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Below are the commonly seen reasons that your account gets suspended due to Billing and Payment issues:
- Unpaid balance: If your account has unpaid balances or there are concerns about future payments, it may be suspended. Make a payment or learn how to resolve a declined payment.
- Suspicious payment activity: If we detect suspicious or unauthorised payment activity on your account, we may restrict how much the account can spend or suspend the account.
- Requesting a chargeback: If you instruct your bank or credit card company to reverse a charge that was paid against a legitimate Google Ads balance (also known as requesting a chargeback), your account may be suspended.
- Promotional code abuse: If you attempt to sell promotional codes or use more than one promotional code on an account, the account may be suspended. For more information, see the country-specific terms and conditions for promotional codes.
Billing and payment appeals information
Payment verification in account suspension appeals
Before processing your Google Ads account suspension appeal for Billing and Payment suspensions, you may be asked to verify your payment method within 30 days.
While general emails about your suspension appeal and verification will occur through Google Ads, you’ll receive updates on your verification via Google Payments ([email protected]).
After your identity/payment method is successfully verified, your appeal will be sent for review. You’ll receive follow-up emails from Google Ads about the status of your suspension appeal.
About verification
What info you may be asked to provide
To complete verification, you may be asked to verify each payment method. To do so, you can request a verification code or submit documents to verify the following information:
- Legal name
- The name used on your Payments profile
- Address
- Date of birth
- An image of your government ID
- Proof of address
- An image of your payment method
How we use your information
Google uses the information that you provide to:
- Verify your payment method
- Protect against fraud and abuse
- Improve verification services for Google products
Your verified information, like name and address, is stored with your Google Account. You can manage your verified info in your Google payments centre account.
When applicable, the information that you submit is treated in accordance with the Google Privacy Policy and the Google Payments Privacy Notice.
How to verify payment method
You’ll receive an email from Google Ads if you need to verify your payment method. To verify your information, you may need to submit documents or request a code.
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- Click Fix it in the notification at the top of the screen.
- Click the Verify button on the right-hand panel.
- When asked to request a verification code or upload documentation, follow the instructions below for each type of request.
- Repeat above steps for each payment method that must be verified.
- After all verifications are complete, your suspension appeal will be sent for review. You’ll receive email updates from Google Ads after the review is complete.
Request a verification code
- In Google payments centre, navigate to the Payment methods tab.
- Click Verify for your preferred payment method.
- Click Get code.
- In your transaction history, find a temporary charge of less than $1.95 USD called 'GOOGLE'. The verification code is the last six digits following 'GOOGLE'.
- The amount of the temporary charge varies by the type of currency.
- You should get the code right away, but it can take up to seven days in some cases.
- The charge or hold on your account is temporary. Charges are refunded within 30 days.
- Return to your Google Ads account.
- Enter the six-digit code.
- Click Verify.
If you have issues accessing your payments profile and verifying your identity or payment methods, refer to the Payments profile and verification troubleshooter.
Upload documents
To verify your payment method, find the verification request in the right-hand panel of your Google Ads account. To find a list of accepted documents and instructions, use the link in the verification request.
Make sure that your documents:
- Use the same full name in all documents that you submit
- Are updated and not expired
- Are legible
Make sure that the image that you upload:
- Is an image of a document and nothing else
- Is legible
- Is in colour, not black and white
- Doesn’t have blur, glare or dim light
- Shows all four corners of the full document
Tips:
- Make sure that your name, address and payment info are up to date in your Google Ads account.
- After you submit your documents, verification may take a few days.
Fix issues with verification
Fix issues with verification codes and temporary holds
Learn how to Fix issues with payment method verification codes.
Fix issues with document verification
To resolve the issue:
- If you receive an email or get an error message: Follow the instructions in the message.
- If you need help from our team to help resolve the issue: We’ll contact you after we review your info.
Failed verification
If you failed verification, you'll receive an email shortly after the decision. To appeal the decision, follow the instructions in the email.
Billing and payment suspensions FAQs
Are there any other violations that can lead to an account suspension?
Yes. Violations of any Google Ads policy, or Terms and Conditions can lead to an account suspension. Refer to Google Ads account suspensions overview to learn about other account suspension reasons.
How will an advertiser be notified of a suspension?
Advertisers whose accounts are suspended will receive an in-account notification and an email notification. The email notification will identify all violations that the advertiser has been suspended for and a link to submit an appeal.
Can an account suspension be appealed?
Yes. If you believe that there's been an error, and that you haven't violated our policies, submit an appeal.
Can a suspended advertiser set up or use other accounts?
No. Accounts related to the suspended account (for example, accounts using the same email or payment method, or accounts linked to the same manager account) will be suspended. We take the safety of users seriously. Advertiser actions that put our users, Google or our partners at risk will be banned from using Google Ads. In addition, any new accounts that the advertiser tries to create will be suspended.
Can an advertiser access their suspended accounts?
Suspended accounts cannot run any ads. However, advertisers can still access their suspended accounts and any associated reports.
What account actions are available to advertisers with suspended accounts?
Suspended accounts are in read-only mode, with a few exceptions. Advertisers will still be able to view their accounts but will be limited to the following actions:
- Account settings: Cancel account, claim refunds
- Billing options: Make a payment, download tax documents, add a payment method
- Appeals and verification: Appeal suspension, advertiser verification
- Security settings: Update security settings within the Google Ads account
- Navigate to any page on their Google Ads account
- Read information from their Google Account and download associated reports
How many times can advertisers appeal their account suspension status?
We highly recommend that you appeal the account suspension status only when you have made appropriate changes to comply with our policies and the account is ready for a re-review. If you file too many appeals for the same account suspension, we may not process them to ensure the overall stability of our systems operations. Submitting one appeal at a time ensures timely response and review.
If we have indications that you are misusing our appeals function, we will suspend processing of certain appeals for seven days.