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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.
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 your regional heading for applicable 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 the region your ads target is not listed either here or within local legal requirements for a given region, political ads may run as long as they are compliant with all other Google Ad 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 each region and the advertiser requirements that apply.
Learn how to apply for verification.Election ads in Australia are ads that feature:
- A political party, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the House of Representatives or Senate.
Note that election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of political parties, candidates, or current elected officeholders.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run election ads in Australia.
Advertiser verification requirements for election ads in Australia
Election ads in Australia may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google. Learn how to apply for verification.
- Australia election ads may run only in Australia. Check that your Australia election ads are running only in Australia, and that you’ve been verified to run Australia election ads. 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 content that violates the policy on election ads.
In the EU, election ads include ads that feature:
- a political party, a current elected officeholder, or candidate for the EU Parliament
- a political party, a 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
- 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
Note that election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of referendums, political parties, candidates, or current elected officeholders.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run election ads in the EU.
Advertiser verification requirement for election ads in the European Union
Election ads in the EU may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google.
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EU election ads may run only in the EU. Check that your EU election ads are running only in the EU, and that you’ve been verified to run EU election ads. Learn more about the verification process.
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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.
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If you’re unable to complete the verification process, remove any content that violates the policy on election ads.
In India, election ads are ads that feature a political party, a political candidate or current member of the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha, or any ads that are run by a political party, political candidate, or current member of the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha.
Note that election ads don’t include ads run by non-political entities promoting political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of political parties, Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha election campaigns, candidates, or current Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha members.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run election ads in India.
Advertiser verification requirement for election ads in IndiaElection ads in India may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google. Advertisers who are not already verified must initiate the verification process before running any election ads in India. Advertisers that want to run election ads in India must submit for each ad a valid pre-certificate issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) or anyone authorized by the ECI.
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.
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India election ads may run only in India. Check that your India election ads are running only in India. In addition, check that you have been verified by Google, and that you’ve submitted a pre-certificate for each election ad you want to run. Learn more about the verification process.
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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.
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If you’re unable to complete the verification process or don't have a pre-certificate, remove any content that violates the policy on election ads.
Election ads in Israel 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.
Election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of political parties, candidates, lists composed of multiple political parties, or current elected officeholders.
Below are requirements, which must be met by all advertisers who want to run election ads in Israel.
Advertiser verification requirements for election ads in Israel Election ads in Israel may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google.
During verification, advertisers must disclose whether they are a candidate, current elected officeholder, political party, or candidate list composed of one or more political parties for the Knesset. For these advertisers, all ads run in the verified account will be considered election ads.
Learn how to apply for verification
Advertisers must include disclaimers in their ads as required by Israeli law.
- Israeli election ads may run only in Israel. Check that your Israeli election ads are running only in Israel, and that you’ve been verified to run Israeli election ads. 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 content that violates the policy on Israeli election ads.
Election ads in New Zealand 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.
Election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of political parties, candidates, or current elected officeholders.
Election ads in New Zealand may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google.
Learn how to apply for verification
Advertisers must follow New Zealand law and applicable Electoral Commission guidance related to disclaimers, including having a clear promoter statement in their ads where required. If required by law, advertisers must obtain authorization from a political party or candidate before purchasing ads.
Advertisers must comply with New Zealand law on silence periods.
- New Zealand election ads may run only in New Zealand. Check that your New Zealand election ads are running only in New Zealand, and that you’ve been verified to run New Zealand election ads. 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.
- 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 content that violates the policy on New Zealand election ads.
Election ads in Taiwan are ads that feature any of the following:
- A political party, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the elected office of President, Vice President, member of the Legislative Yuan, or the following six municipal mayoral offices: Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Taichung City, Tainan City, and Kaohsiung City;
Election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of political parties, candidates, or current elected officeholders.
Below are requirements that must be met by all advertisers who want to run election ads in Taiwan.
Advertiser verification requirements for election ads in Taiwan Election ads in Taiwan may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google. Learn how to apply for verification.
Advertisers must follow Taiwanese law on disclaimers and silence periods.
- Taiwan election ads may run only in Taiwan. Check that your Taiwan election ads are running only in Taiwan, and that you’ve been verified to run Taiwan election ads. 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 content that violates the policy on Taiwan election ads.
In the UK, election ads include ads that feature:
- a political party, current elected officeholder, or candidate for the UK Parliament
- 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
Note that election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of referendums, political parties, candidates, or current elected officeholders.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run election ads in the UK.
Advertiser verification requirements for election ads in the United Kingdom Election ads in the United Kingdom may run only if the advertiser is verified by Google.
- UK election ads may run only in the UK. Check that your UK election ads are running only in the UK, and that you’ve been verified to run UK election ads. 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 content that violates the policy on election ads.
In the United States, election ads include ads that feature:
- 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 federal or state level political party
- A state-level ballot measure, initiative, or proposition that has qualified for the ballot in its state
Note that election ads don’t include ads for products or services, including promotional political merchandise like t-shirts, or ads run by news organizations to promote their coverage of federal or state-level election campaigns, political parties, candidates, or current elected officeholders or state-level ballot measures, initiatives, or propositions.
Below are requirements that must be met by advertisers who want to run federal or state election ads in the United States.
Advertiser verification requirements for election ads in the United States Election ads in the United States may run if the advertiser is verified by Google.
Learn how to apply for verification
- U.S. election ads may run only in the United States. Check that your U.S. election ads are running only in the United States, and that you’ve been verified to run U.S. election ads. 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 content that violates the policy on election ads.
In addition to the requirements above, there are further restrictions for state and local election ads in some U.S. 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.
Ads related to ballot measures and candidates for state and local elections
As set forth in N.J. Stat. § 19:44A-22.3(d), before purchasing ads, the following advertisers must submit a copy of the statement of registration required to be filed with the Election Law Enforcement Commission:
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:
Independent expenditure committees that wish to purchase ads related to ballot measures and candidates for New York state and local elections must inform Google that they are independent expenditure committees and submit a copy of their registration documents that have been filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
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 in regions where election ad verification is required:
Geographic location (except radius around a location)
Age, gender
Contextual targeting options such as: ad placements, topics, keywords against sites, apps, pages and videos
All other types of targeting are not allowed for use in election ads.
Disclosure requirements for election advertising
For regions where election ad verification is required, all election ads must show 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
Please note that this disclosure is not a replacement for any other disclosures you may be required to include in your ad by law.
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.
In Canada, the following is not allowed on Google platforms during an election period regulated by the Canada Elections Act.
Ads that feature a federal political party, leader of a federal political party, or current member or candidate (including nomination contestant) for member of the Parliament of Canada.
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 related to COVID-19 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 news organizations to promote their news coverage of an election. This policy also does not include ads promoting public health guidance related to COVID-19 or information about electoral processes run by official federal government ministries, departments, or agencies (e.g. civic participation ads run by Elections Canada).
In Ontario, the following types of ads are prohibited on Google platforms during a) the 12 months before the writ is issued for a scheduled general election, and b) during an election period as defined by the Ontario Election Finances Act:
Note: This policy does not apply to ads run by news organizations to promote their news coverage of an election. It also does not include ads run by official Ontario government ministries, departments, or agencies (e.g. civic participation ads run by Elections Ontario).
In Ontario, the following types of ads are prohibited on Google platforms during a) the 12 months before the writ is issued for a scheduled general election, and b) during an election period as defined by the Ontario Election Finances Act:
Note: This policy does not apply to ads run by news organizations to promote their news coverage of an election. It also does not include ads run by official Ontario government ministries, departments, or agencies (e.g. civic participation ads run by Elections Ontario)
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:
Ads containing informational content relating to a debate of general interest.
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 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: