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Display & Video 360 users must comply with this Google Ads policy. Visit the Display & Video 360 help center for additional restrictions.
Learn more about the “Eligible (Limited)” status.
We support responsible political advertising, and expect all political ads and destinations to comply with local legal requirements. This includes campaign and election laws and mandated election “silence periods" for any geographic areas they target.
Google has different requirements for political and election advertising based on region.
In some regions, election ads may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google. In these regions, election ads are subject to disclosure requirements and targeting restrictions; see below for additional information. Google Ad Grants accounts are not eligible to run election ads or apply for election ads verification in these regions. Check the information under the applicable regional heading for verification and restriction information.
In other regions, there are restrictions on political ads. See below for a list of these regions and what is prohibited. There may be additional prohibitions or requirements listed in the local legal requirements policy.
If your ads contain political content that is not restricted here or by the local legal requirements for a given region, your ads may run as long as they are compliant with all other Google Ads policies and local laws and regulations.
Non-compliance with our political content policies may result in information about your account and political ads being disclosed publicly or to relevant government agencies and regulators.
Election Ads
In these regions, election ads are allowed to run only if the advertiser is verified by Google. See below for how we define “election ads” in these regions and the advertiser requirements that apply.
To run election ads in the region to which the ad content pertains, an advertiser must be verified under that region’s Election Ads verification process. For example, an advertiser must complete the Australia Election Ads verification process to run Australia Election Ads in Australia.
To run election ads outside the region to which the ad content pertains, an advertiser must be verified under either the Election Ads verification or Advertiser verification process for the region in which the advertiser is located. For example, a UK-based advertiser must complete a UK verification process to run New Zealand Election Ads in any region outside New Zealand.
Argentina Election Ads
Argentina Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- a national political party, coalition, current elected officeholder, or candidate for President, Vice President, the National Senate, or the National Chamber of Deputies.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run Argentina Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for Argentina Election Ads
Advertisers may run Argentina Election Ads in Argentina only if the advertiser completes Argentina Election Ads verification. Learn how to apply for verification.
Advertisers may run Argentina Election Ads outside Argentina, only if the advertiser completes either Election Ads or Advertiser Identity verification.
Advertisers must comply with Argentine law on silence periods.
Troubleshooter
- If you are trying to run Argentina Election Ads in Argentina, check that you’ve completed Argentina Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run Argentina Election Ads outside Argentina, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser Identity verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the Argentina Election Ads policy.
Australia Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- An Australian federal political party, a candidate for the Australian House of Representatives or Senate, a current elected federal officeholder in the Australian House of Representatives or Senate, or a referendum or plebiscite conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission;
- A state or territory political party, a candidate for elected state or territory office, a current elected state or territory officeholder, or a referendum or plebiscite conducted by a state or territory election commission, from any of the following states and territories:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run Australia Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for Australia Election Ads
- If you are trying to run Australia Election Ads in Australia, check that you’ve completed Australia Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run Australia Election Ads outside of Australia, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the Australia Election Ads policy.
Chile Election Ads
Chile Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- A political party, coalition, current elected officeholder or candidate for President, the Senate, or the Chamber of Deputies; or
- A question or a call to vote in a national referendum officially declared by a Supreme Exempt Decree.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run Chile Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for Chile Election Ads
Troubleshooter
- If you're trying to run Chile Election Ads in Chile, check that you’ve completed Chile Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you're trying to run Chile Election Ads outside Chile, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the Chile Election Ads policy.
EU Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- A political party, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the EU Parliament;
- A political party, current officeholder, or candidate for an elected national office within an EU member state. Examples include members of a national parliament and presidents that are directly elected; or
- A referendum question up for vote, a referendum campaign group, or a call to vote related to a national referendum or a state or provincial referendum on sovereignty.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run EU Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirement for EU Election Ads
- If you are trying to run EU Election Ads in the EU, check that you’ve completed EU Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run EU Election Ads outside the EU, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the EU Election Ads policy.
India Election Ads are ads that feature or are run by any of the following:
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run India Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirement for India Election Ads
Advertisers may run India Election Ads outside of India only if the advertiser has completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
Note: An advertiser must first be verified by Google before submitting this pre-certificate for each ad.
If you’ve already been verified by Google, submit pre-certificates for your election ads here.
Ad pre-certificates are not required for ads run by non-political entities promoting political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their news coverage.
Additionally, ad pre-certificates are not required for ads run by government entities or Public Service Undertakings that inform citizens about their rights and responsibilities, government policies, programs, services or initiatives, or dangers or risks to public health, safety or the environment. If you are a government entity or Public Service Undertaking running these ads, in place of a pre-certificate, you must submit a letter confirming that the ads you are running are exempt from the ECI pre-certificate requirement on your official government entity or PSU letterhead with your stamp and signature.
Lastly, ad pre-certificates are not required for ads run by a commercial entity for commercial purposes only that feature a political candidate, or current member of the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha as defined in the India Election Ads policy. If you are a commercial entity running this type of ads, in place of a pre-certificate, you are required to submit a letter confirming that the ads you are running are exempt from the ECI pre-certificate requirement on your commercial entity letterhead with your stamp and signature.
Even if ad pre-certificates are not required, advertisers wishing to run India election ads must be verified by Google.- If you are trying to run India Election Ads in India, check that you have completed India Election Ad verification, and that you have submitted a pre-certificate for each India Election Ad you want to run. Learn more about the pre-certificate process or verification process.
- If you are trying to run India Election Ads outside of India, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process or don't have a pre-certificate, remove any ads that violate the India Election Ads policy.
Israel Election Ads are ads that feature or are run by any of the following:
- A political party, current elected officeholder, or individual candidate for the Knesset; or,
- A candidate list composed of one or more political parties for the Knesset.
Below are requirements, which must be met by all advertisers who want to run Israel Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for Israel Election Ads
- If you are trying to run Israel Election Ads in Israel, check that you’ve completed Israel Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run Israel Election Ads outside of Israel, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser Identity verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the Israel Election Ads policy.
- A political party, coalition, current elected officeholder or candidate for President, the Senate, or the Chamber of Deputies.
- A question in a national referendum officially declared by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run Mexico Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for Mexico Election Ads
- You must be an agency to run Mexico Election Ads in Mexico. If you are trying to run Mexico Election Ads in Mexico, check that you’ve completed Mexico Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the Mexico Election Ads policy.
New Zealand Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- A political party, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the New Zealand Parliament; or
- A referendum option up for vote, a referendum option proponent, or a call-to-vote once a national referendum is officially declared by an Act or Order in Council.
- If you are trying to run New Zealand Election Ads in New Zealand, check that you’ve completed New Zealand Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run New Zealand Election Ads outside of New Zealand, check you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- Confirm that you are not trying to run Maori language ads. Unfortunately Maori is not currently a supported language on Ads or DV360, and therefore Maori language ads are not able to run. New Zealand Election Ads in a supported language containing a commonly used Maori word or phrase are permissible. Further information about supported languages for Google ads can be found here and for DV360 here.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the New Zealand Election Ads policy.
South Africa Election Ads
South Africa Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- A national political party, current elected officeholder or candidate for the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces, President, or Deputy President.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run South Africa Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for South Africa Election Ads
Troubleshooter
- If you are trying to run South Africa Election Ads in South Africa, check that you’ve completed South Africa Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process
- If you are trying to run South Africa Election Ads outside South Africa, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the South Africa Election Ads policy.
UK Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- A political party, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the UK Parliament; or
- A referendum question up for vote, a referendum campaign group, or a call to vote related to a national referendum or a regional referendum on sovereignty
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run UK Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for UK Election Ads
- If you are trying to run UK Election Ads in the UK, check that you’ve completed UK Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run UK Election Ads outside of the UK, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the UK Election Ads policy.
US Election Ads are ads that feature any of the following:
- A current officeholder or candidate for an elected federal office. This includes federal offices such as that of the President or Vice President of the United States, members of the United States House of Representatives or United States Senate;
- A current officeholder or candidate for a state-level elected office, such as Governor, Secretary of State, or member of a state legislature;
- A current officeholder or candidate for a U.S. territory-level elected office, such as Governor or a member of a territory legislature;
- A federal, state, or territory-level political party; or
- A state or territory-level ballot measure, initiative, or proposition that has qualified for the ballot in its state or territory.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run US Election Ads.
Advertiser verification requirements for US Election Ads
- If you are trying to run US Election Ads in the United States, check that you’ve completed US Election Ads verification. Learn more about the verification process.
- If you are trying to run US Election Ads outside the United States, check that you’ve completed either Election Ads or Advertiser verification.
- Contact us to have your ad reviewed again, or edit the ad. This will resubmit the ad and its destination for review. Most ads are reviewed within 1 business day, though some can take longer if they need a more complex review.
- If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any ads that violate the US Election Ads policy.
In addition to the requirements above, there are further restrictions for state and local Election Ads in some US states. See details by state below.
The following is required of California committees that are required by California Government Code § 84504.6 (2018) to provide express notification to online platforms before purchasing “online platform disclosed advertisements” related to either California candidates for elected office or California ballot measures:
Please submit this form to complete the express notification process. If you're using the Display Video 360 platform for advertising, please complete this form to meet the above requirements.
After completing this process, all of the ads in your account will be eligible for the disclosures required by the law. Because in-ad disclosures will appear via the “Why This Ad” icon, you may not opt-out of your ads displaying this icon. For more information about this process and recommendations for account management, visit this best practices guide.
The following is not allowed:
Ads related to ballot measures and candidates for state and local elections
Ads related to ballot measures and candidates for local elections
A candidate committee, joint candidates committee, political committee, continuing political committee, independent expenditure committee, political party committee or legislative leadership committee, or any group other than such a committee, or any person mak[ing], incur[ring] or authoriz[ing] an expenditure for the purpose of financing a communication as described in N.J. Stat. § 19:44A-22.3(a) and (b).
This step must be completed before running any ads.
Please complete this form to meet the above requirements.
The following is required of independent expenditure committees in the state of New York before purchasing political ads:
Please complete this form to meet the above requirements.
If you're using the Display & Video 360 platform for advertising, please complete this form to meet the above requirements.
The following is required of Virginia online political advertisers that are required by Virginia Code Ann. § 24.2-960 to identify themselves to an online platform as an online political advertiser and certify to the online platform that they are permitted under state and local laws to lawfully purchase or promote for a fee online political advertisements:
Please submit this form to complete the self-identification and self-certification process.
The following is not allowed:
Restricted targeting for election ads
Only the following criteria may be used to target election ads:
All other types of targeting are not allowed for use in election ads.
Disclosure requirements for election advertising
All election ads run by verified election advertisers in regions where election ads verification is required must contain a disclosure that identifies who paid for the ad. For most ad formats, Google will automatically generate a “Paid for by“ disclosure, using the information provided during the verification process. Please note that this disclosure is not a replacement for any other disclosures you may be required to include in your ad by law.
- Third-party ad serving on Google Display Network and YouTube
- Audio creatives and Native creatives on Display & Video 360
- Video creatives on Display & Video 360 (except for creatives served on YouTube)
- YouTube Mastheads
- Audio Ads on YouTube (currently only available for US Election Ads serving in the US)
Please note that this disclosure is not a replacement for any other disclosures you may be required to include in your ad by law.
Disclosure requirements for synthetic or digitally altered content
We believe that users should have information to make informed decisions when viewing election ads that contain synthetic or digitally altered content, specifically images, video, or audio that inauthentically depict real or realistic-looking people or events.
Ads that contain content that is synthetic or digitally altered in such a way that is inconsequential to the claims made in the ad are not considered in scope of this policy. This includes editing techniques such as image resizing, cropping, color or brightening corrections, defect correction (for example, “red eye” removal), or background edits that do not create realistic depictions of actual events.
Examples of ad content that are considered to be in scope include (non-exhaustive):
- An ad with synthetic content that makes it appear as if a person is saying or doing something they didn’t say or do
- An ad with synthetic content that alters footage of a real event or generates a realistic portrayal of an event to depict scenes that did not actually take place
Advertisers must disclose all election ads that contain synthetic or digitally altered content by selecting the checkbox in the “Altered or synthetic content” section in their campaign settings.
For the following formats, Google will then generate an in-ad disclosure based on that checkbox, and advertisers are not required to include their own in-ad disclosure.
- Feeds on Mobile Phones
- Shorts on Mobile Phones
- In-stream (Computers, Mobile Phones, Mobile Web, and TV Screens)
For all other formats, the advertiser is responsible for selecting the checkbox and providing a prominent disclosure. The disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, and must be placed in a location where it is likely to be noticed by users. Acceptable disclosure language will vary depending on the specific context of the ad, but some examples may include:
- Altered or synthetic content.
- This audio was computer generated.
- This image does not depict real events.
- This video content was synthetically generated.
Regional Restrictions
In these regions, there are restrictions on political ads. See below for a list of these regions and what is prohibited for each region. There may be additional prohibitions or requirements listed in the local legal requirements policy.
Brazil
In Brazil, the following is prohibited on Google platforms:
Political-electoral content as defined under TSE Resolution 23,732/2024:
- Ads featuring elections, political parties, federations and coalitions, elected positions, government proposals, legislative bills, the exercise of the right to vote and other political rights or matters related to the electoral process.
In British Columbia, the following is not allowed on Google platforms:
Election advertising as defined under the Election Act, RSBC 1996, c 106.
- During the pre-campaign period, as defined by the British Columbia Election Act, ads sponsored by a third party sponsor that directly promote or oppose a registered British Columbia political party or the election of a candidate for member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
- During the campaign period, as defined by the British Columbia Election Act, ads that directly or indirectly promote or oppose a registered British Columbia political party or the election of a candidate for member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, including ads that take a position on an issue with which such a registered political party or candidate is associated.
Note: This policy does not apply to ads run by news organizations to promote their news coverage of an election.This policy also does not include ads promoting public health guidance or information about electoral processes run by British Columbia or federal government ministries, departments, or agencies (e.g. civic participation ads run by Elections BC).
In Canada, the following is not allowed on Google platforms during an election period regulated by the Canada Elections Act.
Note: This policy does not apply to ads run by Canadian news organizations to promote their news coverage of an election.This policy also does not include ads promoting public health guidance or information about electoral processes run by official federal government ministries, departments, or agencies (e.g. civic participation ads run by Elections Canada).
In Canada, the following is not allowed on Google platforms during an election period regulated by the Canada Elections Act.
Note: This policy does not apply to ads run by Canadian news organizations to promote their news coverage of an election. This policy also does not include ads promoting public health guidance or information about electoral processes run by official federal government ministries, departments, or agencies (e.g. civic participation ads run by Elections Canada).
- If your ads are disapproved and you believe this is an error (e.g., you are a Canadian news organization promoting your news content and you have chosen Canada as the selected Country in your Google Ads payment profile), you can contact us to have your ad reviewed again or you can directly edit the ad. Editing the ad will resubmit the ad and its destination for review.
- If you’re unable to meet the above mentioned news exemption criteria, remove any content from the ad that violates Regional Restrictions.
In France, the following will be prohibited on Google platforms during the time period beginning three months before the first day of the month during which a general election is to be held, and ending when the election is over:
This does not include ads run by official government communication bodies (i.e. the Service d’information du Gouvernement) promoting public health guidance related to the COVID-19 crisis or information about electoral processes.
In Indonesia, the following is prohibited on Google platforms:
In Japan, the following is prohibited on Google platforms:
- Ads featuring a political party, leader of a political party or a candidate for elected office that include a call, or direct users to a landing page, to vote in an election.
- Ads featuring a political party, leader of a political party or a candidate for elected office that include a call to vote in an election; and
- Ads featuring a candidate for an elected office that promote policies of political parties or officeholders.
In the Philippines, the following is not allowed on Google platforms during an election campaign period or a silence period regulated by the Commission on Elections.
In Singapore, the following are prohibited on Google platforms:
- The outcome of an election to the office of President, a general election of Members of Parliament, a by-election of any Member of Parliament, or a referendum;
- Public opinion on a matter which in Singapore is a matter of public interest or public controversy, with key examples being those relating to race or religion; or
- The legislative process or outcome in Singapore, or bring about, or seek to bring about, changes of the law in the whole or a part of Singapore.
Note: Public service announcements from Government Ministries, Statutory Boards and Organs of State to publicise or disseminate information on national policies, projects, and/or institutions are not prohibited under this policy. In this regard, information regarding national policy announcements at events such as the National Day Rally and Budget also are not prohibited under this policy.
If you are acting on behalf of Government Ministries, Statutory Boards or Organs of State to disseminate such public service announcements, you can apply here.
In South Korea, the following is prohibited on Google platforms:
In Taiwan, the following is prohibited on Google platforms: