You’ve just built the perfect Facebook ad. The copy is crisp, the ad creative is eye-catching, and the targeting feels spot on. You hit that “Publish” button, lean back in your chair, and wait for the leads and sales to roll in. You can hire a digital marketing agency like us to take care of your Facebook advertising if you need, just give us a call.
But instead, you just see that little status: “In Review.” An hour goes by, then another. Soon, you’re nervously refreshing your screen, wondering just how long does Meta ad review take?
You’re not alone in this feeling. The waiting game is one of the most frustrating parts of running Facebook and Instagram ads, especially when you have a time-sensitive campaign. Understanding exactly how long does Meta ad review take can save you a lot of stress and help you plan better.
Table of Contents:
- The Official Answer vs. The Real World
- What Actually Happens During a Meta Ad Review?
- Factors That Slow Down Your Ad Review
- How Long Does Meta Ad Review Take for Different Situations?
- My Ad Is Stuck in Review. What Can I Do?
- How to Speed Up the Review Process From the Start
- Conclusion
The Official Answer vs. The Real World
Meta’s official line gives a pretty simple answer. According to their own documentation, most ads are reviewed within 24 hours. However, as many advertisers have discovered, that official statement doesn’t always match reality.
Sometimes your ad gets the green light in just a few minutes. Other times, it can feel like it’s been lost in the digital void for days, leaving you to question the entire review process. This wide range in review times exists because your ad isn’t just sitting in a simple queue; it’s navigating a sophisticated system.
This system uses both artificial intelligence and human reviewers to manage the millions of ad submissions it receives daily. The speed of your approval often depends on which path your ad takes. A straightforward, compliant ad might fly through the automated checks, while a more complex one gets routed for a slower, manual review.
What Actually Happens During a Meta Ad Review?
When you submit your ad, it doesn’t just go to a person sitting at a desk. The ad review process is a layered system that works to uphold Facebook’s advertising policies. It helps to understand the journey your ad goes on after you click publish to see why some review times are longer than others.
The Initial Automated Scan
First, your ad goes through an automated review. A sophisticated AI scans every part of your ad campaign, from the ad content to the visuals. This includes your headline, primary text, images videos, and even the destination URL you’re sending traffic to.
This initial scan is incredibly fast and is the first line of defense in the Facebook review process. The system is looking for obvious red flags and any potential policy violation. It checks for banned keywords, sensitive topics, excessive text on images, and other clear breaches of Meta’s advertising guidelines.
If your Facebook ads are simple and clearly compliant, they might be approved by the AI almost immediately. This is why some ads are ad approved in under an hour. But if the AI spots anything even slightly questionable, your ad gets passed along for further inspection.
When Humans Get Involved
This is where the real delays can happen in the review Facebook has set up. If the automated system flags your ad for any reason, it gets sent to a human reviewer. These are real people who manually check your ad to determine if it truly violates any rules.
A manual review is much slower and more thorough than the automated scan. The team of reviewers work through a global queue of ad submissions, and there’s often a backlog, especially during peak times. This is a primary reason an ad can get stuck “In Review” for more than 24 hours.
Your ad might require human attention for many reasons. Perhaps you used a word that’s flagged in certain contexts, or maybe your ad is for a product in a restricted category. Sometimes, new accounts without a long advertiser history are flagged for a manual review as a precaution.
Factors That Slow Down Your Ad Review
So what exactly sends your ad to the slow lane of human review? Several things can affect how long Meta ad review take. Knowing them can help you prepare and possibly get your ads approved faster and avoid delays.
Your ad account’s history is a significant factor. If you have a brand new ad account, expect more scrutiny from the Facebook review team. Meta is more cautious with new accounts to prevent spam and low-quality ad submissions, so a human reviewer will likely examine your first few ad campaigns.
Conversely, an account with a long, healthy history of compliant ads often sees quicker review times. A good advertiser history builds trust with the platform. A history of rejected ads or policy violations, however, will put your account under a microscope and likely lead to extended review times for all future ads.
The subject matter of your ad content matters a lot. Ads related to sensitive or special ad category topics like health, wellness, finance, politics, or housing will almost always get a closer look. If your ad makes specific claims, like financial guarantees or dramatic weight loss results, it’s definitely getting flagged for a human check to ensure it meets Facebook’s policies.
The ad review process extends beyond the ad itself. Meta’s reviewers will check the landing page your ad links to, so the destination URL is very important. They need to confirm the page is functional, matches the ad’s promise, and does not contain prohibited or restricted content. A broken link, a misleading page, or one that offers a poor user experience is a quick way to get your ad rejected after a long wait.
When you submit your ad for review can also play a part. Submitting ad campaigns on a Friday evening or during major holiday seasons might mean longer delays. The human review team has different staffing levels during off-peak business hours and holidays, which can create a bottleneck with high submission volumes.
During major global events, such as elections or public health crises, Meta tightens its review process significantly. The platform is on high alert for misinformation and policy violations during these times. This means more ads get flagged content and require human intervention, creating a system-wide slowdown for everyone running Facebook advertising.
How Long Does Meta Ad Review Take for Different Situations?
The type of ad you’re running and your account’s status can give you a better idea of what to expect for review times. While there are no hard and fast rules, some common scenarios can help you plan your ad campaigns more effectively. The typical review times include analysis of everything from ad creative to targeting.
| Ad Situation | Typical Review Time |
|---|---|
| Simple Image Ad on Established Account | 1 – 12 Hours. |
| Video Ad on Established Account | 6 – 24 Hours. |
| Any Ad on a Brand New Account | 24 – 48+ Hours. |
| Ad in a Special Ad Category | 24 – 48 Hours. |
| Ad That Was Previously Rejected | 24 – 72+ Hours. |
| Ad During Peak Season (e.g., Black Friday) | Up to 72 Hours. |
A standard image ad on an account with a good reputation is often the fastest to get through the Facebook ad review. Video ads can take a bit longer simply because there’s more ad content for the system or a person to analyze. A ten-minute video takes more time to review than a single image, so the ad complexity plays a role.
New accounts face the most uncertainty, as Meta’s system doesn’t trust you yet. Expect a human to look at your first few ads, so be prepared for a wait of a day or two for your initial campaigns to be ad approved. This extra time allows the system to establish your advertiser history.
Finally, ads in Special Ad Categories for credit, employment, or housing have specific rules to prevent discriminatory targeting. These almost always require human review to confirm they are compliant with Facebook’s guidelines. The final decision on these ads often takes longer as a result.
My Ad Is Stuck in Review. What Can I Do?
It’s been over 24 hours, and your ad is still stuck in the Facebook review process. You’re starting to get anxious. Don’t worry, there are a few things you can do, and a few things you should definitely not do.
First, the most common mistake people make is editing the ad. If you edit an ad while it is “In Review,” it gets sent to the very back of the queue. You’ll have to start the waiting process all over again, so avoid making even small tweaks like adjusting targeting.
Before you do anything else, be patient for at least a full 24 hours, as many ads are approved within this timeframe. If you’re past the 48-hour mark, it’s time to take action. Your next step should be to check the ad for any possible policy violation you might have missed.
Read your copy again carefully. Does it make any big promises or guarantees? Does your ad creative show anything that could be misinterpreted, like promoting adult products? If you can’t find anything wrong, you can try to contact support for a status update. Be polite and provide your Ad ID number.
As a last resort, some advertisers use a little trick. They duplicate the ad set that contains the stuck ad and publish the new one. Sometimes, the new copy of the ad will go through the automated review and get approved quickly, bypassing the backlog your original ad is stuck in.
How to Speed Up the Review Process From the Start
The best way to deal with the ad review process is to plan for it from the start. You can’t control Meta’s system, but you can take steps to set your ad campaigns up for success. This preparation can help you avoid long delays altogether.
Build a good reputation for your ad account. Start with simple, straightforward ads that are clearly compliant with Facebook’s guidelines. Once you have a history of approved ads, future ad reviews may go faster.
Always review Facebook’s advertising policies before creating your ad. If you think a certain word, image, or claim might be a problem, it probably is. It’s better to be conservative in your ad creative than to have your ad get stuck for days or rejected.
Always check your landing page before you publish ads. Make sure the link works correctly and that the page loads quickly. Your page’s message must be consistent with what your ad promises to meet Facebook’s ad standards.
The most important tip is to schedule your ads in advance. If you have a big launch on Friday, don’t start submitting ad campaigns on Thursday night. Build a buffer of at least 48 to 72 hours into your campaign timeline to account for potential extended review times, especially during peak times like holiday seasons.
Conclusion
So, how long does Meta ad review take? The simple answer is usually under 24 hours, but the real answer is far more complicated. It depends on your account history, your ad’s content, your industry, and even what’s happening in the world.
Waiting for your Facebook ad review to complete can be a real test of patience. The best approach is to follow Facebook’s guidelines, build a healthy ad account, create compliant ads, and always plan your campaigns in advance. These key takeaways are critical for any successful social media strategy.
When you understand the factors that cause delays, you take back control. The question of how long does Meta ad review take becomes less of a mystery. Instead, it transforms into a strategic consideration you can plan for, allowing you to publish ads with confidence and less stress.
