About Google’s Requirements

To provide a safe and trustworthy ad ecosystem for users, and to comply with emerging regulations, Google requires advertisers to complete one or more verification programs.

Advertiser verification program comprises a series of steps that advertisers will be required to follow and complete. Under this program, advertisers will be asked to provide basic information about their business and identity.

Once Google verifies the advertiser’s information, Google will show the advertiser’s information such as the name, location, and the ads they served over a certain time period on Google platforms (including Google Search and YouTube) in the Ads Transparency Center and in ad disclosures. In order to comply with applicable laws, Google may also be required to disclose certain additional information about its advertisers and ad campaigns to users of its services, depending on the country. Learn more about ads transparency.

Verification process

Google will notify advertisers via an in-account notification and/or an email when they are selected to undergo the advertiser verification program and the associated deadline to complete the verification if any. Advertisers may check whether they are eligible in the Advertiser verification page and may choose to undergo verification proactively.

If you are given a deadline to complete the verification

Advertisers will have 30 days from the day they received the notification to initiate the verification and another 30 days to successfully complete it. Failure to complete or meet the verification requirements within the specified time period will result in the advertiser’s account being paused. Learn more about account pausing.

Advertisers may be selected and required to complete Google’s advertiser verification program within a deadline based on the following example criteria:

• As a part of a phased rollout of Google’s transparency efforts, under which all advertisers will eventually be required to complete Google’s Advertiser verification program that encompasses completion of the steps above. Currently, Google supports identity verification for advertisers registered in these regions.
• Advertisers may be selected to complete verification if, for example, the advertising behavior or your ad content is deemed as potentially misleading. We want to ensure that users understand who is providing the advertised products or services on Google ads.
• As an additional layer of protection for our users, Google may request that advertisers complete the Advertiser verification program if, for example, they are cross-geo targeting, advertising on brand-related queries or user queries in business verticals or industries susceptible to abuse, invalid activity, and scams (such as travel, customer or technical support services and financial services). Where an advertiser is asked to complete additional verification, advertisers’ campaign performance may be impacted when advertising on certain Google restricted queries. Successful completion of the requested verifications may help improve campaign performance (as applicable).
• Advertisers whose accounts were suspended due to a violation of our Google Ads policies may be prompted to successfully complete this verification in order to appeal their account suspension. In this case, the advertiser’s accounts will remain suspended until the appeal is granted.

Steps to start advertiser verification

If you are a CyberMark ad client, click here to securely submit your documents.

The advertiser verification program comprises multiple steps, including completing a questionnaire about the advertiser’s business, verifying the advertiser’s identity, their business operations or both. However, the steps required to complete advertiser verification for certain Google Ads accounts may differ, depending on the account structure, the billing setup, and if they are advertising on behalf of an organization or individual. For identity verification, advertisers may be required to submit one of the acceptable documents listed below based on the location their organization is registered in, or resident in if they are an individual.

Registration documents:

• Any document, notice, or letter either issued by the IRS or stamped by the IRS that states your Organization name. Some examples are CP575, 147C, CP299, 988, 937, 1050, 5822 etc.
• Forms submitted to the IRS will only be accepted if a copy of the form is available on the IRS website. Some examples are Forms 8871 and 990. See here (political organizations) and here (tax exempt organizations) for ways to search for your organization on the IRS website.
• Certificate of Business Incorporation issued by the state where you conduct business activities that states your Organization name
• Your most recent SEC filing (e.g., 10-K, 10-Q or 8-K forms) that state the Organization name
• Business credit reports that state your Organization name from Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion
• Only for government departments and agencies: an official letter including full name, address and date

Authorized representative’s government-issued photo ID:

• Passport
• State identification
• Driving license
• Permanent resident card or Green card

An authorized representative is an admin of the Google Ads account and/or the payments profile paying for the ads. The government-issued photo ID can be issued in any country.

Individuals must submit a US government-issued photo ID as part of the verification program. Acceptable documents include:

• Passport
• State identification
• Driving license
• Permanent resident card or Green card

If you are a CyberMark ad client, click here to securely submit your documents.