Your account violated the Verification identity reuse policy – Google Ads

Your account is suspended. Your account violated the Verification identity reuse policy.

Advertisers report the alert in this wording. A Google Ads Community thread from 9 January 2026 has both lines as its title, and another advertiser quoted the second line on 5 January 2026. We haven’t found a Google policy page with this name.

This notice means Google has suspended the account over the identity it was verified with. By the policy’s name, that identity has also been used to verify other accounts. We haven’t found a Google page that defines the policy, but its suspensions overview covers the closest case: if your account was suspended because other accounts verified using the same identity documents were suspended, your account will be automatically reinstated once those other accounts are successfully appealed.

In our experience, it’s mostly agencies: an agency uses the same payment instrument across several businesses it signs up, and their accounts can be suspended. In our experience, identity reuse doesn’t show an appeal button, so the fix starts with the suspended account the problem came from. Google says suspensions you’re connected to have to be reinstated through the appeal process, and in our experience the accounts caught up with it then come back. Don’t open new accounts. In our experience that makes it worse.

It isn’t only agencies that report it. In January 2026 Google Ads Community threads, one advertiser wrote that their whole manager account had been suspended, and another that they had only ever created and verified a single account. Neither thread says how it ended.

Checked against Google’s help pages on 28 September 2026. Google changes them without notice, so check the linked page before relying on a detail.

At a glance

• No Google page by this name

  We haven’t found one, though Google covers accounts verified using the same identity documents.

• No appeal button, in our experience

  You fix the suspended account it came from. Google says accounts suspended because others verified with the same identity documents were suspended come back once those are successfully appealed.

• Mostly agencies, in our experience

  The same payment instrument used across several businesses, without the set-up showing the agency only manages them.

• Agencies have to say so

  Google warns that if you manage ads for a client and don’t answer Yes to its agency question, the account may be paused or suspended.

• New accounts make it worse

  In our experience, 100%: it’s further evidence of trying to circumvent Google’s systems.

On this page9 sections

What the notice means

Advertiser verification is Google’s check on who is advertising: it uses your information to verify your identity or your business operations and to show your name and location in ad disclosures. The notice’s name says that identity has been reused.

We haven’t found a Google page that explains this policy, lists its triggers or says which wider policy it sits under. Google does say that accounts related to the suspended account may be suspended.

Two wordings you might see

One advertiser’s post shows two wordings from the same event. On 5 January 2026 they wrote that an account they had opened recently got “Your account violated the Verification identity reuse policy”. The other accounts under their manager account were suspended with a different line: “Your account was suspended because accounts associated with your verified identity and/or verified using the same identity documents were suspended for violating our policies.” They said they had used the same company name and documents for all the sub-accounts. The thread doesn’t say how it ended.

That second wording is close to the case Google says comes back on its own, once the other accounts are successfully appealed. In our experience that’s right: accounts that got caught up by association with the reused verification come back once the source is fixed. Our guide to suspensions connected to a related account covers how Google links accounts.

Google doesn’t say how long that takes. In our experience, the identity reuse notice doesn’t show an appeal button, and the accounts caught up in it can’t be appealed directly through a formal appeal. You have to identify the suspended account the problem came from and fix that one. From there, Google says your account will be automatically reinstated once those other accounts are successfully appealed.

Who gets it, and why agencies in particular

Google doesn’t publish a list of what triggers this notice. Its billing help does give accounts using the same email or payment method, or accounts linked to the same manager account as examples of related accounts.

In our experience: it’s mostly agencies using the same payment instrument across multiple businesses they sign up. If the accounts aren’t set up to say “we manage these accounts, we don’t own this business”, they may be flagged. It’s just about the set-up. Usually, when it’s set up as an agency account and you manage the client’s account, the two are kind of kept separate when it comes to liability.

How Google says agencies should verify client accounts

Google’s verification page for agencies paying by monthly invoicing says the identity of a Google Ads account represents the identity of the business being advertised for in the account, and that it typically comes from the payments profile of the Google Ads account. Our reading, not Google’s words: if an agency’s own payments profile pays and the client is never identified, the identity Google has for the account would be the agency’s. Here’s how Google says the client gets identified.

• Say you’re an agency. If you manage ads for a client, make sure that you select Yes for the “Is your organisation an agency?” question. Google’s warning if you don’t: Otherwise, your account may be paused or suspended.
• Give the client’s details, not only yours. Agencies enter their own details, then the client’s. An agency can either send a link with the task to your client or complete the task for your client. If the payments profile selected for the client hasn’t been verified, Google says you’ll need to complete a separate advertiser verification for your client.
• The client’s payments profile carries the client’s identity. Where the agency’s payments profile pays, agencies will find a step in their verification process to identify their client’s payments profile. That profile doesn’t change billing and is purely used to establish the identity of the end advertiser.
• An admin completes it. Google says only a Google Ads account admin can complete the tasks.

What Google asks you to do

We haven’t found a Google page for this notice, so these steps come from its general suspension guidance and its Circumventing Systems policy.

1. Read the notice on every suspended account.

   Google says the suspension email will identify all policies you were suspended for. Note which accounts have the identity reuse notice, which say they were suspended because of other accounts, and which name another policy.

2. List every account the identity touches.

   Before appealing, Google asks you to make sure all linked (or previously linked) and all related accounts comply with its policies, so include links that have ended.

3. Start with the account the problem came from.

   In our experience, the identity reuse notice doesn’t show an appeal button, so this is the account you have to identify and fix. If you’re connected to other suspended accounts, Google says those suspensions need to be successfully reinstated through the appeal process.

4. Appeal the source account.

   Use the Contact us link in the notification on that account, and provide details about why you have multiple accounts. If more than one source account is suspended, Google says to submit a separate appeal for each suspended account.

5. Complete verification if you’re asked.

   Some advertisers must complete advertiser verification successfully to appeal, and Google limits failed verification attempts. Check every detail before you submit.

Can it be fixed?

In our experience, if you don’t have access to the original suspended account, it’s kind of helpless. Google’s automatic route depends on the other accounts being successfully appealed, and its appeal route starts inside the suspended account. If an agency or someone else manages your account, Google’s advice is to reach out to them about this suspension.

No access to the original suspended account is a case we’d turn down. If we review your case and can’t take it on, you get a full refund. Accounts are only reinstated in compelling circumstances, and only Google decides. Our guide to when a suspension can’t be fixed covers the harder cases.

The appeal route

• Got the identity reuse notice? In our experience, there’s no appeal button on it, and the accounts caught up in it can’t be appealed directly through a formal appeal. Google reinstates yours once the source accounts are successfully appealed, so the work goes there.
• Appealing the source account? If you were connected to suspended accounts, Google’s Circumventing Systems appeal tips say to share how you resolved those issues.
• Mind the timing. Google gives all advertisers at least six months from the date of account suspension to submit an appeal. Don’t send repeat appeals for the same suspension: Google says submitting one appeal at a time ensures timely response and review.

Before you write it, read what the appeal form asks and why appeals get rejected.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Verification identity reuse policy?

We haven’t found a Google policy page under that name. By its name, the identity used to verify your account has also been used to verify other accounts. The closest case Google documents is an account suspended because other accounts verified using the same identity documents were suspended.

Can I appeal the identity reuse notice itself?

In our experience, no. Identity reuse doesn’t show an appeal button, and the accounts caught up in it can’t be appealed directly through a formal appeal. You have to identify the suspended account the problem came from and fix that one. Google says that if your account was suspended because other accounts verified using the same identity documents were suspended, it will be automatically reinstated once those other accounts are successfully appealed.

Will my account come back automatically?

If it was suspended because other accounts verified using the same identity documents were suspended, Google says it will be automatically reinstated once those other accounts are successfully appealed. In our experience, that’s right, once the source is fixed. Google doesn’t say how long it takes.

Who should verify a client’s account, the agency or the client?

In Google’s set-up, the client’s business is what gets verified, and the agency helps. The agency answers Yes to Google’s agency question, then sends the task to the client or completes it for them. If the payments profile selected for the client hasn’t been verified, that means a separate advertiser verification for the client. Only a Google Ads account admin can complete the tasks.

I only ever verified one account. Why was it suspended?

Google doesn’t say. An advertiser posted exactly that in January 2026, and the thread doesn’t say how it ended. Google’s examples of related accounts go beyond accounts you opened yourself: accounts using the same email or payment method, or linked to the same manager account.

What if we can’t get into the original suspended account?

In our experience, that’s kind of helpless, and it’s a case we’d turn down. Google’s automatic reinstatement depends on the other accounts being successfully appealed, and its appeal route starts inside the suspended account.

Can I open a new account instead?

No. In our experience it makes it worse, because it’s further evidence that you’re trying to circumvent Google’s systems. Google says new accounts a suspended advertiser tries to create may also be suspended.