ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Under review
Google has not finished checking the ad or asset. Most reviews finish within one business day, and some formats take up to 7. Do not edit while it waits, because any change restarts the review. If it is still under review after 7 full business days, check the account for billing or verification holds, then make one small edit to start a new review.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Ads page or the asset report, as Under review.
- What stops
- The ad is not yet eligible. Google says it becomes eligible once the review finds it compliant.
- How serious
- None on its own. It is a wait, not a verdict.
- How long
- Most reviews within one business day. Demand Gen takes 3 to 5 business days, and some complex formats up to 7.
What it means
Review starts on its own whenever an ad or asset is created or edited. It covers the headline, description, keywords, destination, and any images and video. Paused ads are reviewed the same way as active ones.
Google says any modification resets the review clock, including changes to budgets and bid strategies as well as ad text. Editing a waiting ad to hurry it along does the opposite.
What actually triggers it
An edit made while it waited
Each change starts the review again, so an ad edited every day can stay under review for a week. Leave it alone for at least a business day before deciding it is stuck.
A hold on the account
Google's checklist for long reviews starts with the account: it must be enabled, have a positive balance, and have no pending Financial or Identity verification. Any of those can hold reviews up.
An asset with its own problem
An asset-level issue, such as punctuation, spacing or image quality, can keep the ad waiting. Google says to look in Policy manager for these and fix them, which starts a new review.
A landing page that is not finished
Google says the page has to be complete for the ad to be reviewed. A placeholder or a page still being built can hold the ad up.
Ads in paused or removed campaigns that never finish
Not on Google's help page
In real accounts, ads in paused or removed campaigns sat under review indefinitely, with no verdict, in large numbers. Google appears to stop reviewing them, and the status stays as it was. Under review on an old ad is not a sign that anything is happening.
Under review does not prove an edit was saved
Not on Google's help page
An ad that was already waiting shows the same status whether an edit was stored or lost. To confirm a change, read the edited field itself, not the status.
Fix it in this order
- Wait without editing. Under 7 business days is within Google's normal range for complex formats, and most reviews finish within one.
- Check that the account is enabled, has a positive balance, and has no pending Financial or Identity verification.
- Open Policy manager, under Troubleshooting in the Tools menu, and fix any asset-level issues it lists for the ad.
- Make sure the landing page is finished and loads.
- If the ad is still under review after 7 full business days, make one small edit to start a new review.
- If it has been under review for more than a week after that, contact Google Ads support, as Google's review page advises.
A passing ad turns Eligible and starts to run. If it shows Eligible and still does not run, check whether its campaign is paused.
Often confused with
The review is finished and the ad runs, with a restriction on where or to whom.
Not eligible
Nothing to do with review: the campaign or ad group is paused, removed, ended, pending or incomplete.
How to get an ad approved before a launch date
Submit it early and pause it. Google reviews paused ads the same way as active ones, and suggests exactly this for a delayed launch.
The landing page has to be complete for the review. To keep it out of sight until launch, Google suggests not linking to it from the rest of the site.