How Far Back Can You Appeal a Google Ads Policy Decision in 2026?

Starting July 21, 2026, Google Ads no longer allows advertisers to appeal a policy decision directly from their account once that decision is more than 6 months old, according to Google's own help center. Before that date, Google's in-account appeal process had no published cutoff based on the age of the decision.

What Google's Help Page Actually Says

Google's support page "Fix a disapproved ad or appeal a policy decision" states the option to appeal a policy decision directly from a Google Ads account will not be available for policy decisions made more than 6 months before the appeal attempt, effective July 21, 2026. The change applies to the in-account appeal flow — the "Appeal" link inside Policy Manager — not to Google Ads support contacted through other channels.

What Counts as a "Policy Decision" Here

Trade coverage of the change describes it applying broadly to enforcement actions already on an account, including ad disapprovals, account suspensions, and asset-level restrictions. If a decision — say, a disapproved ad or a suspended account — sits past the 6-month mark, the direct in-account appeal button is removed for that specific decision, regardless of when the advertiser first tries to appeal it.

Why Google Made This Change

Google hasn't published a detailed rationale beyond the policy update itself, and secondary reporting notes the change applies retroactively to existing enforcement actions rather than only to decisions made after the cutoff date. That retroactive framing matters for any advertiser sitting on an old, unresolved disapproval or suspension: waiting past the 6-month point removes the normal self-service path to challenge it.

How This Interacts With Google's Faster Appeal Resolution

Google separately announced in November 2025 that AI-driven improvements now resolve 99% of account suspension appeals within 24 hours. That speed-up is unrelated to the 6-month cutoff — a fast resolution time only applies once an appeal is actually accepted, and the 6-month rule governs whether the in-account appeal option is offered at all. A decision that's 7 months old doesn't get a slow appeal; it gets no in-account appeal option whatsoever.

What to Do If You're Past the Window

• Appeal immediately, don't wait. If you have an active disapproval or suspension you disagree with and it's under 6 months old, use the in-account Appeal option now rather than risk the window closing.
• Contact Google Ads support directly for older decisions. Google's guidance for decisions past the 6-month mark is to go through Google Ads support channels instead of the in-account appeal link.
• Don't batch multiple appeals at once. Google's own help documentation separately warns that appealing all ads in an account simultaneously can slow down review times, and advises spacing out appeals for the same ad group, campaign, or account by at least 24 hours.

Bottom Line

If you have a Google Ads policy decision you want to challenge, treat the 6-month mark as a hard deadline for the in-account appeal button — after that, your only path is contacting Google Ads support directly.

Source: Google Ads Help, "Fix a disapproved ad or appeal a policy decision" (support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9338593).