What questions are not allowed on a Facebook lead form?
Meta's Advertising Standards bar instant forms from asking for account numbers, criminal history, financial details, government IDs, health or insurance information, political views, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, union membership, login details or a child's date of birth. Questions also can't duplicate prefill questions. A lead ad whose form breaks these rules won't run.
Meta says choosing the right questions helps you qualify leads, but there are a few questions that can’t be asked. The list sits in the lead ads section of the Advertising Standards, and you must accept the lead ads terms before you create your instant form and run your lead ad. If any question on your form breaks the rules, Meta says the lead ad will not run, so check your wording before you publish.
Which information can’t you ask for?
| Category | Examples Meta gives |
|---|---|
| Account numbers | Frequent flyer, loyalty card, cable or telephone account numbers |
| Criminal record | Criminal or arrest history |
| Financial information | Card or bank account numbers, routing numbers, credit score, net worth, income, bankruptcy or debt status |
| Government-issued IDs | Social security, driver’s licence, photo ID, passport and military ID numbers |
| Health | Current or past physical or mental ailments, treatments, medication side effects, conditions or disabilities |
| Insurance | Insurer name, plan details, usage or policy numbers |
| Politics | Party affiliation, how someone votes or voted, support for a candidate |
| Identity and beliefs | Race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation or sexual life |
| Other | Trade union membership, usernames or passwords, a child’s date of birth |
Meta also bans questions that ask for the same or substantially similar information as the questions available in the prefill questions field. Use the prefill question instead of writing your own version.
What extra limits apply to housing, employment and credit?
If your lead ads are for housing, employment or financial products and services opportunities based in the US, or targeted to the US or Canada, Meta says you may not collect age, gender, marital or relationship status, or location such as street address, city, postal code and zip code. Meta says custom fields can sometimes ask about a customer’s location preferences for your service, but must not mimic the prohibited prefill questions.
Which sensitive details can prefill questions ask?
Prefill questions are Meta’s own fields, filled from a person’s Facebook or Instagram profile. They include date of birth, gender, marital status, relationship status and military status, and national ID numbers for some countries: CPF (Brazil), DNI (Argentina and Peru), RUT (Chile), CC (Colombia), CI (Ecuador) and RFC (Mexico). Only one national ID question is allowed per form, and the ad is then delivered only to people in that ID’s country. People can edit any prefill answer except date of birth.
How do you check a form before publishing?
- Compare every custom question with the prohibited categories above.
- Replace any custom question that duplicates a prefill field with the prefill version.
- If your lead ads are for housing, employment or financial products and services opportunities based in the US or targeted to the US or Canada, remove the restricted demographic and location fields.
- Have your legal team review the questions, the lead ads terms and the Advertising Standards, as Meta advises.
FAQ
Can I ask for someone’s income?
No. Meta lists income under prohibited financial information, alongside credit score, net worth, card and bank account numbers, routing numbers, bankruptcy status and debt status. Ask a qualifying question that avoids these, such as which product someone is interested in or when they plan to buy.
Can I ask for date of birth?
Yes, through the date of birth prefill question, which people can’t edit. A child’s date of birth is prohibited, and lead ads for housing, employment or financial products and services opportunities based in the US, or targeted to the US or Canada, may not collect age. Don’t write your own date-of-birth question, since questions can’t duplicate prefill fields.
What happens if my form breaks these rules?
Meta says that if your instant form includes any questions found to violate the Advertising Standards, your lead ad will not run. Fix the questions in a new or duplicated form, since Meta doesn’t let you edit a published form, then select the corrected form in your ad.
Sources
- Questions prohibited on your instant form (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About lead ads (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- About prefill questions available on your lead ads with instant form (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Ask the right questions on your lead ads with instant form (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Edit a lead ad with instant form (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Create a lead ad with instant form in Meta Ads Manager (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
Drafted with AI and checked claim by claim against the pages linked under Sources. Found a mistake? Tell us via the corrections policy.