How to Change the Time Zone in Facebook Ads Manager

Trying to change the time zone in your Facebook Ads Manager can feel like a simple settings tweak, but it’s a decision that has permanent consequences. Once an ad account's time zone is set, it’s locked in forever. This guide will walk you through exactly what that means, why you can’t just flip a switch, and the correct way to set up a new account with the right time zone so your scheduling, reporting, and billing all make sense.

Why Your Ad Account's Time Zone is a Big Deal

You might think the time zone is a minor detail, but it’s the quiet foundation of your entire advertising operation. It influences three critical aspects of your account:

• Reporting Data: Every metric - from impressions and clicks to conversions - is logged based on your account's time zone. If your business is in New York (EST) but your ad account is accidentally set to Pacific Time (PST), your "daily" reports will be off by three hours. This means your end-of-day data won't align with your actual business day, making it difficult to analyze performance accurately, especially for time-sensitive campaigns.
• Ad Scheduling: This is often where most advertisers feel the impact first. Ad scheduling, or "dayparting," allows you to run ads only during specific hours. If you want to show ads from 9 AM to 5 PM in your local time zone but your account is set to a different one, your ads will run at the wrong times. For example, a 9 AM EST start time will begin at 6 AM PST, potentially wasting budget on audiences when they’re not active.
• Billing Cycles: Meta bills you based on thresholds and dates set in your ad account’s time zone. Although often less noticeable than scheduling errors, mismatched billing cycles can lead to accounting headaches when reconciling your ad spend with monthly or quarterly budgets.

Common Reasons You Need to Change a Time Zone

Typically, the need for a time zone change arises in a few common scenarios:

• Setup Error: Many people rush through initial ad account creation and click through defaults without realizing the time zone is set to the US Pacific Time Zone (where Meta's headquarters are).
• Relocation: You or your business moved to a different state, country, or continent, and your new operational hours don’t match the old account settings.
• Managing Client Accounts: As a freelancer or agency, you might inherit an ad account from a client in another part of the world, or need to create one on their behalf with their local time zone.

The Hard Truth: You Can't Actually Change an Existing Ad Account's Time Zone

Let’s get this out of the way right now: you cannot edit the time zone or currency of an ad account after it has been created. There is no hidden menu or special request form that allows you to do this. These two settings are permanently locked once the account is created.

Why? Mainly because of the reporting and billing implications mentioned above. Changing a time zone retroactively could corrupt historical data and cause complex billing discrepancies. To prevent that chaos, Meta made the decision to lock these settings permanently.

So, what’s a marketer to do? The only solution is to create a new ad account with the correct settings and migrate your advertising efforts over. Though it may seem like a hassle, it’s a clean break that avoids future headaches. The rest of this guide will walk you through how to do this smoothly.

Step-by-Step Guide: Creating a New Ad Account with the Correct Time Zone

Creating a new ad account within your existing Meta Business Manager is the official solution. Don’t worry, your Business Manager itself isn’t affected. You’re just adding a new sub-account to it.

1. Navigate to Your Meta Business Settings

Log in to your Meta Business Suite or Business Manager. Find the gear icon for "Settings" in the lower-left navigation menu. From there, click on "Business Settings" to reach the main dashboard.

2. Go to the Ad Accounts Section

In the Business Settings navigation panel on the left, find the "Accounts" dropdown. Click it, then select "Ad Accounts." This area shows all ad accounts associated with your business.

3. Create a New Ad Account

Click the blue “Add” button near the top. A dropdown menu appears with three options. Select "Create a new ad account."

Note: If this option is grayed out, you may have reached your ad account creation limit. New accounts typically start with a low limit (sometimes just one) until you build a history of spending and compliance with Meta's policies.

4. Fill in the Basic Account Details (The Critical Part!)

A window will appear asking for essential details. This is the crucial step.

• Ad account name: Choose a clear, descriptive name, such as "[Your Business Name] - EST" or "[Client Name] - Ads" to distinguish it from your old account.
• Time zone: This is vital. Carefully scroll through the dropdown and select the correct time zone for your operations. Double-check it before proceeding.
• Currency: This is also permanent. Choose the currency in which you want to be billed. Ensure it matches your payment method and accounting needs.

After confirming these settings, click "Next."

5. Assign Permissions and Payment Info

Meta will ask how this ad account will be used. Select "My business" and click "Create."

Next, you’ll need to grant access to yourself (and team members). Select your name from the list, then toggle "Manage ad account" to full control. Click "Assign."

Finally, add your payment information. You’ll need to provide a payment method for this new account, as it won’t carry over from the old one. You can do it now or later through the new account’s "Ad Account Settings." Your account is now officially created.

What You Need to Do After Creating Your New Ad Account

Your new, correctly configured ad account is ready, but your old campaigns, audiences, and pixel data still reside in the previous account. Here’s how to efficiently migrate your assets.

Share Your Meta Pixel

Your Meta Pixel is one of your most valuable assets. Good news: you don’t need a new one. The Pixel is created at the Business Manager level, so you can simply share it with your new ad account.

1. Go to Business Settings >, Data Sources >, Pixels
2. Select the Pixel you’re using
3. Click "Add Assets" or "Connected Assets"
4. Select your new ad account and click "Add"

With this, your Pixel will immediately start tracking events for campaigns from your new account. All your historical pixel data remains intact, though new campaign reports will start fresh.

Rebuild Your Audiences

Some audiences cannot be moved directly, but rebuilding them is straightforward.

• Website Visitors (from Pixel): Once your Pixel is shared, recreate website-based Custom Audiences (e.g., "All Website Visitors - 30 Days," "Lead Event - 90 Days"). These will start collecting data immediately.
• Customer Lists: If you use Custom Audiences based on email or phone lists, re-upload the same list to your new ad account.
• Engagement/Video View Audiences: These are linked directly to an ad account, so you need to rebuild them from scratch in your new account as people engage with your new ads.
• Lookalike Audiences: Create new Lookalike Audiences based on your source audiences in the new account.

Recreate Your Campaigns

Active or past campaigns cannot be moved between accounts. You’ll have to rebuild them. To speed this up, select a high-performing campaign or ad set in your old account, click "Duplicate," and choose your new account as the target. This may not always be available, but when it is, it saves time and effort. Note that only the structure and creative setup will copy over, performance data will not.

Deactivate (Not Delete) Your Old Ad Account

When you’re finished migrating and your new campaigns are live, deactivate the old account - do not delete it.

Deactivation puts the account into an archived, read-only state. It stops all active ads and billing while preserving historical data for analysis. To deactivate:

1. Open your Ads Manager and select the old account.
2. Navigate to "Ad Account Settings."
3. Click the "Deactivate Ad Account" button.
4. Follow the prompts to confirm.

Final Thoughts

While changing the time zone on an existing Facebook ad account isn’t possible, creating a new one and migrating your assets is a reliable solution. Carefully setting up a new account with the correct time zone, sharing your Pixel, rebuilding audiences, and recreating campaigns will ensure your reporting, scheduling, and billing line up perfectly with your business operations. Managing campaigns across different time zones or platforms can be complex enough - the last thing you need is a tool that adds confusion. At Postbase, we built our platform to bring clarity to social media management. Our visual content calendar offers a comprehensive, at-a-glance view of your scheduled posts, helping you identify gaps and maintain consistency without spreadsheets. It’s your easy-to-use control room for your content strategy.