ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Lead form requirements
Google disapproves a lead form asset that has no link to a privacy policy, or that uses the personal information it collects in ways people have not agreed to. Link the business privacy policy when building the form, and use the answers only as the form says. A lead form cannot be used for restricted categories such as healthcare, alcohol or gambling.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Assets page, as Disapproved under this policy.
- What stops
- The lead form does not serve while it stands.
- How serious
- Low on its own. Repeated violations of any policy can lead to a suspension.
What it means
A lead form asset collects contact details and answers inside an ad. Google's requirements for it are a privacy policy the form links to, limits on what it asks and what it does with the answers, and a bar on certain categories. The privacy policy link is the requirement a template form is easy to skip.
Google's page adds conditions on who may use lead forms. Affiliate networks and lead aggregators can be disallowed. Google decides that at its sole discretion, and it allows lead forms for first-party advertisers, or third parties with a well-established, direct relationship to the offer.
What actually triggers it
No privacy policy link
A lead form asset needs a privacy policy. When you create the asset you must link to it, and the link appears at the end of the form.
Misusing personal information
Using personal information in ways users have not consented to is not allowed, and local legal requirements apply as well. Google points to its Data collection and use policy for the detail.
A form in a restricted category
Sexual content, alcohol, gambling, healthcare and medicines, and political content are not allowed on lead forms.
A form run through an affiliate network or lead aggregator
Affiliate networks and lead generation businesses can be disallowed at Google's discretion. Only first-party advertisers, or third parties with a well-established, direct relationship to the offer, can use lead forms.
Fix it in this order
- Open Assets, find the lead form marked Disapproved.
- Link your business privacy policy at the end of the form.
- Remove any content from a restricted category, and check that the answers are used only in ways the form discloses.
- Check that the offer is run by you or by a third party with a direct relationship to it, not by an aggregator. Then hover over the asset, select Edit, make the change and select Save.
- If an edited form stays disapproved with no clear reason, build a new lead form asset, link it to the same campaigns and remove the old one's links.
If the form cannot be changed to meet the rule, remove it.
When to appeal
Appeal when the privacy policy is linked, the questions and category meet the rules, and the form is still flagged. An appeal does not change the form, so edit it first.
Often confused with
A lead form disapproval about the business identity, a different message from the policy requirements here. In one real account, a form with the business name filled in was still disapproved under this message. The form that cleared was a new asset, edited after it was linked.
The restricted category for healthcare. A lead form for a healthcare offer falls under that page's rule, while a missing privacy link is a separate fix.