Political advertising on Universal Ads is subject to additional onboarding, verification, disclosure, and creative review requirements.
If your campaign contains political messaging, you must register as a Political advertiser. Political advertisers must complete account verification and receive creative approval before ads can run on the platform.
Who Must Register as a Political advertiser?
The following organizations must register under the Political category:
- Candidate campaigns
- Political committees
- Advocacy groups
- Agencies managing political advertising on behalf of clients
If a campaign contains political messaging, it should follow the political advertising workflow. When in doubt, please reach out to the Universal Ads team through our support desk.
Getting Started
Advertisers vs. Agencies Designation
Agencies can manage political campaigns on behalf of clients but must:
- Register their organization as an Agency
- Create a new ad account and complete the political onboarding process
- Provide required advertiser committee information for each political advertiser they represent
Required Information
During registration, you will be asked to provide:
- Advertising Committee name
- Website
- Mailing address
- Committee details
- Candidate or Non-Candidate designation
- EIN or FEC ID (either must be provided)
Account Review
Once you submit the required information and request approval, your account will enter the review process. Reviews are typically completed within one business day, provided all required information has been submitted accurately and completely.
If we identify any issues during the review, you'll receive an email with details and any steps needed to complete the approval process.
Launching Political Ads
Available Inventory
Political campaigns are currently limited to approved inventory environments.
Political advertisers can run on:
- Performance+
Political ads are not currently available on:
- Content Select
- Programmatic Linear on Performance+
Creative Requirements
All political advertisements must include sponsorship identification. Please review Universal Ads' Advertising Guidelines for more details.
Disclosure text must:
- Be clearly readable
- Appear in a contrasting color
- Appear at the beginning or end of the ad
- Remain on screen for at least 4 seconds
Creative Review & Approval
All political creatives undergo mandatory review before they are eligible to run.
- Ads remain paused until review and approval are complete
- The review process helps ensure ads meet Universal Ads requirements and applicable compliance standards
- Updates to approved creatives will require a new review before the ad can continue delivering
In addition to the political advertising requirements above, advertisements must comply with all Universal Ads' Advertising Guidelines and applicable laws.
Political creatives may be rejected if they:
- Omit required sponsorship disclosures
- Include unreadable sponsorship identification
- Display sponsorship identification for fewer than 4 seconds
- Violate Universal Ads advertising guidelines or publisher requirements
Frequently Asked Questions
Can agencies manage political campaigns?
Yes. Agencies can manage campaigns on behalf of political advertisers, provided they complete the required onboarding process and supply the required advertiser information.
Can I create and save a campaign before my creative is approved?
Yes. Campaigns can be created and scheduled before creative approval. However, political ads will remain paused and cannot deliver until creative review is successfully completed.
How long does approval take?
Creative approvals typically take 1-2 business days. Advertisers should complete onboarding and submit creatives as early as possible. Verification and creative review are required before campaigns can begin delivering. Incomplete advertiser information, missing disclosures, or creative review issues may delay launch.
What happens if my ad is rejected?
You will need to address the reason for rejection and resubmit the creative for review before it can be approved for delivery.
Can I edit a political creative after it has been approved?
Material changes to an approved creative require a new review before the updated ad can run.