Reddit ads · Copy That Clears Studio
Reddit ads policy and copy guide (2026)
Reddit reviews every ad by hand, usually within a day. Most rejections come from editorial rules (over 50% capitals, emoji bait, clickbait), unverifiable claims, landing page mismatches, or regulated categories like crypto, gambling and health that need a sales rep and pre-approval. This guide covers 22 industries, every format limit and Reddit's own copy research, all linked to Reddit's help centre.
Check a Reddit ad now
The policy checker has a Reddit mode. It flags Reddit-specific problems and gives a copy score based on Reddit's study of over 100,000 ads.
Spotlight
Crypto ads on Reddit
Crypto is allowed on Reddit only for licensed businesses working with a sales rep, and only in certain countries. You can promote the platform, never a single coin.
What's allowed and what isn't
- Allowed with licence: exchanges, crypto wallets and payments, crypto debit and credit cards, mining hardware and software, staking, crypto lending platforms, NFTs and NFT marketplaces
- Prohibited: single tokens or coins, ICOs, IDOs and token sales
- Prohibited: liquidity pools, mixers and tumblers
- Prohibited: DAO offerings with no central legal entity
- Prohibited: trading bots, get-rich-quick schemes and celebrity endorsements
- Prohibited: blockchain-obscuring services
- No pump-and-dump style promotion of a specific coin or NFT
- No leverage claims or guarantees
- Exempt from the sales-rep requirement: general education, personal-finance software, industry events
- No Lead Gen ads and no DPA
- Change since 2022: Marketing Brew reported 'crypto loans are never allowed'. Crypto lending platforms are now listed as restricted, not prohibited
- 2022 (SEC): no self-serve. A dedicated crypto sales team handled these accounts. US exchanges needed FinCEN registration or an exemption
- Reddit does not publish a country list. The policy only says 'only available in certain countries'
Before you launch
- licence or registration with the relevant regulators
- managed by a sales rep
- possible pre-approval and documentation
- certain countries only
- targeting must exclude minors
Crypto on Reddit, in context
- BlockFi and VaynerNFT were named as Reddit crypto advertisers in 2022 (SEC Marketing Brew)
- Addressable claims Uniswap, CoinDesk and Sui campaigns on Reddit (SEC, agency claim, no ad evidence)
- Single Grain claims Kraken and Bitstamp ran Reddit ads (SEC, unsupported)
- Reddit Community Points (MOON, r/CryptoCurrency) were sunset in Oct 2023 (SEC)
- Collectible Avatars launched on Polygon on 2022-07-07 (SEC)
- Reddit's S-1 on 2024-02-22 disclosed BTC and ETH holdings (SEC)
- No verifiable source found for Coinbase, Binance, Robinhood or Crypto.com ads on Reddit
business.reddithelp.com · marketingbrew.com · addressable.io
Reddit ad rules by industry
| Industry | Status | Key rules | Before you launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans, credit and BNPL | Restricted | Mortgages, car, student and personal loans and other lending products are allowed only with proper licensing. Credit and debit cards are restricted. Payday or predatory lending and debt-assistance or debt-collection programmes are prohibited | licence or registration, managed by a Reddit sales rep, possible pre-approval and documents, only in certain countries, HEC targeting limits: no age, gender or postal targeting |
| Investing, trading, forex and CFDs | Restricted | Allowed with licence: brokers, trading platforms, crowdfunding portals, financial advice, CFDs, forex and spread betting. Prohibited: single securities, stocks or bonds, penny stocks, trading bots, bail or bearer bonds. No high-leverage claims ('50x', '100x') | licence, sales rep, pre-approval possible, certain countries |
| Crypto and NFTs | Restricted | Allowed with licence: exchanges, crypto wallets and payments, crypto debit and credit cards, mining hardware and software, staking, crypto lending platforms, NFTs and NFT marketplaces. Prohibited: single tokens or coins, ICOs, IDOs and token sales. Prohibited: liquidity pools, mixers and tumblers | licence or registration with the relevant regulators, managed by a sales rep, possible pre-approval and documentation, certain countries only, targeting must exclude minors |
| Insurance | Restricted | Home, car, personal and other policies are allowed with licensing. General financial creative rules apply. No Lead Gen ads and no DPA | licence, sales rep, certain countries |
| Gambling and sports betting | Restricted | Covers casinos, sportsbooks, fantasy sports, lotteries, sweepstakes and contests, social casino, skin gambling, betting tips. Show T&Cs and odds of winning in the creative or on the landing page. Don't encourage or glorify gambling. No guarantees of winning | pre-approval, sales rep, regional gaming licence, certain countries, only in permitted communities |
| Alcohol | Restricted | Direct sale and branding are allowed, including NA beer. Must include 'Drink Responsibly'. Age-gate the landing page | sales rep, certain countries, only in permitted communities, national industry codes |
| Tobacco, vapes and nicotine | Prohibited | Prohibited: cigarettes, cigars, snus, e-cigs and vapes, hookah, rolling papers, tobacco makers and their events. Allowed: OTC cessation products (US, UK, FR, IT, ES, DE, CA, IE, NL, NZ, AU). Allowed: Rx cessation products (US only) | some items need a sales rep |
| Cannabis, CBD and hemp | Prohibited | Cannabis, dispensaries, paraphernalia (including clothing) and rehab facilities are prohibited. CBD (US only): topical, non-ingestible, hemp-derived products. CBD: no targeting of HI, ID, KS, MS, MO or SD | sales rep, pre-approval, CBD: users aged 21+ |
| Dating apps | Restricted | Prohibited: infidelity, casual sex, escorts, intimate massage. Prohibited: mail-order brides and fetish focus. Prohibited: services that discriminate by race, religion, politics, orientation, gender, class or health | sales rep |
| Sexual wellness | Prohibited | Sexual products and services are prohibited, as are sexual or suggestive content and implied nudity. Non-prescription birth control such as condoms is allowed, but the ad must focus on clinical aspects with no reference to sexual pleasure. Rx contraception follows the Rx rules | sales rep if Rx or medical |
| Healthcare, pharmacy and telehealth | Restricted | Rx and OTC drugs must be FDA-approved. Compounded drugs must come from NABP-accredited pharmacies or FDA-approved facilities. Devices must be listed in Devices@FDA | licence or FDA approval, sales rep for pharma, pharmacies, providers and telehealth, certifications before going live |
| Weight loss and GLP-1 | Restricted | Follows the Rx-drug and supplement rules. GLP-1s are Rx, so they need FDA approval and a sales rep. Compounded versions must come from NABP or FDA facilities. No ephedra, hCG, steroids or other regulator-flagged substances. No unrealistic or atypical results | sales rep (Rx), FDA/NABP |
| Supplements | Allowed with rules | No unsubstantiated claims or unrealistic results. No before-and-after photos. No prevention, diagnosis or cure claims | industry standards and local law |
| Cosmetics, skincare and aesthetics | Allowed with rules | Cosmetic procedures follow the Rx and clinic rules: no false or exaggerated claims, no before-and-after photos, no body-shaming. Ordinary cosmetics have no dedicated policy, so the general deceptive and editorial rules apply | licensed clinics, sales rep if Rx or clinic |
| Mental health apps | Restricted | There is no dedicated policy. Providers and telemedicine must be licensed and certified, and are managed by a sales rep. Targeting based on mental health is prohibited. Medical & Mental Health and Trauma Support communities can never be targeted. No Lead Gen ads and no DPA | licence, sales rep |
| FMCG food and drink | Allowed with rules | HFSS products are prohibited in the UK. Drinks that resemble alcohol fall under the alcohol policy. General editorial and deceptive rules apply | Standard review |
| E-commerce and retail | Allowed with rules | No counterfeits, weapons or knives, live animals or unofficial ticket resale. The product must be available on the landing page. Pricing must be transparent | catalog for DPA and product ads |
| Luxury and fashion | Allowed with rules | Fake or replica goods and unlicensed collectibles are prohibited. Must respect trademarks and copyrights | Standard review |
| Education and online courses | Allowed with rules | Essay, paper-writing and test-taking cheating services are prohibited. Fake credentials are prohibited. Firearm training is prohibited | Standard review |
| Political and social issue ads | Restricted | See general.political. US federal only. AMA required first | certification, sales rep, AMA |
| Make money online and MLM | Prohibited | Get-rich-quick, MLM, pyramid schemes and improbable investment schemes. Fake engagement or follower services. Celebrity endorsements of financial offers | Standard review |
| Housing, jobs and credit targeting | Allowed with rules | Use the special ad category toggle ('housing, employment, or credit'). No gender, age or postal-code targeting. Not eligible for the gender targeting beta | special ad category flag |
How to write Reddit ads that convert
From Reddit's own creative research and help centre. Reddit found that using any three of its top headline features can lift conversion rate by up to 12%.
- Reddit's own study of 100k+ ads found that using any 3 of its top headline features can lift conversion rate by up to 12% business.reddithelp.com
- Keep headlines ≤150 characters (best-practice page). The spec pages recommend ≤100, with ≤80 as the safe limit against truncation business.reddithelp.com
- Mention the brand name: +6.5% average conversion-rate lift and CPA improvement. More than half of headlines didn't business.reddithelp.com
- Speak to users with 'you' and 'yours' business.reddithelp.com
- Give a clear CTA framed around when, where or how to get it business.reddithelp.com
- Lead with a relatable question business.reddithelp.com
- Add urgency with a real time frame business.reddithelp.com
- State a clear price point business.reddithelp.com
- Write in the first person and talk the way redditors talk to each other business.reddithelp.com
- Back claims with data, specs, reviews or stats (but every claim must be verifiable) business.reddithelp.com
- Keep at least a third of headlines unique and refresh them every 3 to 4 weeks business.reddithelp.com
- Be polished but authentic. Redditors dislike 'sneaky' ads business.reddithelp.com
- Put the logo top-left, show the brand in the first 3 seconds of video, add captions, keep video under 30 seconds, design mobile-first (76% of browsing is mobile) business.reddithelp.com
- Free-form ads: open with a TL, DR, break up text with headings and media, show 3 to 6 lines of plain text in feed business.reddithelp.com
- Enable comments and answer questions. Be friendly with no buzzwords, ignore trolls, address legitimate criticism, pin a helpful comment business.reddithelp.com
- AMA ads: first-person title stating who you are, the topic and the time. Run a separate post-AMA 'ICYMI' ad. Add links in the body business.reddithelp.com
- No ALL CAPS (≤50% capitals), no emoji or symbol bait, no clickbait, no 'free' misuse business.reddithelp.com
- Reminder ad headlines: 25 to 50 characters business.reddithelp.com
- Top-performing campaigns spell out product benefits (75% vs 54% of underperformers) and use conversational headlines about twice as often emarketer.com
- Combine feed and conversation placements. Reddit says the combination drives action intent more than twice as strongly as feed alone, and 47% of screenviews are in comments socialmediatoday.com
- Social proof modules: Conversation Summary Add-ons showed +19% CTR vs standard image ads. Redditor Highlights showed +10.7% average CTR (awareness). Only English, positive, brand-safe posts are used ppc.land
Review process
- Human review ('transparent and human'). Typically done within 1 day but can take longer. Submit at least 48h before the start date
- Review covers post copy, media (including thumbnails), landing page and targeting
- Status goes pending → Active or Not approved, with an email update
- A rejection email gives the specific reason and how to fix it. You can then edit and resubmit
- Help channels: your Reddit Ads specialist, 'speak with an ads expert', or the support team
- Any edit to copy, URL, budget, creative or ad-group targeting triggers re-review. Bid or schedule changes do not
- Alcohol, gambling and pharma must be pre-approved and managed by a sales rep. Healthcare and financial ads need certifications before going live
- Official docs describe no formal 'appeal' button. The process is fix and resubmit, or contact the rep or support
Editorial and creative rules
- Use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. Punctuation must not be excessive
- No more than 50% of the ad copy may be capitalised. Avoid random capitalisation and capitalise only proper nouns
- No excessive emojis, symbols or punctuation. Don't use emojis or symbols only to draw attention
- No personal info such as phone numbers, SSNs or DOB unless required by law
- No URLs in headlines unless legally required
- Disclose direct-download links in the copy
- No restricted or prohibited terms in URLs
- Non-English ads must target regions where that language is widely used
- No clickbait: ads may not withhold information or use sensationalised tactics to get clicks
- Ads must clearly and accurately represent the product
- Video: high-quality audio and visuals, no strobing or flashing, thumbnails suitable for general audiences, spoken language must match the ad copy
- Mature-rated media (R, TV-MA, ESRB M, established streaming) is allowed if labelled. Mature-rated video needs '[SPOILER]' before the ad copy
Deceptive or misleading content
- Irresponsible use of the word 'free'
- Exaggerated claims without a reasonable basis
- Overly provocative or sensational content
- Misleading use of data
- Malware
- Unverifiable claims
- False information presented as fact
- Withholding pricing, terms or expenses
- Disguised or unidentifiable advertising
- Subliminal techniques
Landing page rules
- Display URL must match the landing page URL or domain (a click tracker is the exception)
- The advertised product must be available on the page
- No spam, no blocking users from leaving, no dead links or buttons
- Prohibited or restricted products must not be easily available or linked
- Landing page language must match the ad language
- No gatekeeping content behind personal info
- SSL is required when collecting data or payment
- Show clear links to ToS, Privacy Policy and Contact/About. Financial services must disclose all fees
- Click-through URLs must be HTTPS and may not end with ', '
business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com
Always prohibited
- Adult or sexual content and sexual products and services, including blurred or censored nudity and implied nudity (artistic and medical exceptions are possible)
- Counterfeit goods
- Shocking, profane, violent, hateful or harassing content
- Weapons of all kinds, including ammo, knives, fireworks, gun shops and ranges, firearm training and replicas
- Tobacco and vapes
- Recreational drugs and paraphernalia (CBD and Canada cannabis exceptions)
- Hacking tools
- Fake engagement or follower inflation
- Spam tools
- Fake documents
- Blockchain-obscuring services
- Law-enforcement evasion
- Get-rich-quick, MLM and pyramid schemes
- Keygens
- Essay or test cheating services
- Commercial sale of live animals and endangered-species products
- Unofficial ticket resale (authorised resellers are OK)
- IP infringement and unauthorised use of Reddit IP
- HFSS food and drink in the UK, per UK law
business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com
Format specs and limits
- Headline: Max 300 characters on image, video, carousel, free-form and product ads. Reddit recommends ≤100, with ≤80 as the 'safer limit' against truncation (spec pages). Creative Best Practices separately recommends ≤150. Category Takeover conversation: 50 recommended, truncates after 145. Reminder ads: 25 to 50 recommended. AMA title ≤300, first person recommended
- Image: JPG, PNG or GIF, ≤3MB. Recommended 4:3 1440x1080. Accepted: 1:1 1080², 4:5 1080x1350, 3:4, 16:9 1920x1080. Thumbnail 4:3 400x300. Destination URL ≤268 characters. Display URL ≤100 characters and must match the domain
- Video: MP4 or MOV (no ProRes), ≤1GB, ≤30fps, 2s to 15min, 5 to 30s recommended. Ratios 4:3, 16:9, 1:1 1200², 4:5 1200x1500, 3:4
- Carousel: 2 to 6 images. Caption ≤50 characters per card. GIF ≤3MB, other files ≤20MB. Same ratio recommended. A URL for each card
- Free-form: Body ≤40,000 characters, up to 20 images (≤10MB) and 5 videos. Captions ≤50 characters. No auto thumbnail: without one, no media shows in feed
- Placements: Feed (Home, Popular, community) and Conversation (inside comment threads)
- CTA buttons: Apply Now, Book Now, Buy Tickets, Contact Us, Donate Now, Download, Get Directions, Get Quote, Get Showtimes, Install, Learn More, Listen Now, Order Now, Play Now, Pre-order Now, Read More, See Menu, Shop Now, Sign Up, Subscribe, Visit Store, View More, Watch Now, + Remind Me (reminder and AMA ads)
business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com
Format restrictions by category
- Lead Gen ads are prohibited for dating, financial/crypto, gambling, healthcare, political and recreational drugs. They need a privacy policy, may not collect sensitive data, and require a sales rep
- Dynamic Product Ads are prohibited for alcohol, dating, financial/crypto, gambling, healthcare, political and recreational drugs
- Product ads can't promote alcohol, Rx drugs, cannabis, CBD or gambling
business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com
Targeting rules
- Options: interest (IAB categories), community (subreddits subscribed, viewed or visited in the last 28 days), keyword (English only), custom audiences, lookalikes, location, gender (beta), language, device
- No age targeting option is listed in Demographics
- Discriminatory targeting is not allowed, whether you include or exclude
- You may not target where the product is illegal
- Prohibited sensitive categories: non-cisgender gender identities, genetic, biometric or health data, immigration status, physical or mental health, political beliefs, race or ethnicity, religion, sex life or orientation, union membership, under-18s, veteran status
- Communities that may never be targeted: Addiction Support, Mature Themes & Adult Content, Medical & Mental Health, Trauma Support
- Housing, financial and employment advertisers can't use certain tools. HEC campaigns can't target gender, age or postal codes and are excluded from the gender beta
- From Oct 2025, gender targeting with automated targeting uses OR logic
business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com · business.reddithelp.com
Comments on ads
- Comments are OFF by default. To turn them on, tick 'Allow comments'
- Advertisers moderate their own ad thread: lock or unlock, approve, delete, pin (distinguish) a comment, mark as spam
- Reddit advises answering questions, 'remember the human', avoiding buzzwords, ignoring trolls and addressing legitimate criticism
AMA ads and promoted posts
- AMA Ads (Beta) are for awareness or traffic objectives only. The CTA changes over time (Remind Me, then Join Now, then none)
- No custom CTA or destination URL for AMA ads. The title is locked once posted
- RSVP count shows at ≥11 sign-ups. A proof photo is recommended
- Promote Your Post: only verified, non-NSFW profiles. No polls. Traffic/CPC only. No targeting. Daily budget only
Brand safety
- Ads never run next to adult or sexual content, hate or profanity, sensitive support or identity content, gore or illegal content
- Ads only run in communities Reddit has approved for ads, rated by ML plus human review
- Advertiser controls: comments on or off, community exclusion, and inventory tiers
- Inventory tiers: Expanded (default and recommended), Standard, or Limited with IAS (managed accounts only)
- Content excluded in every tier: nudity, terrorism, extreme profanity or gore, criminal activity, drug or tobacco glamorisation, firearms manufacture, commercial exploitation of controversial issues
Political ads
- US federal level only
- The candidate or an official representative must do an AMA first, and every ad links to that AMA in a comment
- Advertisers must be certified and work with a sales rep
- FEC compliance and a 'Paid for by' disclosure are required
- Purchaser details are published in the transparency subreddit (r/RedditPoliticalAds)
- No postal-code or gender targeting
- No content that undermines election confidence. No deepfakes. AI or synthetic content must be disclosed (e.g. 'This ad contains AI-generated content.'). No attack ads
- Voter-registration or get-out-the-vote ads from non-political organisations are not counted as political
- EU: only public-authority voting information is allowed. Anything meant to influence an election, referendum or legislation is banned. A sales rep plus acknowledgement is required
- History: since Apr 2020, comments had to stay on for the first 24h (SEC)
Reddit ads timeline
Reddit adds video ads (per Fortune URL and title)
Political ads limited to US federal level. r/RedditPoliticalAds launched with data back to 2019-01-01. Comments required for the first 24h
Conversation Ads introduced
Crypto ad policy reported: licensed exchanges, wallets and NFTs allowed via a dedicated sales team only. Crypto loans banned
Collectible Avatars launched on Polygon
Community Points (Moons) to be sunset
S-1 discloses BTC and ETH treasury holdings
Free business growth tools (Reddit Pro)
Free-form ads (post-like format)
Smart Headlines (AI headlines generated from a URL), Creative Asset Cropper, lowest-cost bidding expansion
Dynamic Product Ads beta
Updated Conversation Ads
Lead Generation Ads (managed accounts)
AMA Ads and Pro Trends. IAS reports 99% brand safety
Dynamic Product Ads GA globally
Reddit Community Intelligence: Reddit Insights (alpha) and Conversation Summary Add-ons (alpha, +19% CTR)
Gender targeting uses OR logic with automated targeting
Max campaigns (beta, AI-automated)
Collection Ads and Shopify DPA integration GA
Reminder Ads global
Cannes 2026: Free-form Ad Generator (beta), Tailored Creative Assets (Max), Redditor Highlights GA, Shopping Listing Ads (alpha)
Reddit ads questions
Can you run crypto ads on Reddit?
Yes, with conditions. Licensed exchanges, wallets, crypto cards, staking, lending platforms and NFT marketplaces can advertise through a Reddit sales rep, sometimes after pre-approval and only in certain countries. Ads for single coins or tokens, ICOs, token sales, liquidity pools, trading bots, leverage claims and guaranteed returns are prohibited.
How long does Reddit ad review take?
Reddit reviews ads by hand, usually within one business day. Submit at least 48 hours before launch. Any change to the copy, URL, creative, budget or targeting triggers a new review.
How do I appeal a rejected Reddit ad?
Reddit has no appeal button. The rejection email explains the reason. Fix the ad and resubmit, or contact your Reddit Ads rep, an ads expert or the support team.
How long should a Reddit ad headline be?
The maximum is 300 characters. Reddit's spec pages recommend 100 or fewer, with 80 as the safe limit against truncation, and its creative guide suggests under 150.
A guide, not legal advice. Rules change often and some sources are law-firm or news summaries. Check the linked source before you launch. Data last checked 5 October 2026.