Facebook Ads Rejected? How to Fix Them

How Meta reviews ads

Every Facebook and Instagram ad, including a boosted post, is checked against Meta's Advertising Standards before it runs. Meta says the review is mostly automated, with people training the systems and reviewing some ads by hand. It looks at the image or video, the text, the targeting and the page the ad sends people to.

Review is typically finished within 24 hours, though it can take longer, and an ad that is already running can be reviewed again. That is why an ad can be approved one week and rejected the next.

Find the reason first

1. Open the rejection email or Business Support Home and note the exact policy named.
2. Read that section of the Advertising Standards, not a summary of it.
3. Check each part of the ad against it: headline, primary text, image or video, any text in the image, targeting and the landing page.
4. Decide whether the ad really breaks the rule. That answer decides whether you edit or request a review.

Common reasons practice ads are rejected

• •Personal attributes. Meta does not allow ads that assert or imply a viewer's personal attributes, including physical or mental health, age, disability or financial situation. Questions such as "Missing a tooth?" or "Struggling with dental anxiety?" imply the viewer has that condition.
• •Negative statements about appearance. The Health and Wellness standard does not allow ads that attack someone's appearance, body parts or hygiene. "Hate your yellow teeth?" falls into this.
• •Cosmetic ads shown to minors. Ads for cosmetic procedures must target people 18 or older.
• •Claims you cannot support. Guaranteed results, "painless", "best in town" or promised timelines invite rejection and are hard to back up anyway.
• •A page that does not match. An ad for a whitening offer that lands on a generic home page, a broken link or a page buried behind pop-ups.

Rewrite the copy

Meta's guidance is to focus on the service and its benefits rather than on the person seeing the ad. "You" and "your" are fine on their own. The problem is pairing them with a condition. A few rewrites:

• •"Are your teeth crooked?" becomes "Clear aligner consultations in Sacramento."
• •"Afraid of the dentist?" becomes "Sedation options for a calmer visit."
• •"Embarrassed by your smile?" becomes "See what a cosmetic consultation includes."
• •"Guaranteed white teeth in one visit" becomes "In-office whitening, usually done in one appointment," if that is true for your office.

A useful test: read the line aloud to a stranger. If it would sound like you know something private about them, rewrite it. For headline ideas that work on any platform, see our guide to writing copy that gets patients to call.

Check the landing page

The destination is part of the review, so treat it as part of the ad:

• •The page is about the same service and offer as the ad, in the same words.
• •It loads quickly on a phone and the main content is not blocked by pop-ups.
• •Your practice name, address, phone number and privacy policy are easy to find.
• •The page follows the same copy rules as the ad. A compliant ad that lands on "Tired of hiding your smile?" can still be rejected.

Our guide to building a landing page for dental ads covers the layout in more detail.

Special Ad Categories

Meta asks advertisers to declare a Special Ad Category for ads about housing, employment, financial products and services, or social issues, elections or politics. These categories limit some audience options, and political ads need authorization and a "Paid for by" disclaimer.

A normal ad for a dental or medical service does not fall into any of them, so you do not need to select one. Two practice ads that may: a hiring ad for your team, and an ad mainly about a financing or credit offer. For those, read Meta's category definitions first, because an ad that needs a category and does not have one can be rejected.

Edit, rebuild or request a review

• •The ad broke a rule: edit the part that caused it, such as the text, image, targeting or landing page, or create a new ad. Make all the changes at once so the ad goes through review once.
• •You believe the ad follows the policy: go to Business Support Home, select the rejected ad, ad set or campaign, and request another review. Meta says this is usually completed within 24 hours, though it can take longer.
• •Rejections keep happening across ads: check Business Support Home for account-level issues before you build more ads, and look for a pattern in the reasons.

Prevent repeat rejections

• •Keep a short list of approved headlines and images for each service and start new ads from it.
• •Log every rejection with the policy named and the fix that worked.
• •Set the age range to 18 and older for any cosmetic treatment before you publish.
• •Use your own photos of the office and team, and follow our before and after photos guide before you put patient results in an ad.
• •Reread the Advertising Standards every few months, since Meta updates them.

Want help with the whole account? Our paid advertising service plans the ads, landing pages and tracking together.

Sources

Meta changes its policies often, so check them for current wording.

• •Meta Transparency Center: Introduction to the Advertising Standards
• •Meta Transparency Center: Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes
• •Meta Transparency Center: Health and Wellness
• •Meta for Business: Ads review policy
• •Meta for Business: Resolve your ad rejection
• •Meta Business Help Center: How to choose a Special Ad Category