TikTok ad policy in 2026: the UK advertiser’s guide

Last verified 3 September 2026. TikTok reviews most ads within 24 hours, and an ad that shows a static image for more than half its running time, promises results in “10 seconds”, or forgets to tick the AI-generated content box will not survive that review. The TikTok ad policy is a set of 20 topic pages plus market-specific tables, and it sits on top of the CAP Code, the FCA’s financial promotion rules and the UK’s less healthy food advertising ban.

How TikTok’s ad rules are organised

TikTok publishes its advertising policies in the Business Help Center as separate articles: ad format and functionality, misleading and false content, deceptive practices, intellectual property, and industry pages covering alcohol, financial services, gambling, healthcare, weight management, dangerous products, politics and “other products and services”. Each industry page has a market table, and the UK row is what matters. The Advertiser Account Policy adds that violations can bring temporary or permanent suspension from all ByteDance platforms. Every ad served to UK users is also inside the ASA’s remit, so an ad can pass TikTok review and still be ruled against under the CAP Code.

What is banned outright

• Tobacco and nicotine in any form, including e-cigarettes, vape pens, oils and cartridges.
• Weapons, ammunition, explosives, and police or military uniforms and equipment.
• Illegal and recreational drugs and paraphernalia. Prescription medicines are “Not allowed” in every market.
• Paid political advertising. TikTok says political ads are “not something we believe fits the TikTok experience”; only official election bodies may advertise about elections.
• Counterfeit goods, replicas and any unauthorised use of third-party clips, names, logos or brands, plus any implied endorsement by TikTok.
• Get-rich-quick offers, pyramid schemes and MLM, payday loans and loans at 50% APR or above, binary options. In the UK, forex, penny stocks, cryptocurrencies as consumer products and non-custodial wallets are also prohibited.
• Elective, reconstructive and weight loss surgery in the UK. Abortion services, funeral services, “modeling or influencer recruitment opportunities” and mystery boxes claiming luxury items are prohibited globally.
• Paid ads for identifiable less healthy food and drink in the UK. TikTok requires an attestation of compliance with the Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024, and its branded content rules say HFSS products “are not allowed” in the UK.

Restricted industries in the UK

Financial services and the FCA

Credit cards, buy now pay later, standard loans, insurance, banking, investment services and trading platforms are allowed in the UK under the financial services policy, with three conditions. The advertiser must hold the relevant FCA authorisation and show proof on request. The audience must be restricted to 18 and over. And the ad must “clearly disclose interest rates, annual percentage rates, transaction fees, disclaimers, repayment periods, and representative examples”.

Crypto exchanges and custodial wallets need licensing plus approval through a TikTok sales representative, and NFTs cannot be presented as investments. None of this replaces the FCA’s own regime: a financial promotion still has to be issued or approved by an authorised firm and carry the prescribed risk warnings. Ofcom’s draft Online Safety Act codes, published on 10 July 2026, would make the largest platforms verify FCA authorisation before financial ads run.

Gambling

TikTok’s gambling and games policy allows online and offline gambling, lotteries, fantasy sports and social casino ads only in listed markets, only after a certification process that requires proof of licences, and never to minors. Ads must carry “legally mandated gambling disclaimers” and clear risk warnings. The public policy page does not show the market table, and third-party sources disagree about whether the UK is currently open, so treat gambling on TikTok as closed unless your account representative confirms otherwise in writing.

Whatever TikTok permits, the CAP Code applies. Since 1 October 2022 gambling ads must not have strong appeal to under-18s, and on 11 June 2026 CAP told operators to withdraw immediately any live ad that does.

Alcohol

The alcohol policy tracks the CAP Code closely. Ads must not target or appeal to anyone under the legal drinking age, must not feature people under 25 or pregnant people, and must not show excessive drinking, intoxication or reckless behaviour. Offering alcohol as a prize or incentivising consumption is banned, and delivery services are generally restricted. Every ad and landing page must state the strength of the drink and carry a responsible drinking line.

Health, weight and beauty

Over-the-counter medicines need regulatory approval and 18+ targeting. Non-invasive aesthetic treatments are allowed at 18+ if they avoid “misleading or exaggerated claims, unsafe or exploitative messaging”. Weight loss supplements and meal replacements are allowed at 18+, but “unrealistic muscle gain or weight loss”, results without diet or exercise, and weight loss that is “easy or guaranteed” are prohibited, along with body shaming.

Creative rules: why ads get rejected

The misleading and false content policy prohibits ads that “promise or exaggerate results concerning a product’s effect”. Its own examples are “Get money in 10 seconds” and “Number 1 song on TikTok”. Absolute claims about time, region or brand leadership need substantiation. Before-and-after results that “may cause viewers to have a false or distorted impression” are restricted, with wrinkle creams and instant body changes cited by name.

Consistency is checked at review. If the ad shows product A and the landing page sells product B, or the price and promotion differ, the ad fails. Fake play buttons, fake close buttons and non-clickable elements designed to provoke a tap are banned, as are “ambiguous claims on how to get rich with no information as to how”.

The ad format and functionality policy is where low-effort creative dies. Visuals must not be “blurry, unclear, and unrecognizable”, text must be “free of spelling or grammatical mistakes”, and “static images should not occupy more than 50% of the video”. Landing pages must be live, mobile-friendly, in the target market’s language, with a privacy policy, and must not require a download. The penalty is not always rejection: ads failing quality checks “may be rejected, receive fewer impressions, or your ad’s cost-per-impression may increase”.

Music licensing

Business accounts cannot use TikTok’s general sound library for commercial content. The Commercial Music Library, a pre-cleared catalogue TikTok puts at one million tracks, is the licensed source for ads, branded content and organic business posts. Any other track needs a licence the advertiser can produce, and the IP policy bans “clips from any unauthorized media sources”.

Branded content, Spark Ads and disclosure

Spark Ads let an advertiser promote an organic post, its own or a creator’s, using an authorisation code the creator issues for a set period. A post that has been banned organically will be rejected as an ad.

Disclosure has two layers. On TikTok, a creator post made for a brand must be marked using the platform’s content disclosure setting, and the market-specific branded content rules bar HFSS branded content in the UK and put film, TV and game trailers behind an 18+ gate. Under the CAP Code the ad must be obviously identifiable before the viewer engages, and CAP’s 2025 monitoring found only 57% of influencer posts compliant. A clear “Ad” at the start of the video is the safe standard.

Under-18s and age targeting

TikTok states that it does “not deliver personalized ads to users aged 13 to 17” in the UK, the EEA, Switzerland and Brazil. The minors policy lists categories that cannot be targeted at under-18s: alcohol, gambling, financial services including credit, crypto and BNPL, medicines, adult content and dating, weight management, dangerous products and violent or horror content. The teen safety policy adds that ads must not exploit young people by “urging or pressuring teens to make a purchase”. Set every UK restricted-category campaign to 18+ before review, because the reviewer checks targeting alongside creative.

AI-generated content

TikTok became the first video platform to read C2PA Content Credentials for automatic AI labelling on 9 May 2024. For ads, the disclaimers page sets out a checkbox in Ads Manager, “This ad contains AI-generated content”, to be ticked when an ad contains “image, video, or audio that is either completely AI-generated or significantly modified by AI”. It applies to standard ads, not Spark Ads, where the label travels with the organic post.

Once submitted the toggle cannot be unselected without changing the asset, and a new campaign resets it. TikTok warns that “incorrect use of the feature will result in the rejection of the ad”, and undisclosed significantly modified AI content risks rejection under the misleading content policy. The CAP Code applies regardless of how content was made, and CAP published a guidance note on AI-generated ads in June 2026.

The review process and appeals

Review starts automatically when an ad is created or edited. TikTok’s ad review FAQ says most decisions arrive within 24 hours and that the reviewer checks text, images, audio, landing page and targeting together. Its listed rejection reasons are prohibited or restricted products in the target region, misleading or sensational claims, IP violations, broken or mismatched landing pages, lead ads asking for sensitive data, and videos outside the 5 second to 10 minute range.

To appeal, hover over the “Not delivering”, “Limited delivery” or “Pending” status in Ads Manager, click “View more”, then “Appeal”. The one-click appeal takes a reason of up to 2,000 characters and five supporting files, and TikTok aims to respond within 24 hours. File one appeal per incident: “filing multiple appeals in a short period of time for the same issue will lead to delays”. If it fails, edit the creative to trigger re-review, raise a support ticket, or go through your sales representative.

What this means for advertisers

• Read the UK row of the market table for your category before briefing creative, and get restricted-category approval in writing.
• Match the landing page to the ad: same product, same price, same offer, mobile-friendly, privacy policy present.
• Keep motion in the frame and source music from the Commercial Music Library or under a licence you can show.
• Set 18+ targeting on every financial, alcohol, health, weight and dating campaign in the UK before submitting.
• Tick the AI box when any asset is generated or significantly modified by AI, and label creator posts before sparking them.
• Appeal once, with evidence. Then edit and resubmit rather than re-appealing.

FAQs

Why was my TikTok ad rejected?

Usually a landing page that does not match the ad or fails on mobile, exaggerated or absolute claims, a restricted category without 18+ targeting or approval, unlicensed music or footage, or low-quality creative. The rejection notice names the policy; read that page before editing.

Can I run gambling ads on TikTok in the UK?

Only in markets TikTok lists as open, after certification with proof of licence, and never to under-18s. The public policy does not show the UK’s status, so assume no until TikTok confirms in writing.

Do I have to label AI-generated ads?

Yes, if any image, video or audio is completely AI-generated or significantly modified by AI. Use the “This ad contains AI-generated content” checkbox in Ads Manager, or the creator’s own AIGC label on a Spark Ad.

Sources

• TikTok Business Help Center advertising policy and resource pages, checked 2 September 2026; TikTok Newsroom on C2PA labelling, 9 May 2024
• Lewis Silkin on the ASA and CAP Annual Report 2025; Osborne Clarke Regulatory Outlook, June 2026; Gambling Commission FOI response, 20 January 2026; techUK on Ofcom’s draft fraudulent advertising codes, July 2026