TikTok removed the "Custom Identity" option from Ads Manager on June 1, 2026.
Advertisers who built campaigns behind anonymous brand names — no linked profile, no business verification — have until July to migrate or watch their active campaigns get paused automatically.
Full enforcement is live. The grace period is not long.
What F.I.R.S.T. Actually Requires
The framework is a five-step mandatory transition to verified identity advertising:
- F — Foundation First: Establish a verified Organization Account in TikTok Business Center. This becomes the root for all brand assets and permissions.
- I — Integrate & Link: Link your official TikTok organic profile to Business Center. Ads must now originate from a verified brand presence — isolated "ad-only" accounts are retired.
- R — Roles & Responsibilities: Assign explicit roles (Admin, Operator, Analyst) to internal teams and agencies. Standardized permissioning replaces ad-hoc account access.
- S — Spark Creativity: Transition to Spark Ads as the primary delivery mechanism. Paid reach must tie back to a public, verified profile.
- T — Track & Transform: Enable verified data streams and gain access to the Account Health Rating (AHR) — the new compliance scoring system replacing the legacy violation-points model.
The Enforcement Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| May 22, 2026 | Business verification deadline — missed accounts lose Commercial Music Library access |
| June 1, 2026 | "Custom Identity" option removed from Ads Manager for all new campaigns |
| Mid-June 2026 | Account Health Rating (AHR) system launches with real-time compliance scoring |
| July 2026 | Legacy Custom Identity campaigns automatically paused if not migrated |
Who Gets Hit
All advertisers globally — Self-Serve, Managed, and Agency-owned accounts. No account type is exempt.
Key findings on impact:
- Legacy brand advertisers: Brands that ran ads without a TikTok organic profile are the most exposed. Their entire campaign structure needs relinking.
- Performance-only advertisers: Accounts built purely for ad testing with no brand presence need a verified profile created from scratch.
- EU advertisers: Stricter identity verification requirements apply under the Digital Services Act — additional ID documentation is required beyond standard business registration.
- AI-creative users: Any creative depicting realistic people or scenes generated by AI now requires the mandatory AIGC label — separate from F.I.R.S.T. but enforced on the same timeline.
What You Must Do Now
1. Complete Business Verification. Submit government-issued registration (Certificate of Incorporation or Business License), Tax ID (EIN/VAT), and verify the legal representative's identity in Business Center.
2. Link your official TikTok profile. Navigate to Assets > TikTok Accounts in Business Center and connect your brand's profile. This link must exist before campaign migration is possible.
3. Audit all active campaigns. Identify every campaign group using "Custom Identity" as the identity setting. These must be switched to "Identity: Linked TikTok Account" before July.
4. Label AI-generated creatives. Any realistic person, voice, or scene generated by AI must carry the mandatory AIGC label — missing this causes immediate creative rejection under the June policy update.
5. Enable Commercial Content toggle. All promotional posts require the "Commercial Content" disclosure toggle to comply with global transparency standards.
| Action | Deadline | Risk if skipped |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Business Verification | June 15 | Lose Commercial Music Library, advanced analytics |
| Link TikTok profile to Business Center | June 15 | Cannot migrate campaigns |
| Migrate Custom Identity campaigns to linked profile | July 2026 | Active campaigns auto-paused |
| Apply AIGC labels to AI creatives | Immediate | Creative rejection on submission |
Note: Whether in-flight Custom Identity campaigns are paused by June 15 or July remains unconfirmed by TikTok — do not wait to find out.
TikTok is building a platform where every ad is traceable to a real business. Anonymous testing infrastructure built outside that model is being retired.
Verify now.
Founder CEO/CTO
