How do we get a deactivated Ad Grant back?
By Jose Gomez, Jr., CEA, MVTAAdapted from Chapter 10 of The Nonprofit Ad Grant Handbook · Checked against Google's rules November 3, 2026Deactivation for click-through rate isn't permanent. Google reactivates accounts once the cause is fixed and the account meets every requirement. Fix the click-through rate first, then everything else on the monthly checklist, then complete any outstanding survey, and only then request reactivation. The order in which you fix things decides how fast you get back.
What Google needs to see
Google reactivates accounts once the cause is fixed and the account meets every requirement. A request with any open issue is likely to go nowhere.
An illustration from the handbook. The arts council is a composite, not a real organization.
An arts council's grant was deactivated in the spring after it closed two months in a row below 5%. The director ran the rescue, fixed the broad "events" campaign that had drowned the rest of the account in low-click impressions, and sent the reactivation request the same week. Nothing happened. Two weeks later, she noticed a notification she'd missed. The annual program survey had gone unanswered since winter. Google wasn't going to reactivate an account with an open issue.
The order that works
Work through the steps in this order.
- Fix click-through rate. Run the rescue until the last 7 active days of enabled keywords show a click-through rate of 5% or more. While the account is deactivated, ads aren't serving, so use the last 7 days on which it was active.
- Fix everything else. Go through the whole monthly checklist in Chapter 9, covering single-word and generic keywords, Quality Score 1 and 2, structure, sitelinks, locations, conversions, bidding and website.
- Complete the survey if one is outstanding.
- Then request reactivation.
Keep the account's settings intact while it's deactivated. Pausing everything or deleting campaigns doesn't help and makes the evidence harder to show. Fix the problems in place.
Checking your account before you ask
Don't send the request until every line of this evidence checklist is true.
- The root cause is identified, whether it's click-through rate, the survey, Quality Score, single-word keywords, the website, tracking or something else.
- Enabled keywords over the last 7 active days show a click-through rate of 5% or more, with a screenshot or export kept.
- There are no enabled single-word keywords that aren't exempt, and no overly generic keywords.
- There are no enabled keywords with a Quality Score of 1 or 2, and an automated rule or alert script is in place.
- Every campaign has at least two ad groups, each with at least two ads, specific locations and compliant bidding.
- The account has at least two sitelinks.
- Conversion tracking is valid, and primary conversions are real results.
- The program survey is completed, if one was outstanding.
- Website policy issues are fixed, including secure pages, content, tax ID and working links.
Writing the request
Keep it plain and factual. Say what the account was deactivated for and what you fixed, with numbers. Give the click-through rate of enabled keywords over the last 7 active days, and name the control now in place to prevent a repeat.
Before you start, write down the date the account was deactivated, the reason given in Google's notice, quoted, and who is preparing the request.
Submit it through the reactivation form linked from Google's notice or the Ad Grants help center, and check the current link. Record the date you submitted it, who submitted it and any reference number, and log it in the change log.
Appendix D of the handbook has the full reactivation request, with the evidence checklist and a template for the wording. Use it after fixing the cause and everything else.
Questions
Should we pause or delete campaigns while the grant is deactivated?
No. Keep the account's settings intact. Pausing everything or deleting campaigns doesn't help and makes the evidence harder to show. Fix the problems in place.
Which days count when we check the click-through rate?
While the account is deactivated, ads aren't serving, so use the last 7 days on which it was active, and look at enabled keywords.
What if we hear nothing after we submit?
Follow up if there's no response by about two weeks after you submitted the request.
Is deactivation permanent?
Deactivation for click-through rate isn't permanent. Google reactivates accounts once the cause is fixed and the account meets every requirement.
See something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Jose Gomez, Jr., CEA, MVTAJose Gomez, Jr., CEA, MVTA, is the CEO of 3nity. He founded the company in 2001 to serve the people who serve people, after working as Internet Director at a media network. He built a career website that was acquired by Salem Communications in 2004, and created the 3nity Web Presence Platform. Through Nonprofit Marketing Center, a division of 3nity, he and his team help churches and nonprofits of every kind bring resources and awareness to their missions, including by helping them get the most from the Google Ad Grant.