Meta ad stuck in review
Most Meta ads are reviewed within a day. When one sits in review for longer, these are the reasons and what you can actually do about it.
Not spending or delivering Updated 9 November 2026 Checked against Meta’s Help Center
The short answer
Meta reviews most ads within 24 hours, but some take longer, especially new accounts, ads in special categories and ads with many edits. Editing an ad in review restarts the review. If it has been more than a couple of days, duplicate the ad and publish the copy, or ask Meta support.
This is probably you if
- Delivery reads "In review" for more than 24 hours
- A new campaign has not delivered a single impression
- You edited an ad and it went back into review
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Check my accountCauses, most likely first
Work down the list: rule each cause out or mark the one you find
- 1
The account or page is new
New ad accounts and new pages get closer checks before Meta trusts them.
- How to check
- Look at when the ad account and the Facebook page were created.
- Fix
- Wait the first review out. It speeds up once a few ads have been approved.
Is this the cause?
- 2
You edited the ad while it was in review
Any change to the creative, text or link sends the ad to the back of the review queue.
- How to check
- Open the ad history (the clock icon) to see edits made after you published.
- Fix
- Leave it alone until it is approved, then make changes in one batch.
Is this the cause?
- 3
The ad touches a sensitive topic
Ads about credit, employment, housing, social issues, elections or politics, health and some financial products get extra review.
- How to check
- Check whether the campaign should be in a Special Ad Category, and whether the copy makes claims about health, money or personal attributes.
- Fix
- Declare the right Special Ad Category and rephrase claims plainly. See ad rejected for common policy problems.
Is this the cause?
- 4
The landing page is slow or unreachable
Reviewers and Meta’s crawler check the destination. A page that redirects oddly, blocks bots or fails to load can hold up review.
- How to check
- Open the link from a phone on mobile data, outside your office network.
- Fix
- Fix redirects and make sure the page loads fast and publicly.
Is this the cause?
Keep it from coming back
- Publish ads a day or two before they need to run.
- Batch your edits instead of changing an ad several times in a row.
- Keep the landing page fast and the same domain as the ad.
Did this guide help?
Terms in this guide
Frequently asked questions
Still unsure? Ask us anything. Talk to us
- How long does Meta ad review take?
- Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours. Some take longer, and Meta may keep reviewing an ad after it starts running.
- Does duplicating an ad stuck in review help?
- Sometimes. A fresh copy goes into review on its own, and advertisers often see it approved faster. Delete the old one once the copy is live so they do not compete.
Related problems
- Meta ad rejected: why, and how to get it approved The reasons Meta rejects ads most often, how to find the exact policy it flagged, and when to fix the ad or ask for another review.
- Meta ads active but not spending The campaign says Active and the spend stays at zero. The causes in the order to check them, from the one that stops every ad to the ones that slow a single ad set.
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