Your ad account got restricted. What to do, in order.

First, find out which thing happened

They look similar and are not. A payment failure pauses delivery until billing is fixed and is not a policy matter at all. A policy restriction is about something in an ad, a page or the account's history. A full disable is rarer and more serious.

Read the notification properly before doing anything. People frequently appeal a billing problem, which achieves nothing and wastes days.

Do not create a new account

The single most damaging reaction. Platforms detect it, and it tends to convert a recoverable restriction into a permanent one across everything connected to you.

Fix the account you have, however slow that feels.

Common causes worth checking

Most restrictions come from a short list.

• —A payment method that expired or was declined — by far the most common, and not a policy issue
• —Before-and-after imagery in health, beauty or fitness, which is restricted
• —Text implying personal attributes — you, your condition, your situation
• —A landing page that does not match the ad, or is unreachable
• —Unusual account changes: new payment method, new admin, a sudden budget jump

Appealing

Appeals are reviewed quickly and briefly. Be specific about what you changed rather than arguing the decision was wrong.

If the cause was creative, remove it first and say you have. An appeal that asks for reconsideration while the ad is still running gets declined.

Reducing the odds next time

A backup payment method on the account, two admins rather than one, and notifications that reach somebody who reads them.

That last one matters more than people expect. Accounts sit paused for weeks because the only alert went to an address nobody checks, and the leads that were already paid for go cold in the meantime.