How to Mark Facebook Ad as Pending

While you can’t manually mark a Facebook ad as “pending,” you’re likely looking to pause an ad before it goes live or trying to figure out why it’s stuck in review. In either case, you can take control of your ad’s status. This article will show you how to effectively “pause” your ads by deactivating them, and we’ll cover practical steps to take if your ad seems stuck in the approval process.

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Understanding Facebook Ad Statuses

First, it's helpful to understand what different ad statuses mean inside Facebook Ads Manager. You can't set your ad to a "pending" or "reviewing" state yourself, these are statuses assigned by Facebook during its automated approval process. Gaining clarity on this process will help you better manage your campaigns.

Here are the most common statuses you’ll encounter:

• In Review: This is the most common "pending" state. After you create and submit an ad, it immediately enters this queue. Facebook uses automated systems, and sometimes human reviewers, to check if your ad follows their advertising policies. Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours.
• Processing: Sometimes after a review is complete, you'll see a 'Processing' status. This usually means the ad has been approved but the system is still preparing it to be delivered. This status typically doesn't last long, but on occasion, an ad can get stuck here.
• Scheduled: If you've set your ad to run on a future date, it will show as 'Scheduled' after it has been approved. It is inactive and waiting for its start date and time to arrive.
• Active: Success! Your ad has been approved and is now running and being delivered to your target audience.
• Off: This status indicates that you have manually turned off the ad, ad set, or campaign. Nothing will run or spend money while it is switched off.
• Completed / Ended: The campaign or ad set has reached its scheduled end date or its lifetime budget has been spent.

The "Pending" feeling often comes from the In Review or Processing stages. Now, let’s cover how to gain control when you need to put things on hold.

How to Effectively 'Pause' Your Ads by Deactivating Them

If you've submitted an ad but need to stop it from running — maybe you spotted a spelling error, the promotion details changed, or you just want to launch it later — the best course of action is to deactivate it. This switches the ad "off" and keeps your work saved, so you don't have to start from scratch. You can deactivate an item at any of the three levels in Ads Manager:

• Campaign Level: Deactivates every ad set and ad within that campaign.
• Ad Set Level: Deactivates all ads within that specific ad set.
• Ad Level: Deactivates just a single ad.

Most of the time, using the toggle button is the quickest and easiest way to stop an ad in its tracks, even if it hasn't been approved yet. If the ad is reviewed and approved while deactivated, it simply won't run until you turn it back on.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Deactivating a Facebook Ad

Here is the straightforward process to turn off a campaign, ad set, or ad:

1. Navigate to your Facebook Ads Manager.
2. From the main dashboard, select the correct tab: Campaigns, Ad Sets, or Ads, depending on what you want to turn off.
3. Find the specific item you wish to pause. You can use the search bar or filters if you have many campaigns running.
4. To the left of your campaign, ad set, or ad name, you'll see a blue or grey toggle switch located under the "Delivery" column.
5. Click the toggle button. If it's blue (active or scheduled), it will turn gray (off). If it's already gray, it means it's inactive.

That's it. Your ad is now deactivated and will not spend any money or be shown to anyone. You can come back at any time and click the same toggle to reactivate it, which will push it back into the review process if any significant changes were made.

What to Do if Your Ad is Stuck in Review

Waiting for ad approval can be frustrating, especially when it takes longer than the standard 24 hours. If your ad is in a lengthy "In Review" or "Processing" state, it can feel like your campaign is being held hostage. While you can't force an approval, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to try and nudge it along.

1. Make a Minor Edit

Editing an ad automatically resubmits it into the review queue. Sometimes, this is all it takes to push a "stuck" ad into the next stage. You don't need to make drastic changes, a tiny modification is enough.

How to make a small edit:

• Navigate to the level of the ad you want to edit.
• Hover over the ad name and click the Edit link.
• Make a minimal change. You could fix a typo in the ad copy or change the budget by a single dollar or a few cents.
• Click the Publish button to resubmit the ad.

This action forces Facebook's system to re-evaluate your ad, which can often get it through the queue faster than just waiting.

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2. Double-Check Ad and Landing Page Policies

Your ad might be stuck in review because an automated system or a human reviewer flagged a potential policy violation. Even subtle mistakes can cause delays.

Common issues to look for:

• Unsupported Claims: Vague promises like "Get rich quick!" or specific, unproven health claims are common red flags.
• Personal Attributes: Your ad copy cannot imply you know personal characteristics about the user. For instance, avoid phrases like "Are you struggling with debt?" and instead focus on your product: "Our service helps users manage finances."
• Image/Video Quality: Facebook has policies against sensational, shocking, or low-quality content. Ensure your visuals are clear and professional. Text overlay on images should also be minimal.
• Landing Page Experience: Facebook's review process includes your destination URL. An ad might not pass review if the landing page is broken, a work in progress, loads too slowly, or bears no resemblance to the ad's content. Ensure your landing page delivers on the ad's promise.

Review Facebook's Advertising Policies page to see if your ad or landing page is potentially in violation.

3. Be Patient, Especially After a Rejection

If your account is new, has had ads rejected recently, or targets sensitive categories (like credit, housing, or social issues), the review process is often more stringent and takes longer. In these cases, patience is key. Repeatedly editing and republishing might be seen as trying to circumvent the system and could delay the process further.

4. Contact Facebook Ads Support

If your ad has been stuck in review for more than 48 hours and you've already tried making a small edit, it might be time to request a review. A human reviewer can often identify issues that the automated system missed or push a stuck ad through the system.

Reaching out to support can feel a bit hidden, but you can typically find it through the "Help" section in your Business Manager settings. The available contact options (like live chat or email) can vary by account, but it's worth checking if you're out of other options.

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Adjusting the Start Date of a Scheduled Ad

What if your ad has been approved but is scheduled to run in the future, and you need to push the launch date back? While the deactivation toggle is a simple "on/off" switch, you can also change the hard-coded start date.

How to Edit an Ad Set's Schedule:

1. Go to your Ads Manager and navigate to the Ad Sets tab.
2. Select the ad set you want to reschedule and click Edit.
3. In the editing pane, scroll down to the Budget & schedule section.
4. Here, you can modify the Start date and End date. Adjust the start date to your new preferred time.
5. Click Publish to save your changes.

This method gives you precise control over when a campaign will start without leaving it deactivated indefinitely.

Final Thoughts

Though you can’t manually set a Facebook ad's status to "pending," you have full control over whether it’s active or not. Using the simple toggle to deactivate ads, ad sets, or campaigns is the easiest way to prevent them from running, while understanding common review issues helps you troubleshoot when an ad gets stuck.

Managing the up-and-down nature of ad campaigns is just one part of the job, analyzing the results is where your strategy takes shape. Tracking performance across Facebook Ads Manager and your other marketing platforms can quickly become manual and tedious. We built Graphed to solve this by connecting all your data sources into a single place. Using simple, natural language, you can ask questions and instantly build real-time dashboards that show you what’s working, so when your ads finally are approved and running, you have everything you need to make faster, smarter decisions.