Facebook ad account restricted: what to do next

Facebook ad account restricted? On a computer, open Meta Business Support Home, click the restricted account and do what its “What you can do” section asks. That will be one or more of four things: confirm your identity, complete verification, secure the account or request a review. Before you request a review, work out which account Meta restricted and why, and fix anything on your side first, because Meta limits how many reviews you get and the result is final. And don’t open a new ad account to keep the same ads running: Meta lists that as evading enforcement.

Those steps come from Meta’s own page on how to troubleshoot a disabled or restricted account. This guide is for owners of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, roofing, cleaning, dental, legal and other service businesses whose ads have stopped and who want to know what to do next to get the leads back without making things worse. If you’d rather hand it over, that’s part of our Meta Ads management.

Which account did Meta restrict?

Meta can restrict four different things, and each one stops your ads in a different way. Its page About advertising restrictions describes them like this:

The personal profile row matters for small businesses. If the owner’s own profile is restricted but a manager or your agency is also an admin on the ad account, Meta says other members may still be able to advertise. If the owner is the only person on the account, the ads stop with them.

Why is my Facebook ad account restricted?

Meta restricts accounts for policy breaches, suspected hacking, missing two-factor authentication, or unusual and failed payments, and the reason is shown in Business Support Home. The restrictions page lists these triggers: not following the Community Standards, Advertising Standards or Commerce Policies; a business portfolio or asset that looks compromised; not meeting two-factor authentication requirements; and unusual payment or account activity, including high rates of failed or disputed payments. Meta can also put temporary limits on daily spend or billing while it checks that an advertiser keeps to its policies.

Here is how those causes usually show up, and where the fix lives:

Ad rejections count. Meta’s rejected ad guide says that editing or deleting a rejected ad doesn’t remove the violation from your account, and that severe or repeated violations can lead to restrictions on the business account, ad account, Page or user. So a run of rejected ads on a clinic or trades account can turn into a restriction of the whole account.

How do I find out the exact reason?

Meta Business Support Home shows the status and reason for every profile, Page, ad account and portfolio you manage. According to Meta’s Business Support Home guide:

1. Go to Business Support Home on a computer.
2. Click the calendar icon at the top right and choose the last 14, 30 or 90 days.
3. In Account status overview, open the Outstanding tab under Recent account issues.
4. Click the account to see the issue and the actions Meta offers in What you can do.

Write down the exact wording of the reason and the date. If it names an ad, open that ad and compare it with the Meta Advertising Standards before you do anything else. A vague reason still tells you which of the four assets is affected, and that tells you who has to act.

How do I request a review of a restricted ad account?

You request a review inside Business Support Home, and only an admin on the account can do it. Meta’s page on how to request a review for a restricted advertising account gives these steps:

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.

Meta says the review is typically finished within 48 hours, though some take longer. Three details on that page change how you should go about it. You can only request a review a limited number of times. Once a review is complete, the decision is final. And if the account is reinstated, ads that were running before the restriction stay off until you turn them on again in Ads Manager.

Run through this before you click Request review:

• Do you know which asset is restricted (profile, Page, ad account or portfolio)?
• Have you read the reason in Business Support Home, word for word?
• If ads were rejected, have you fixed or paused the ones that broke the policy, and checked their landing pages?
• Is two-factor authentication on for everyone in the business portfolio?
• Have you removed any admin, partner or payment method you don’t recognise?
• Are you an admin on the account? If not, who is?
• Have you tried the Meta AI business assistant offered at the top of the help pages if a step is unclear?

What if my agency or web person set up the ad account?

Then they may be the only admin, and only an admin can request a review. Ask whoever set it up to log in to Business Support Home, read you the reason and send the review, or to give your own profile admin access first. If your profile isn’t on the account at all, you can’t see its status, let alone fix it.

It’s the same ownership problem many owners hit with their website. Our guide on what to do when your web designer won’t give you access covers the website side. For Meta, the fix once things are calm is simple: the business should own the portfolio, the ad account and the Page, and the people who help you should be added as users or partners.

My ad account was disabled for a payment issue. How do I fix it?

Pay the amount due, and Meta brings the account back. Its failed payment guide says the account stays disabled until the balance is paid, and gives this path:

1. Go to Billing and payments.
2. Select the ad account.
3. Click Payment methods.
4. Click Pay now.
5. Choose an existing payment method or add a new one.

Once the balance is paid or you’ve added enough funds, Meta resumes active or scheduled ads and tries to make up the lost time against your campaign dates and budgets. If your ads are still paused after paying, Meta notes you may have hit the daily spending limit it set on the account.

To stop it happening again, Meta’s guide suggests a backup payment method on the ad account, cards that are enabled for online payments and won’t expire soon, and a phone you can reach for one-time passcodes. If your card has a per-transaction limit, lower your payment threshold to match it. Meta also notes that one payment method can typically be added to up to ten ad accounts, so a card shared across many accounts may be refused.

Can I just create a new ad account?

No, not when the restriction is for a policy reason. Meta’s list of common advertising policy violations names creating new ad accounts or other business assets to repeat violations after Meta has disabled existing ones as evading enforcement. When Meta finds it, it may restrict the business portfolio, ad account, Page or user account. A second account can turn one restricted ad account into a restricted business.

The same page covers accounts linked to networks that break or evade the policies. That’s one reason to be careful about borrowed or “rented” ad accounts, or giving a stranger admin access to run your ads.

How long does a Facebook ad account restriction last?

It depends on the cause: a payment restriction lifts once the balance is paid, a review usually takes about 48 hours according to Meta, and a policy restriction you don’t overturn can be permanent.

Meta’s troubleshooting page adds a deadline. If an ad account is disabled for a policy violation and stays ineligible for reinstatement for six months, any unused prepaid funds may be forfeited where the law allows, and after that the account can’t be reinstated. Meta also says it can disable an account permanently before six months in some cases. If you prepay for ads, deal with a restriction quickly.

Is that “your ad account is restricted” message real?

Check it in Business Support Home, never through a link in the message. Meta’s page on verifying a Meta representative says notifications about your account status are in Business Support Home, and that Meta representatives will never ask for your password, payment details or other sensitive information over chat, text, email or phone. Genuine emails come only from Meta domains such as facebook.com, fb.com, facebookmail.com, meta.com and instagram.com and their subdomains. Report suspected phishing to phish@fb.com.

Worked example: a cleaning company’s ads stop overnight

This is an example to show the order of steps, not a real client. A cleaning company runs lead ads on a $40 a day budget. One morning the owner gets a Messenger message, “Your ad account will be deleted in 24 hours, appeal here”, and the ads have stopped.

1. She ignores the link and opens Business Support Home on her laptop. The message isn’t there, so she treats it as phishing.
2. Account status overview shows a different, real issue: the ad account is disabled, and Billing and payments shows a failed payment. Her card expired last month.
3. She adds the new card under Payment methods and clicks Pay now. No review is needed for a payment issue.
4. While she’s there, she adds a backup payment method and checks that two-factor authentication is on for herself and her office manager.
5. The ads resume once the payment clears. Had this been a policy restriction overturned on review, she would have had to switch them back on in Ads Manager herself.

If her account had shown repeated ad rejections instead, the order would be the same: read the reason, fix the ads, then request one well-prepared review. If those ads had been boosted posts, it would be a good moment to rebuild them properly in Ads Manager, as we explain in should I boost a post or create an ad?

FAQ

Will requesting a review hurt my account?

No. Meta says on its review page that requesting another review of its decision won’t hurt your standing. The limit is on how many reviews you can request, so send one when you’ve fixed what you can.

Why is my ad account restricted when I haven’t run any ads?

Restrictions can come from things other than your ads. Meta lists suspected hacking, missing two-factor authentication, and unusual payment or account activity as reasons, and they can apply to a profile or business portfolio as well as an ad account. Check Business Support Home for the asset and reason.

Can I talk to someone at Meta about a restricted account?

Meta’s help pages offer a Meta AI business assistant chat for account issues, and the failed payment guide points to Contact support at the bottom of Business Support Home. Use those routes from inside your account rather than any phone number or “Meta agent” who contacts you first.

If your ads are back on and you want someone to keep the account healthy and bringing in calls, our Meta Ads management starts with two months of management free; you fund your own ad budget, paid straight to Meta.

Sources: 1. Troubleshoot a disabled or restricted account (Meta Business Help Centre). 2. About advertising restrictions (Meta Business Help Centre). 3. Request a review for a restricted advertising account (Meta Business Help Centre). 4. About Meta Business Support Home (Meta Business Help Centre). 5. Fix a failed payment issue on Meta (Meta Business Help Centre). 6. Common examples of Meta advertising policy violations (Meta Business Help Centre). 7. How to troubleshoot a rejected ad (Meta Business Help Centre). 8. About two-factor authentication for your business portfolio (Meta Business Help Centre). 9. How do I secure a hacked account? (Meta Business Help Centre). 10. Verify a Meta representative (Meta Business Help Centre). 11. Meta Advertising Standards (Meta Transparency Center).