My Facebook ad account was disabled or restricted. How do I get it back?

Losing your ad account mid-campaign is stressful, and the messages Meta shows are often vague. This guide from our Meta ads help centre walks you through finding out what was actually restricted, fixing it and asking for a review.

Check these first

1. Rule out a hack. Can't log in, email or phone number changed, ads you didn't create, or charges you don't recognise? Go straight to the hacked account checklist below.
2. Open Account Quality. Go to business.facebook.com/accountquality while logged in as someone with full control of the business portfolio. Select the portfolio or your profile and look for anything marked restricted or disabled.
3. Note which asset is affected and why. Meta names a reason and the asset it applies to. The fix for a restricted profile is different from the fix for a restricted ad account.
4. Check Billing and payments. A failed card or unpaid balance is a common, easily fixed cause. Pay it before anything else.
5. Look for rejected ads. A string of rejected ads in Ads Manager can lead to an account restriction. Our guide to Facebook ad rejections covers the usual policy problems.
6. Only then request a review.

Which level is restricted?

Meta can restrict four different things. Work out which one before you do anything else.

What you see	What it means	How to fix it	How long it takes
Your profile is restricted from advertising	You personally can't create or manage ads on any ad account	Secure the profile, confirm your identity if asked, then request a review of the profile in Account Quality	Meta doesn't publish a set time
Ad account disabled or restricted	That one ad account can't run ads; your other accounts may be fine	Clear any unpaid balance, deal with rejected ads, then request a review of the ad account	No published time; varies
Page restricted from advertising	No ad account can run ads from that Page	Check the Page and its recent ads against Meta's Advertising Standards, then request a review	No published time; varies
Business portfolio restricted	Everything inside the portfolio is affected, including its ad accounts	Complete business verification if asked, check who has access, then request a review	Often the slowest, as documents may be checked

Why Meta restricts accounts

• Unusual activity. Log-ins from a new country, a sudden jump in spend, a new payment card, or several people added at once can look like a takeover.
• Payment problems. Declined cards, chargebacks and unpaid balances.
• Policy strikes. Repeated rejected ads, especially in restricted areas such as health, finance and personal attributes.
• Identity and authenticity. Meta's Advertising Standards say it may ask for verification when it sees signs of misrepresentation or suspicious activity.
• Links to earlier restrictions. Meta's policy on evading enforcement prohibits creating new business assets to get around assets it restricted before.

How to request a review

1. In Account Quality, select the restricted asset and read the details.
2. Click Request review. If the wording on your screen differs, follow the live screen.
3. Answer briefly and honestly. Say what you changed: you paid the balance, removed an ad, or secured a hacked profile.
4. Upload documents only through Meta's own flow. Have these ready in case they are asked for: photo ID that matches your profile name, your ABN record, and a utility bill or bank statement in the business name.
5. Submit once, then wait. Don't send duplicate requests or create a new ad account while the review is open.
6. Write down the date you submitted and what you sent. If you need help later, from Meta support or an agency, that record saves time.

Tip

Anyone who messages, emails or comments offering to restore your account for a fee is not Meta, and dealing with them risks handing your account to a scammer. Requesting a review in Account Quality is free.

If Meta asks you to verify your identity or business

Use the name on your Facebook profile exactly as it appears on your ID. For business verification, use the legal name and address that match your ABN record, and a document in that name. A mismatch between your trading name, legal name and address can stall verification, so fix those details first. You can check your record on ABN Lookup.

If your account was hacked

Secure the people first, then the business, then the money.

1. Go to facebook.com/hacked from a device you normally use and follow the recovery steps.
2. Once you are back in, change your password and turn on two-factor authentication in Accounts Centre under Password and security. An authenticator app is safer than SMS.
3. Check where you are logged in and log out of any session you don't recognise.
4. In your business portfolio settings, open People and remove anyone you don't know. Check Partners too.
5. In Billing and payments, remove payment methods you didn't add, and look for ad accounts you didn't create.
6. Call your bank about any unauthorised charges and ask about a dispute. Do it quickly, as disputes have time limits.
7. Report the attack through ReportCyber. If identity documents were exposed, IDCARE offers free support in Australia.
8. Request a review for any asset restricted because of the hacker's activity, and give the dates the account was compromised.

How to stop it happening again

• Turn on two-factor authentication for everyone with access to the business portfolio.
• Keep at least two trusted people with full control, so one locked profile doesn't lock the whole business.
• Give your agency access as a partner to the assets it needs instead of adding its staff as people with full control.
• Keep the billing name and address consistent with your ABN record.
• Remove former staff and contractors on the day they finish.

If an agency runs your ads

Who requests the review depends on who owns the restricted asset. If the agency's portfolio owns the ad account, the agency has to submit it. If you own the ad account and the agency has partner access, someone with full control of that asset should submit it. A restricted personal profile can only be reviewed by its owner, because it is tied to that person's identity.

This is one reason we always set clients up so they own their ad account. Our guide to Meta Business Suite access shows how to add an agency as a partner without handing over your business.

When the decision is final

If a review is unsuccessful, Meta may tell you the decision can't be changed. Keep a record and check Account Quality from time to time, but don't keep resubmitting the same information. Creating a new profile, Page, ad account or portfolio to keep advertising goes against Meta's rules on evading enforcement and is likely to be restricted as well.

In the meantime, put your budget into channels you control, such as Google Ads and your own website. If Google has also suspended you, see Google Ads account suspended.

When to get help

A specialist checks the whole chain before writing anything to Meta: who owns the ad account, which profile is restricted, the billing history, and the ads that triggered strikes. Getting that right first gives your one review request the best chance of being read properly.

Talk to our Meta ads team

About this guide

Written by Amann Jhamb, Director of AR Digital Solutions, 17 years in web design, SEO and paid ads. Last checked: 3 November 2026 against Meta Transparency Centre: Advertising Standards. Change note: first published 3 November 2026. Part of our Meta ads help centre.