How to Verify an Ad Account on Facebook

Verifying your Business Manager is a critical step for demonstrating your legitimacy to Meta and unlocking a full suite of advertising tools. It might seem intimidating, but this process exists to build a more transparent and secure environment for both advertisers and users. This guide breaks down exactly what you need to do, the documents you'll need to gather, and how to troubleshoot common issues along the way.

What is Facebook Business Verification?

Facebook Business Verification is Meta's formal process for confirming that a real, legitimate business or organization owns a specific Business Manager account. Think of it as Meta doing its due diligence. They want to be sure that the entity running ads, managing Pages, and accessing user data is who they say they are. By asking for official business documentation, Meta can connect a digital account to a real-world legal entity.

It's important to distinguish this from the blue verification checkmark you see on public profiles and pages. The blue checkmark signifies public interest and authenticity to users, while Business Verification is a behind-the-scenes confirmation for Meta's advertising platform.

Why You Absolutely Need to Verify Your Business Manager

You might be able to run basic ad campaigns without going through verification, but you'll hit a wall pretty fast. Getting verified isn't just a box-ticking exercise, it directly impacts what you can do on the platform.

• Access to Powerful Features: Many of Meta's advanced tools and integrations are gated behind verification. This includes things like the WhatsApp Business API, Instant Form lead access, and certain custom audience capabilities.
• Builds Trust and Credibility: A verified business signals to Meta that you are a serious and legitimate entity. This can be beneficial if you ever face account issues or ad disapprovals, as it might help streamline the review process.
• Required for Certain Ad Categories: If you plan to run ads related to social issues, elections, or politics, business verification is non-negotiable. Meta requires this transparency for any topic of public importance.
• Increased Account Security: Verification adds another layer of security, making it harder for unauthorized individuals to gain control of your business assets.

Before You Begin: Get Your Documents in Order

The single biggest reason verification attempts fail is because of disorganized or mismatched documentation. Don't even start the process until you've gathered everything you need. Meta is extremely particular about this, so taking 15 minutes to collect these files will save you weeks of headaches.

You need to prove two key things: your business's legal identity and its physical address or phone number. All documents must clearly show your business's exact legal name and address/phone. They cannot be blurry, expired, or cropped.

1. Proof of Legal Name

This is an official document that registers your business with your local or national government. The name on this document is the one you must use in your verification application, even if it's different from your public brand name.

• Certificate of Incorporation or Formation: For corporations or LLCs.
• Business License: From your city, state, or county.
• Business Tax or VAT Registration Certificate: An official document from your national tax authority (like an IRS SS-4 letter confirming your EIN in the U.S.).
• EIN Certificate or Number: The same SS-4 letter or notification.
• Articles of Organization: Similar to a certificate of incorporation, used for LLCs.

2. Proof of Legal Address or Phone Number

This document connects your business name to a physical location or phone number. Crucially, the name and address on this document must match the name and address on your proof of legal name document.

• Utility Bill: A power, gas, water, internet, or landline phone bill.
• Bank Statement: A statement from your official business bank account.
• Business License with Address or Phone: If your business license contains your address, it can often be used for both proof of name and proof of address.

Important Prerequisite: Domain Verification

Before you can verify your business, you must first verify the domain of the website you list in your business info. If your site is www.mycoolbrand.com, you need to prove in Business Manager that you own it. You can do this by adding a DNS record, uploading an HTML file, or adding a meta-tag to your website's header. Check your Business Settings under “Brand Safety” > “Domains” to complete this first.

Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting for Verification

Once your documents are scanned, saved as PDFs or JPEGs, and ready to go, you can begin the submission process. All of this happens within your Facebook Business Manager (now often called Business Portfolio).

Step 1: Navigate to the Security Center

First, log in to the Business Manager account you want to verify as an administrator. Then, head over to the Security Center.

• Go to business.facebook.com/settings.
• On the left-hand menu, look for “Security Center.”

Here, you'll see a panel for "Business Verification." If it says "Unverified," you're in the right place. Don't worry if the "Start Verification" button is grayed out - we'll cover that in the troubleshooting section.

Step 2: Start the Verification Process

Click the “Start Verification” button. Facebook will then present a series of screens guiding you through the required information.

Step 3: Enter Your Business Information

This part is where your preparation pays off. You'll be asked to input your business details. Fill this out with extreme precision.

• Legal Business Name: Type it exactly as it appears on your incorporation or tax documents. No nicknames, abbreviations, or brand names unless that is the legal name.
• Country/Region: Where your business is legally registered.
• Street Address, City, State/Province, and Postal Code: This must match your documents precisely, down to the comma.
• Business Phone Number: Use a number that can be publicly traced to your business or is on one of the documents you’re using.
• Website: The domain you have already verified.

Step 4: Upload Your Proof Documents

Next, you'll reach the document upload stage. There will be separate uploaders for proving your Legal Name and proving your Address/Phone Number.

• For the Legal Name proof, upload your certificate of incorporation, business license, or tax document.
• For the Address/Phone Number proof, upload your utility bill, bank statement, or another accepted document.

Double-check that the files are clear and easy to read before moving on.

Step 5: Confirm Your Connection to the Business

Facebook now needs to finalize the verification by sending a code to a point of contact associated with the business. You'll be given a few options to receive this code:

• Email: This is often the easiest method. Facebook will send a verification code to a publicly available email address or allow you to enter an email address with your associated business domain (e.g., yourname@yourverifieddomain.com).
• Phone Call or SMS: A code is sent to the business phone number you provided.
• Domain Verification: If you've already verified your domain, this might be presented as an option for you automatically.

Choose your preferred method, wait for the code to arrive, and enter it into the pop-up window to complete your submission.

Step 6: Wait for a Decision

You're all set! Facebook's team will now manually review your submission. The timeline for a decision can vary from a few business days to a couple of weeks, depending on their volume of requests. You can check the status at any time by returning to the Security Center in your Business Settings.

Stuck? Common Roadblocks and How to Fix Them

It's common to hit a snag during this process. Here are some of the most frequent problems and what to do about them.

Problem: My "Start Verification" button is grayed out.

This happens for two main reasons. First, ensure you are a full admin on the Business Manager account. If you're not, ask an admin to promote you or to complete the process themselves.

Second, Meta sometimes only makes verification available to businesses that "need" it by having created an app. If you're an admin and the button is still grayed out, go to developers.facebook.com, create a new "app," select 'Business' as the app type, and link it to your Business Manager. Usually, just creating the app is enough to trigger your eligibility and make the button clickable back in Security Center.

Problem: My verification request was rejected.

A rejection notice can be frustrating, but it's almost always fixable. Read the rejection reason carefully. The most common reasons are:

• Information Mismatch: The name you typed didn't perfectly match the document ("Your Biz LLC" vs "Your Biz, LLC."). Go back and edit the details to match 100%.
• Unreadable Documents: Your scanned documents were too blurry or had a glare. Re-scan them in a well-lit area and submit them again.
• Wrong Document Type: You uploaded something Meta doesn't accept, like a marketing brochure instead of a legal certificate. Make sure you use one of the approved document types.

Problem: I'm a freelancer and don't have business registration documents.

This is a tough spot. As a sole proprietor, you may not have a formal business registration. In some cases, Meta may accept a government-issued photo ID (like a driver's license or passport) to confirm your name, paired with a personal utility bill or bank statement to confirm your address, as long as these match the details in your Business Manager settings. However, progress is smoother if you have some form of official local business license or registration.

Final Thoughts

Successfully verifying your ad account on Facebook might feel bureaucratic, but it's a foundational step for any serious advertiser. By preparing your documents in advance and following the steps precisely, you can navigate the process smoothly, build trust with Meta, and gain access to the powerful tools needed to grow your brand.

Once you're fully verified and ready to run dynamic ads alongside engaging organic content, staying organized becomes the next big hurdle. At Postbase, we built our platform to solve that exact issue. We were tired of legacy tools that made simple things complex and couldn't keep up with modern content formats like Reels and TikToks. Our visual content calendar shows your entire strategy at a glance, our scheduler reliably publishes your video content, and our unified inbox consolidates all your customer interactions. We help managers and marketers plan, schedule, and analyze a content strategy that works, without the friction.