Meta restricted or disabled your ad account: how to request a review, and when the decision is final

If Meta has restricted or disabled your ad account, the fix runs through Meta Business Support Home, and only an admin on the account can request a review there. Meta says "Typically, our review is completed in 48 hours, although it may take longer in some cases," that there is "a limited number of times" you can ask, and that "Once the review is completed, the decision is final." If the account is reinstated, ads that were running "will not be automatically restarted." And an ad account disabled for a policy violation that stays ineligible for 6 months can't be reinstated after that; Meta says "any unused prepaid services may be forfeited where allowed by law."

Business Support Home is the tool also called Account Quality. A restriction applies to the advertiser's accounts rather than to one ad. Meta's enforcement page puts it this way: "Beyond reviewing individual ads, we may also review and investigate advertiser behavior." A rejected ad has its own appeal, one per ad, covered in what to change in a rejected ad.

What are Meta's advertising restrictions?

Meta's About advertising restrictions page starts from a wide definition:

When advertisers go against these 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.

Its list runs from a lower spending cap to a full stop:

• "Limits on the amount an advertiser 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"

The first one can pass for an ordinary limit. Meta's page on daily spending limits says Meta "may readjust your daily spending limit" when, among other reasons, "You violated Meta's Advertising Standards or other terms and policies." To see your current limit, Meta says to "go to the Current balance section in Payment settings."

The same restrictions page says where a restriction can sit and what each one stops. A policy violation can land on any of four levels, and unusual activity brings a separate set of temporary limits:

Meta describes the unusual-activity limits as temporary: "When we notice unusual activity in your business portfolio, ad account, Page or user account, we may temporarily restrict certain features while we investigate the issue."

Is a restricted ad account the same as a disabled one?

For an ad account, effectively yes. Meta defines a restricted ad account this way: "your ad account, its ads and some of its advertising assets are disabled." Its troubleshooting page uses both words in its title, Troubleshoot a disabled or restricted account, and gives one set of steps for both.

Restricted is still the wider word. A lower daily limit, or the loss of some payment features, is also a restriction, and Meta lists those apart from "Loss of the ability to advertise on Meta platforms."

Two other routes lead to a disabled ad account. A person's restriction can take the account with it: when someone's profile is restricted, "Any ad accounts where they're the only attached user may also be disabled." And Meta keeps a separate troubleshooting guide for an ad account disabled after a payment failure, linked from the same troubleshooting page.

Why is my ad account restricted or disabled?

Meta lists the situations in which it "may apply advertising restrictions":

• "An advertiser doesn't follow our Community Standards, Meta Advertising Standards, Commerce Policies or other policies and terms."
• "We suspect an advertiser's business portfolio or business assets have been compromised or hacked."
• "An advertiser doesn't meet our two-factor authentication requirements for account security."
• "Meta notices unusual payment or account activity, high rates of failed payments or disputed payments."

Some restrictions are meant to lift. Meta "may temporarily apply limits on how much an advertiser can spend each day, how often they are billed or which payment features they can access until we can be sure they're consistently following our policies."

The two-factor line on Meta's restrictions page is short. It links to Meta's "two-factor authentication requirements for account security" but doesn't say whose two-factor setting is checked. If yours is already on, read those requirements before you request a review.

For policy restrictions, Meta's Common examples of Meta advertising policy violations gives three patterns. The first is content: "If we find that an advertiser runs ad content that severely or repeatedly violates our policies, we may apply advertising restrictions on their business portfolio, ad account, Page or user account." The second is evading enforcement: "Any attempt to evade our review process or other enforcement actions is not allowed." The third is association: "If a business asset is found in close connection with a network of accounts or other entities that violate or evade our policies, we may apply advertising restrictions to that business portfolio, ad account, Page, or user."

The bar for content is "severely or repeatedly", and the history behind it can include ads that were approved at first. Meta reviews approved ads again: "Previously approved ads can be selected for another review for various reasons, including if people hide, block, report or otherwise provide negative feedback about an ad." You won't hear about that review "unless it's found to violate our Advertising Standards." Business Support Home also lists rejected ads, so that history is one place to look.

What does an Account Integrity restriction mean?

Meta's violations page links its policies on evading enforcement and on violating networks. Both links now open one Transparency Center page, Account Integrity, which says: "Business assets must comply with the Community Standard on Account Integrity." That Community Standard says Meta "may restrict or disable accounts, other entities (Pages, groups, events) or business assets (Business Managers, ad accounts)" that meet any of a list of conditions. Two of those conditions name the Advertising Standards: "Persistently violate our Advertising Standards" and "Violate our Advertising Standards involving deceptive or dangerous business harms". Meta describes its enforcement as "a combination of automated and manual systems".

How do you troubleshoot a disabled or restricted account?

Meta's troubleshooting page starts "On a computer":

1. Go to Meta Business Support Home.
2. "From Account Overview, click the restricted account that you want to troubleshoot."
3. Find the What you can do section and take the steps it recommends.

Meta says it "may ask you to do one or more of the following": confirm your identity, complete verification, secure your account, or request a review. Which of those you get isn't fixed:

Depending on the account restriction type and the stage you're at in the process, you'll have different steps to take in the What you can do section.

So that section is the to-do list for your case, and it can change as you work through it.

How do you request a review for a restricted advertising account?

Meta's page Request a review if you are restricted from advertising on Meta platforms gives four steps:

1. In Business Support Home, select Account status overview in the left menu. (The troubleshooting page calls this view Account Overview.)
2. Select the restricted account.
3. In the What you can do section, select Request review.
4. Complete the on-screen steps.

The rule above the steps: "To request a review, you must be an admin on the account." Meta recommends a review for one case: "If your account is restricted due to a policy violation, and you believe your account shouldn't be restricted, we recommend you request a review."

The page's first line is more careful than the steps make it look. For a business portfolio, ad account, Page or user account you believe "was incorrectly restricted from advertising," it says "you may be able to request a review of the decision."

How long does Meta take to review a restricted account?

We'll review your account to see whether the restrictions should apply. Typically, our review is completed in 48 hours, although it may take longer in some cases.

There are two outcomes:

If we determine that the restrictions should apply, they'll remain in place and your account will be blocked. If we determine that they shouldn't, we'll remove them and your account will be reinstated.

Forty-eight hours is also the figure Meta gives for re-reviewing a rejected ad, and twice the 24 hours most new ads take. For the account review, Meta gives no upper limit.

The review page doesn't say who does the review; its wording is "We'll take another look at your account." The support option at the top of Meta's restriction pages is a chat with the Meta AI business assistant, which Meta says "can help resolve account issues and unblock your business."

How many times can you request a review if you are restricted from advertising?

Meta doesn't give a number:

There is a limited number of times you can request an advertising restriction review. Once the review is completed, the decision is final. Requesting another review of our decision will not hurt your standing with our company in any way.

Those sentences pull in two directions. A completed review is final, yet the page expects you may ask again and says asking won't count against you. What is clear is that requests run out and that the count isn't published. For a rejected ad, the limit is explicit: one review per ad.

Since you can't know how many requests you have left, send one once the other steps under What you can do are finished.

What happens to your ads and prepaid balance?

Reinstatement doesn't restart anything. From the review page:

Note: Any ads running before the restriction will not be automatically restarted. You'll need to turn them on in Meta Ads Manager.

When you turn them back on, check the ad level as well as the campaign: a campaign, its ad sets and its ads each show their own status.

The prepaid rule appears on both the restrictions page and the troubleshooting page:

If your 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. After this timeframe, the account can't be reinstated. Under certain circumstances, Meta reserves the right to disable your account permanently prior to the 6 months.

Meta doesn't say which day the 6 months count from, and it refers to its Payments Terms for the rest. Either way, waiting out a disabled account that holds prepaid funds has a deadline.

Why is there no Request review button?

Four things on Meta's pages can explain it. Only an admin on the account can request a review. The steps in What you can do depend on "the account restriction type and the stage you're at in the process", which can mean a review isn't offered at your stage. Requests are limited, so they can run out. And the review page itself promises no more than that "you may be able to request a review of the decision".

If you're not an admin, an admin has to send it. If you are, work through the other steps the section lists, such as confirming your identity or securing the account, then check it again.

Can you open a new ad account instead?

Not to get around a restriction. Meta's first example of evading enforcement is:

Attempting to create new ad accounts or other business assets with the intent to repeat violations after we've disabled existing accounts for initial violation of our policies

And: "If we find that an advertiser engages in this behavior, we may apply advertising restrictions on their business portfolio, ad account, Page or user account."

Two of the restrictions above rule it out on their own. A restricted personal profile "can't advertise or create new ads", and unusual activity can bring "loss of the ability to create new ad accounts". Any business asset "in close connection with a network of accounts or other entities that violate or evade our policies" can be restricted as well.

Steps for a restricted or disabled ad account

1. Open Business Support Home on a computer and select the restricted ad account, Page, business portfolio or profile.
2. Check which of Meta's reasons fits: a policy violation, a suspected hack, two-factor authentication, or payment and account activity.
3. Do what the What you can do section lists. It changes with the restriction type and the stage you're at.
4. Have an admin send the review request. Nobody else can.
5. Request a review if you believe the restriction is wrong. Expect about 48 hours, sometimes longer, and keep in mind that requests are limited.
6. After reinstatement, turn your ads back on in Ads Manager and check the ad level.
7. Don't open a new ad account to work around it. Meta treats new accounts made to repeat violations as evading enforcement.
8. Don't wait out a disabled ad account that holds unused prepaid funds. After 6 months ineligible, Meta says it can't be reinstated.

Sources

• Request a review if you are restricted from advertising on Meta platforms — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• About advertising restrictions — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• Troubleshoot a disabled or restricted account — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• Common examples of Meta advertising policy violations — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• About the enforcement of Meta Advertising Standards — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• Why some ads are approved, then rejected — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• About daily spending limits set by Meta — Meta Business Help Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• Account Integrity (Advertising Standards) — Meta Transparency Center (accessed October 31, 2026)
• Account Integrity (Community Standards) — Meta Transparency Center (accessed October 31, 2026)

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Meta revises these pages without notice, and the steps in Business Support Home differ by account, so check the source before acting on any of it.

Terrads lets you mark the part of an ad that broke a rule and change only that, with the rest of the ad kept as it was.