Facebook Ad Policy 2026: Facebook Ads Compliance Checklist and Meta Ad Copy Guidelines That Pass Review
Most Facebook ad rejections have nothing to do with the offer. They come down to a single sentence. Meta reviews the image, the video, the primary text, the headline, the targeting and the landing page sitting behind the ad, and the rule that catches the most advertisers is not one of the obvious restricted categories. It is Personal Attributes, which decides whether your copy is allowed to address the reader as somebody who has a condition, a body type or a money problem. Rewriting one line usually clears it. This page covers what Meta actually checks, the copy patterns that get an ad pulled, the four Special Ad Categories that quietly change your targeting options, and the place where the advice repeated across most agency blogs is flatly wrong. Build the copy and the creative at the top of this page, then run it against the checklist below.
Flat pricing, no credits · Updated August 2026
Generating ad set
Preparing the studio…
|
✓ Resized for every placement in one pass.
Live preview with sample products. Try it, then get started with your own.
Direct answer
Facebook ad policy is the set of Meta Advertising Standards every ad is checked against before it runs, covering the image, the video, the primary text, the headline, the targeting and the landing page the ad points to. Review is automated, starts before the ad goes live and is typically completed within 24 hours, and an ad can be reviewed again after it launches. The most common copy level rejection comes from the Personal Attributes policy, which lets an ad describe a service but not assert that the reader has the condition it treats: Meta permits the phrasing "New diabetes treatment available" and prohibits "Do you have diabetes?". A rejected ad can be edited, which counts as a fresh submission, or appealed through Account Quality.
The problem
The practical problem is that policy and volume collide. A Meta campaign wants several genuinely different creative angles to test, each with its own primary text, headline and description, redrawn at every placement size. Every one of those variants is a separate chance to trip a rule. So the advertisers who test hardest are also the ones most exposed to review, and the usual response is to get timid: one safe ad, cloned everywhere, learning nothing. The other failure mode is worse. Somebody finds a line that converts, scales it, and discovers three weeks in that it violates Personal Attributes, because an ad can be reviewed again after it has been running. At that point the rejection is not a delayed launch, it is a restricted account with the best performing campaign inside it. Almost none of this is about the product being advertised. It is about phrasing that nobody checked before it shipped.
How Adscreator handles it
Adscreator generates the copy and the creative from what you already publish. Point it at your service or product page and it writes primary text, headline and description options at the Meta character limits, produces on brand imagery, and outputs every Facebook and Instagram placement size in one pass. Because it returns variants rather than one ad, you can put several angles against each other and still keep every one of them inside the phrasing rules on this page, which is the part that usually breaks when a small team is writing ad copy at volume. Adscreator does not connect to your ad account, does not submit ads for review and cannot guarantee an approval decision, because only Meta makes that call. You export the copy and the images and run them yourself. The product is not open for purchase yet; planned pricing starts at $39 monthly and you can join the waitlist from the page above.
specs
Facebook ads compliance checklist: the rule, what Meta requires, and the rejection it causes.
Every row below comes from Meta's published Advertising Standards in the Transparency Center rather than from agency commentary, because the second hand versions of these rules contradict each other constantly. Check a draft against this list before it goes to review, not after. The right hand column is the specific failure each rule produces, which is usually easier to recognize in your own draft than the rule itself.
| Policy area | What Meta requires | The rejection it causes |
|---|---|---|
| Personal attributes | Copy may describe a service but may not assert or imply the reader has a condition, body trait, financial situation or identity | Do you have diabetes? is prohibited. New diabetes treatment available runs |
| Cosmetic procedures | Target people 18 and older. No statements of inferiority about appearance, body parts or hygiene | A split frame that circles or labels a problem area |
| Weight loss and weight gain | Target 18 and older, and clearly indicate the time taken to achieve the result shown | A result claim with no timeframe attached |
| Body imagery | No close up on a specific body area by pinching fat | Stock photography of a waistline being pinched |
| Housing, employment, credit | Self identify the campaign as a Special Ad Category before it runs | Restricted targeting options, then action on the ad or account |
| Financial products | Ads for credit cards, loans or insurance must target people 18 and older | Age range left at the default 13 plus |
| Landing page | The destination is reviewed together with the ad | A compliant ad rejected for the page behind it |
| Review timing | Automated review, typically finished within 24 hours, and ads may be reviewed again after launch | A live campaign pulled weeks after approval |
| Text in images | No 20 percent text limit since 2021 | None, but plenty of teams still design around a retired rule |
Sources: the Meta Advertising Standards in the Transparency Center, covering the Personal Attributes policy, the health and wellness restrictions on cosmetic procedures and weight loss, the Special Ad Category requirements for US advertisers, and the published ad review process. The Advertising Standards are organized into nine top level groups: Community Standards, unacceptable content, fraud and scams and deceptive practices, restricted goods and services, objectionable content, intellectual property, social issue and electoral and political advertising, product and format specific policies, and policies affecting business assets. One number worth keeping in mind: review is typically complete within 24 hours, so a launch planned for the same afternoon has no slack in it if something comes back rejected.
Personal Attributes is the rule that rejects the most ad copy, and it turns on one word
This is the policy most advertisers have never read and most rejections come from. Meta prohibits ad content that asserts or implies personal attributes, and the list is broad: physical or mental health including medical conditions, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, criminal history and financial status. The part that matters commercially is that the policy does not restrict what you sell. It restricts how you address the reader. Meta publishes paired examples that make the line unmistakable. Bulimia counseling available is allowed. Depression counseling is allowed. New diabetes treatment available is allowed. Do you have diabetes? is prohibited. Depression getting you down? Get help now. is prohibited. So is Do not wait, get your spouse treated for cancer today with help from our medical experts. Read those pairs and the mechanism becomes obvious. The permitted versions describe a service that exists. The prohibited versions use you or your to tell somebody Meta has decided they have a condition, and the policy specifically bars implying knowledge of a user or a user's family medical information. This is why so much high performing direct response copy fails. The second person question is the oldest hook in advertising and on Meta it is the fastest route to a rejection in any regulated category. The fix is almost always mechanical rather than creative. Turn the question into a statement about the offer. Tired of your back pain? becomes Back pain treatment now available in Austin. Struggling with debt? becomes Debt consolidation plans from a licensed lender. Is your roof leaking? is fine, because a roof is not a personal attribute, and that distinction is exactly why advertisers who move between categories get caught: the hook that runs happily for a roofing company is a violation for a clinic. If you are writing copy at volume, the practical habit is to scan every headline and primary text for you and your, then check whether the sentence is describing the reader or describing what you sell.
What Meta actually says about before and after images, and why most guides get it wrong
Search for this and you will be told, confidently and almost everywhere, that Meta bans before and after photos. That is not what the policy says, and the difference is worth real money to any clinic or cosmetic brand. Meta's health and wellness standards explicitly contemplate general cosmetic products, procedures and surgeries depicting before and after transformation, subject to the conditions that apply to the whole category. The published list of cosmetic procedures that may be advertised is long and covers most of a med spa menu: breast augmentation, breast reduction, abdominoplasty, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, rhytidectomy, labiaplasty, hair restoration surgery, dermal fillers, skin rejuvenation treatments, injectable treatments, chemical peels, micro needling, non ablative laser treatments, laser or light treatments and micropigmentation. What is genuinely prohibited is narrower and more specific than the blanket claim. The ad must be targeted to people 18 and older. It must not contain statements of inferiority about physical appearance, meaning terms, descriptions or questions that are negative and attack an individual's appearance, specific body parts or hygiene. It must not attempt to generate negative self perception in order to promote a diet, weight loss or other health related product. And Meta calls out one particular image: a close up on a specific body area by pinching fat. Weight loss and weight gain products carry an extra requirement, which is that the ad clearly indicates the time taken to achieve noticeable results. Put those together and the real rule emerges. It is not the transformation photo that fails review, it is the framing around it. A clean, well lit pair of images showing a filler or laser result, targeted 18 plus, with copy that describes the treatment, sits inside the policy. The same pair with a red circle around the problem area, or a headline asking the reader whether they hate their jawline, is a statement of inferiority and it fails. Two warnings before anyone changes their creative on the strength of this. First, review is applied by automated systems at scale and a technically compliant ad can still be rejected, which is what the Account Quality appeal path exists for. Second, Meta is only the first rulebook. The Federal Trade Commission requires competent and reliable scientific evidence behind health related claims regardless of what a platform approved, treats a patient testimonial as a claim the business made itself, and expects results that are not typical to be disclosed clearly rather than papered over with a disclaimer. State medical boards add their own advertising rules on top. Platform permission is not legal permission.
The four Special Ad Categories, and the verticals that walk into them without noticing
If you advertise housing, employment, credit or social issues, elections and politics to people in the United States, Canada or parts of Europe, you have to self identify the campaign as a Special Ad Category before it runs. Do that and a reduced set of targeting options applies, because US law prohibits discrimination in the offer of housing, employment and financial products, and Meta's response was to remove the audience controls that made discrimination possible. Advertisers may not use audience selection tools to wrongfully target or wrongfully exclude groups of people. The problem is that the category boundaries are wider than the obvious cases and plenty of businesses cross them without realizing. Housing does not only mean a realtor listing a property. It reaches property management, rental listings, homeowners insurance in some framings, mortgage and refinance offers, and home improvement financing. A remodeling company that would never describe itself as a housing advertiser can land in the category the moment it advertises financing for the work. Credit covers credit cards, loans, and short term financing offers, including the buy now pay later style offers a retailer might promote. Employment covers job listings, but also recruitment ads, internships, apprenticeships and staffing services. The practical consequences are worth planning for rather than discovering. Your targeting gets blunter, so the creative has to do more of the qualifying work that audience selection used to do. If your account has been quietly running a mortgage or a hiring campaign without the declaration, fixing it is not optional and it is better done before an enforcement action than after one. And separately from the category rules, ads for credit cards, loans or insurance services must be targeted to people 18 and older, which is an easy thing to leave at the default and an easy thing to be caught on. Get the declaration right at campaign setup, then write copy that qualifies the audience explicitly, because with the targeting levers gone the words are the only filter you have left.
What review actually looks at, and what to do when an ad is rejected
Meta's review system examines the specific components of an ad, meaning images, video, text and targeting information, as well as the landing page or other destination the ad points to. That last part is the one teams forget. Your ad can be immaculate and still be rejected for a claim, a pop up or a checkout flow on the page behind it, which is why moving a compliant ad to a new landing page is a change worth re reviewing rather than assuming. Business assets are reviewed too, so ad accounts, Pages and user accounts each carry their own standing. Review starts automatically before ads begin running and is typically completed within 24 hours, though it can take longer, and Meta is explicit that ads may be reviewed again after they go live. Plan launches with that in mind: a campaign that has to start Monday morning should be submitted well before Sunday night, and a scaled winner is never permanently safe. When something is rejected you have two routes. You can edit the ad to bring it into compliance, which is treated as a new submission and goes back through review from the start. Or, if you believe the decision was wrong, you can request another review through Account Quality, which is also where you appeal a restricted ad account, Page or Business Account. Both are legitimate and the choice matters. If you can see the violating element, edit it, because that is faster than an appeal. If you have read the policy and genuinely cannot find the breach, appealing is the better move, since editing a compliant ad at random teaches you nothing and can make the next rejection harder to diagnose. The habit that saves the most time is keeping a record of which phrasing has cleared review before. Advertisers who write copy at volume accumulate a private library of approved constructions, and reusing a known good sentence pattern is far cheaper than testing the boundary again on every campaign.
what it uses
The features behind facebook ad policy compliance.
questions
Facebook ad policy compliance: the questions people ask.
What is Facebook ad policy?
Facebook ad policy is the set of Meta Advertising Standards every ad is checked against before it runs. Review covers the image, the video, the primary text, the headline, the targeting and the landing page the ad points to. The standards are organized into nine top level groups, including restricted goods and services, objectionable content, and fraud and deceptive practices.
Why do Facebook ads get rejected?
The most common copy level cause is the Personal Attributes policy, which prohibits an ad from asserting or implying that the reader has a health condition, body trait, financial situation or identity. Second person questions such as Do you have diabetes? fail, while New diabetes treatment available is allowed. Landing page content and targeting settings also cause rejections.
How long does Facebook ad review take?
Review begins automatically before the ad starts running and is typically completed within 24 hours, though Meta says it can take longer in some cases. Ads may also be reviewed again after they have gone live, so approval at launch is not permanent. Submit well ahead of any fixed campaign start date.
Can you use before and after photos in Facebook ads?
Yes, within limits. Meta's health and wellness standards allow general cosmetic products, procedures and surgeries to depict before and after transformation when the ad targets people 18 and older. What is prohibited is framing that attacks appearance, generates negative self perception, or shows a close up of a body area being pinched.
What is a Special Ad Category on Facebook?
It is a declaration required for ads about housing, employment, credit, or social issues, elections and politics that run in the United States, Canada or parts of Europe. Selecting a category limits the targeting options available, because anti discrimination law restricts how these offers may be aimed at or withheld from groups of people.
Is there still a 20 percent text rule for Facebook ad images?
No. Meta retired the 20 percent text limit in 2021, so an image with heavy text is no longer penalized or rejected on that basis. Plenty of teams still design around the retired rule. Legibility across placements is a genuine reason to keep text light, but policy is not.
What should I do when a Facebook ad is rejected?
You have two routes. Edit the ad to fix the violation, which counts as a new submission and goes back through review, or request another review in Account Quality if you believe the rejection was a mistake. Account Quality is also where you appeal a restricted ad account, Page or Business Account.
Does Meta review the landing page as well as the ad?
Yes. Meta states that review examines the ad components and the associated landing page or other destination. A compliant ad can be rejected because of a claim, an interstitial or a checkout experience on the page behind it, so changing the destination of a running ad is a meaningful change, not a cosmetic one.
▪ keep reading
The vertical pages go deeper on the rules that apply to one industry. The med spa ad maker covers the cosmetic procedures policy and the FTC substantiation rules that sit on top of it, the real estate ad maker and the mortgage ad maker both run into the Housing and Credit Special Ad Categories described below, and the home remodeling ad maker covers the Housing declaration that catches remodelers by surprise.
For the mechanics rather than the rules, Facebook ad copy generator covers the character limits for primary text, headline and description, Meta ad sizes covers the dimensions and safe zones for every placement, and Facebook ad maker covers the full creative workflow.
Two adjacent pages are worth reading if policy is slowing you down. Advantage+ ad maker covers what Meta automation does to your assets after they are approved, and lead generation ads covers instant form creative, where the qualifying questions are subject to the same Personal Attributes rule as the ad copy.
▪ more use cases