What happens if you violate our policies

Google provides translated versions of our Help Center, though they are not meant to change the content of our policies. The English version is the official language we use to enforce our policies. To view this article in a different language, use the language dropdown at the bottom of the page.

To ensure a safe and positive experience for users, Google requires that advertisers comply with all applicable laws and regulations in addition to the Google Ads policies. Ads, assets, destinations, and other content that violate these policies can be blocked on the Google Ads platform and associated networks. Below is a list of various ways we enforce policies and laws.

Ad or asset disapproval

Ads and assets that don't follow Google Ads policies will be disapproved. A disapproved ad won't be able to run until the policy violation is fixed and the ad is reviewed. In Google Ads, this will be noted in the "Status" column. Learn how to fix a disapproved ad

Ad serving eligibility

An ad will be marked "Eligible (limited all locations)" when Google Ads policies (common examples include Alcohol, Copyrights, Gambling, Healthcare, and Trademarks) prevent certain types of ads from showing in your targeted locations. Depending on the policy topic, available certification and verification programs, and target country, the ads can serve on a limited basis. Learn more about ad serving eligibility.

Account suspension

Accounts may be suspended if we find violations of our policies or the Terms & Conditions.

If we detect an egregious violation, your account will be suspended immediately without prior warning. An egregious violation of the Google Ads policies is a violation so serious that it is unlawful or poses significant harm to our users or our digital advertising ecosystem. Egregious violations often reflect that the advertiser's overall business does not adhere to Google Ads policies or that one violation is so severe that we cannot risk future exposure to our users. Given that egregious violations will cause immediate account suspension, upon detection and without prior warning, we limit these to cases when such action is the only effective method to adequately prevent illegal activity and/or significant user harm.

For other violations that lead to account suspension, we will send you a warning to outline the nature of the policy violation and any remedial action that can be taken, in order to comply. This notification will be sent at least 7 days before suspension action.

For repeat violations of a policy, we issue strikes to your Google ads account and penalties progressively increase with each subsequent strike leading up to account suspension. You will receive a maximum of 3 strikes per policy on your Google Ads account. Learn more about enforcement procedures for repeat violations.

If we suspend your account, all ads in the suspended account will stop running, and we will no longer accept advertising from you, unless successfully appealed. Any related accounts (for example, accounts using the same payment method) will also be suspended, and any new accounts you create will be automatically suspended. Learn more about suspended accounts.

Remarketing list disabling

Remarketing lists that don’t follow the Personalized advertising policy may be disabled. These lists can no longer be used with ad campaigns, and new users won’t be added to the lists. List creation restrictions may apply to both individual web pages and entire websites or apps.

Compliance review

We may review your business for compliance with the Customer Match policy at any time. If we contact you to request information related to compliance, you're required to respond in a timely manner and swiftly take any corrective action needed to follow our policies. If you have a manager account, we may also contact your managed accounts to verify compliance.

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