Which countries and people cannot use Google Ads
Direct answerGoogle Ads and Display & Video 360 are not available to sanctioned people and entities, or to people who are located in or ordinarily reside in embargoed places. Google’s legal requirements page says the current embargoes are Crimea, Cuba, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), Iran, and North Korea. You also cannot target those places, or run campaigns for a business located there, even if the account owner is somewhere else.
Who cannot have an account
Policy: you must comply with applicable sanctions and export rules, including sanctions administered by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, and you agree not to cause Google to violate them. Using Google Ads or Display & Video 360 for or on behalf of restricted entities or individuals is not allowed. Using it for or on behalf of entities or individuals located in sanctioned countries or regions is not allowed.
Google says the products are not available to anyone restricted under applicable trade sanctions and export laws, and not available to anyone owned by, controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of those restricted parties. Restricted parties cannot create or use an account, and cannot have the products used on their behalf.
People who are located in, or ordinarily reside in, an embargoed country or territory cannot create or use an account. The page’s current list is Crimea, Cuba, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), Iran, and North Korea. Best practice: re-read that sentence before you rely on the list. Google can add or remove a place without a blog post.
What the campaigns cannot do
- Geographically target an embargoed country or territory.
- Run a campaign on behalf of a business located in an embargoed country or region, even when the account owner is not located there.
- Run a campaign by or on behalf of a person or entity restricted under the applicable sanctions.
There is no certification on this page that turns those campaigns on. Google points suspended accounts to the suspension appeal flow. Opening a new account for a restricted party is not a workaround. It is the thing the policy forbids, and it can also be circumventing systems.
This is not the Russia pause
Google’s other-restricted-businesses page pauses ads from serving to users in Russia and pauses ads globally for advertisers based in Russia. That restriction is explained on the sensitive-events page. It is not the OFAC embargo list above. Do not treat a Russia pause as proof that Russia was added to the embargo sentence, and do not treat the embargo list as the reason a Russian user is not seeing ads.
The same legal-requirements page also says advertisers must follow the local laws of every area they target. In some limited circumstances Google may treat a local-law violation as egregious, which can suspend the account so that ads stop and the advertiser may not be able to advertise again. The page does not list those circumstances. If ads target the European Union or the United Kingdom, Google says you may need to comply with the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and points to Article 9. That article is about recognizable ads, subliminal techniques, discrimination, tobacco, alcohol, prescription medicines, and minors. It is not the embargo list, and this article does not restate it.
Sources
Reviewed October 1, 2026. Embargo lists change. This is not sanctions advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can an agency outside an embargoed country run ads for a business located there?
No. Google says campaigns run on behalf of businesses located in embargoed countries or regions are not allowed, even if the account owner is not located in an embargoed location.
Is Russia on this embargo list?
Not on the list published on Google’s legal-requirements page, which names Crimea, Cuba, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, Iran, and North Korea. A separate rule pauses ads to users in Russia and ads from advertisers based in Russia. That is not this OFAC list.
Does breaking a local advertising law always suspend the account?
Google says you must follow the local laws of every area you target. It also says that in some limited circumstances a local-law violation may be treated as egregious and can suspend the account. The page does not list those circumstances.
Check the destination before you target it
LaunchGuarding scans ad claims and landing pages. It does not clear a sanctions restriction. That limit is on the account and the target, not on a headline rewrite.