When a Meta ad account is disabled, first find out exactly what was restricted (the ad account, the business portfolio or a person's profile) and why, fix that cause, and only then request one review; for agencies, the best protection is structural: each client's ad account owned by the client's own business portfolio, with the agency added as a partner, so a problem on one account doesn't reach the others.
In July 2026 Meta said it had blocked over 1,60,000 advertiser accounts in India in the previous year, most of them for content no legitimate agency would run. But enforcement on that scale is largely automated, and automated enforcement catches ordinary advertisers too: a payment that looked unusual, an ad that tripped a rule, a login from a new device. For an agency, the first sign is usually a client calling to ask why the ads stopped.
1. Find out exactly what was restricted
Three different things can be restricted, and the fix depends on which one it is. Open Account Quality in Meta Business Suite (or Business Support Home) and look at the status of each:
- The ad account. Only that account stops running ads. Other ad accounts in the same business portfolio carry on.
- The business portfolio (formerly Business Manager). Everything in it is affected: its ad accounts, and often its Pages and WhatsApp numbers.
- A person's profile. That person can't advertise or manage ads, but the accounts themselves may be fine, and another admin can keep working.
2. Find the cause before appealing
Account Quality usually names the reason. The common ones, roughly in order:
- Payment problems: a failed card, a disputed charge, or unusual payment activity. If an unpaid balance is the issue, paying it with a working method is often what restores the account.
- Ads or landing pages that break the advertising policies: before-and-after claims, guaranteed results, personal attributes ("Are you in debt?"), or a landing page that doesn't match the ad.
- An unverified business, or details that don't match across the portfolio, the payment method and the website.
- Security: a login from an unfamiliar device or location, which can look like a takeover.
Remove or fix any rejected or borderline ads before appealing. A review requested while violating ads are still live is easy to turn down.
3. Request one review, accurately
From Account Quality, choose the restricted account and request a review. Only an admin can do this. Explain plainly what the business is, what you have fixed, and that the account is managed by an agency if it is. One clear, accurate request does better than several hurried ones.
Don't open a new ad account to get around a restriction. Meta treats that as circumventing enforcement, and it can turn one disabled account into a disabled business.
4. Set up client accounts so one problem stays contained
Most of the damage in an agency comes from structure, not from the ban itself. If every client's ad account sits inside the agency's own business portfolio, a restriction on the agency's portfolio stops every client at once. The safer setup:
- Each client owns its ad account, Page and payment method in its own business portfolio, and adds the agency as a partner. The agency works through partner access; nobody shares a login.
- At least two admins on every portfolio, both with two-factor authentication, so one locked profile doesn't lock the account.
- The client's business verified in its own portfolio, with the same name and details as its website and payment method.
- One person on the agency side who checks Account Quality across clients every week, rather than waiting for a client to call.
- Tools and AI assistants get the narrowest access that does the job, never an admin's login. We cover what to lock down before connecting an AI assistant.