Meta ad account restricted: reasons and requesting a review

This guide is built from Meta's Business Help Center, mainly About advertising restrictions, Troubleshoot a disabled or restricted account and Request a review for a restricted advertising account. It covers what a restriction is, which account it can sit on, why Meta applies one and how the review works. If your problem is with Google rather than Meta, see our guide to a suspended Google Ads account, which follows a different process.

What "restricted" means at Meta

Meta says that when advertisers go against its policies and standards, or if Meta observes any unusual or high-risk activity, we may place restrictions on businesses by limiting their ability to advertise. A restriction is not always a full stop. Meta lists four kinds:

• limits on how much you can spend per day, or a lower payment threshold
• loss of access to some payment features
• loss of access to some advertising features
• loss of the ability to advertise on Meta platforms

So a "restricted" account can mean anything from a lower daily spend to an ad account that is disabled. Single rejected ads are a separate thing: Meta's page on enforcement of its Advertising Standards treats ad review (one ad at a time) and account restrictions (looking at the advertiser's behaviour) as two steps. A run of rejected ads can lead to a restriction, though.

Which account is restricted

Meta can apply a restriction to four different things, and the fix starts with knowing which one it is.

Restricted asset	What Meta says happens
Business portfolio	The portfolio isn't allowed to advertise
Ad account	The ad account, its ads and some of its advertising assets are disabled
Facebook Page	The Page isn't allowed to advertise (every advertiser needs a Page)
Personal profile	That person can't advertise or create new ads; ad accounts where they are the only user may also be disabled

The last row matters for agencies and small teams. When one person's profile is restricted, Meta notes that other members of the business portfolio, ad account or Page, may still be able to advertise. That is one reason not to run an ad account with a single person attached. How people and assets sit in a portfolio is covered in our guide to the Meta business portfolio.

One time limit to know: if an ad account is disabled for a policy violation and remains ineligible for reinstatement for 6 months, any unused prepaid services may be forfeited where allowed by law, and after that the account can't be reinstated. Meta also reserves the right to disable an account permanently before the six months are up.

Why Meta restricts advertisers

Meta's list of scenarios on the advertising restrictions page:

• The advertiser doesn't follow the Community Standards, Meta Advertising Standards, Commerce Policies or other policies and terms.
• Meta suspects the business portfolio or business assets have been compromised or hacked.
• The advertiser doesn't meet Meta's two-factor authentication requirements.
• Meta wants to be sure an advertiser is consistently following its policies, and limits daily spend, billing frequency or payment features until then.
• Meta notices unusual payment or account activity, or high rates of failed or disputed payments.

On two-factor authentication, Meta's page on 2FA for business portfolios says advertisers may be required to use it to publish ads, including people advertising to certain regions and portfolios more than 90 days old, and that without it Meta may restrict or remove people's access to advertising.

For policy restrictions, Meta's common examples of advertising policy violations names three patterns:

• Content violations. Ads that severely or repeatedly violate the Advertising Standards, such as shocking, sensational or excessively violent content, certain adult content and profanity.
• Evading enforcement. For example, creating new ad accounts or other assets to repeat violations after accounts were disabled, or a network of accounts running the same violating ads.
• Violating networks or associations. A business asset found in close connection with a network of accounts or other entities that violate or evade our policies can be restricted too.

The restriction page also describes temporary limits for unusual activity while Meta investigates: limited spend or a lower payment threshold, fewer payment features, losing the ability to add admins, partners or users, and losing the ability to create new ad accounts.

Disabled because a payment failed

A failed payment is the one case that usually doesn't need a review. Meta's failed payment page says that when your payment method fails, your ads are paused and your ad account is disabled until you pay the amount due, and Billing & payments may show the account as unsettled. The fix Meta gives:

1. Go to Billing & payments and select the ad account.
2. Click Payment methods, then Pay now.
3. Choose an existing payment method or add a new one. If it keeps failing, try again later with a different card.

For prepaid accounts, Add funds does the same job, though Meta says it may take a little while for the account to return to a good state. Once the balance is paid, Meta resumes active or scheduled ads. If ads stay paused after paying, Meta points to the daily spending limit it sets. Its checklist for the payment method itself: supported in your country, enabled for online payments, a card with a CVV, linked to a phone you can get a one-time code on, not expired, enough funds, and not already added to too many ad accounts (Meta says one payment method can typically be added to up to 10).

Where to check the status

Restrictions are handled in Meta Business Support Home. There you can see the status of your portfolios, ad accounts, commerce accounts, catalogs and Pages, see what action you can take, request reviews and contact support.

1. Open Business Support Home.
2. Pick the date range with the calendar icon: the last 14, 30 or 90 days.
3. In Account status overview, open the Outstanding tab under Recent account issues for current issues and actions. The Resolved tab shows issues already closed.

Check the Facebook account row as well as the business ones. Meta says the status of your Facebook account affects your personal ad account and access to features for managing advertising assets, and a portfolio's status affects the ad accounts, shops and assets it owns.

What Meta may ask you to do

Click the restricted account in the overview and look for the section called What you can do. Meta's troubleshooting page says it may ask for one or more of these:

• Confirm your identity
• Complete verification
• Secure your account
• Request a review

The steps depend on the restriction type and how far along the process you are, so work through what that section shows rather than going straight to a review. If verification of the business is part of it, our guide to Meta business verification covers the documents and steps.

Requesting a review

If you believe a portfolio, ad account, Page or user account was restricted by mistake, Meta says you may be able to request a review. You must be an admin on the account. The steps from Meta's review page:

1. In Business Support Home, select Account status overview in the left menu.
2. Select the restricted account.
3. In the What you can do section, select Request review.
4. Complete the on-screen steps.

What Meta says about the outcome:

• Timing: Typically, our review is completed in 48 hours, although it may take longer in some cases.
• Result: if the restriction should apply, it stays and the account is blocked; if not, Meta removes it and reinstates the account.
• Ads don't restart themselves: ads that were running before the restriction have to be turned back on in Ads Manager.
• Limited attempts: There is a limited number of times you can request an advertising restriction review. Once the review is completed, the decision is final. Meta does not publish the number.
• No penalty for asking: Meta says requesting another review will not hurt your standing with our company in any way.

Because attempts are limited, it is worth fixing what you can first (remove the ads that were rejected, secure the accounts, finish any verification) and then request the review once.

Hacked accounts and fake Meta contacts

Meta lists a suspected compromise as a reason for restrictions. Signs it gives in How do I secure a hacked account? include a changed email, password, name or birthday, friend requests or messages you didn't send, and posts you didn't make. Meta adds that if a Page was taken over, it may mean that your profile or the profile of another Page Admin was hacked, so secure the personal profiles first.

Restricted advertisers are also a target for scams. Meta's page on checking whether a Meta contact is real says its representatives will never ask you for your password, payment details, or other sensitive information over chat, text, email or phone, that real email comes only from a short list of domains (such as fb.com, facebook.com, facebookmail.com, meta.com and metamail.com), and that account status notifications are in Business Support Home. Suspected phishing can be reported to [email protected]. If a message says your ad account will be deleted unless you click a link, check Business Support Home instead.

What makes it worse

Meta's own examples give the main warning: opening new ad accounts or Pages to keep running the same ads after a restriction is "evading enforcement", and connected networks of accounts can be restricted together. Wait for the review, fix the cause, and use the account you have.

Our view

This is our own working practice, not Meta guidance.

• Read the restriction before acting. A payment problem, a 2FA gap and a policy restriction each have a different fix, and only some need a review.
• Keep at least two admins on the portfolio and the ad account, both with two-factor authentication on, so one restricted or locked profile doesn't stop the business.
• Add a backup payment method and keep an eye on card expiry dates.
• Before requesting a review, write down which ads were rejected and what you changed. If Meta asks for details, a short factual account helps more than a long complaint.
• Learn the main ad policy areas before you build campaigns; our Meta ads basics guide is a starting point.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Meta ad account review take?

Meta says a restriction review is typically completed in 48 hours, although it may take longer in some cases.

Can I request a review more than once?

Only a limited number of times, and Meta does not say how many. Once a review is completed, Meta says the decision is final.

Will my ads start again after the restriction is lifted?

No. Ads that were running before the restriction are not restarted automatically; you turn them back on in Ads Manager. After a failed payment is settled, Meta does resume active or scheduled ads.

Who can request a review?

An admin on the restricted account. If you are not an admin, ask one to do it in Business Support Home.

Can I just open a new ad account?

Meta lists creating new ad accounts or other assets to repeat violations after a disable as an example of evading enforcement, which can lead to further restrictions. Resolve the existing restriction instead.

What happens to money in a disabled ad account?

If an ad account is disabled for a policy violation and stays ineligible for reinstatement for 6 months, Meta says unused prepaid services may be forfeited where the law allows, and the account can't be reinstated after that.

For more on Meta advertising, see our guides to Meta business verification, the Meta business portfolio and Meta ads basics.