances, Guns, gun parts and related products, Explosives, Other Weapons, Tobacco, Compensated sexual acts, Mail-order brides, Clickbait, Misleading ad design, Bail bond services, Call directories, forwarding and recording services, Credit repair services, Binary options, and Personal loans.

A hold doesn't lift on its own. Google says the account "will continue to remain on hold" until you either acknowledge or appeal the strike. To acknowledge, remove or fix every violation and complete the acknowledgement form; ads resume 3 or 7 days after the hold began. A successful appeal removes the strike and releases the hold immediately; an unsuccessful one still leaves you to fix the violations and acknowledge. Creating new violating ads during a hold earns another strike. Google is also explicit that creating extra accounts to get around enforcement "can lead to account suspension."

Suspensions, including the ones that come without warning for egregious violations, and how to appeal them, are covered in our Google Ads account suspended guide; identity checks are in the advertiser verification guide.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Policy manager in Google Ads?

Under Tools, then Troubleshooting, then Policy manager. It has a Policy issues tab for affected ads and an Appeal history tab for past and current appeals.

How long does Google Ads ad review take?

Google says most reviews finish within one business day. Demand Gen and Discovery reviews can take 3 to 5 business days and some complex formats up to 7. Contact support if an ad is under review for more than a week.

How many times can I appeal a disapproved ad?

Three. After 3 unsuccessful appeals on one ad, Google requires you to contact customer support before appealing it again. Wait at least 24 hours between appeals on the same ads.

Should I edit the ad or appeal?

If the ad or landing page breaks a policy, edit it; saving resubmits it for review. Appeal when you have fixed the issue or believe the decision was a mistake.

Does Eligible (limited) mean my ad is not showing?

No. It can run, but only where the relevant policy allows. Google's example is an alcohol-labelled ad that serves as normal to US users.

Policy issues are easier to avoid when the account and landing pages are set up properly from the start. See our Google Ads basics guide, our website development service and all our services, or email [email protected].