Supply Policy

Effective April 16, 2026

Who it applies to:

This policy applies to all publishers and supply partners (“you”) who use PubMatic to monetize websites, mobile apps, or other digital properties (“Publisher Properties”). Your Publisher Properties must comply with these requirements to remain eligible for monetization.

SECTION 1 – Inventory Transparency

To maintain accurate and reliable inventory signals, supply partners must comply with IAB transparency standards:

  • ads.txt / app-ads.txt – Declare authorized digital ad sellers to prevent unauthorized reselling.
  • sellers.json – Accurate declaration of seller type and publicly listed entities selling ad inventory to improve supply path transparency.
  • SupplyChain Object (schain) – Disclose all intermediaries involved in an impression transaction. All nodes must be valid and no more than two hops inbound to PubMatic will be accepted.

Note: CTV AppIDs must be listed in a primary CTV app store (Roku, Vizio, LG, Samsung, Google TV, tvOS, or Fire TV). If the AppID is not from a primary store, the storeURL must be included in the ad request.

SECTION 2 – CONTENT GUIDELINES

2.1 Minimum Content Requirements

Your properties must feature original, valuable content, clear ownership information, and real user engagement. PubMatic will not serve ads on properties that:

  • Contain low-value or filler content (e.g., copied material, AI-generated boilerplate, or fictional authors)
  • Use content from other sites without proper attribution, meaningful commentary, or curation
  • Are mostly ads with very little actual content
  • Show no signs of a loyal or engaged audience
  • Are undeveloped, dead domains, or lack verifiable ownership/authorship
  • Are proxy or redirect sites
  • Target specific traffic sources

All monetized content must be accessible through normal site navigation.

2.2 Publisher Property Ownership

  • You must own the property or have a direct contract with the owner.
  • List your PubMatic account in ads.txt if used (otherwise inventory may be blocked).
  • Do not resell inventory from unapproved exchanges.
  • Do not insert ads into third-party sites via plugins/toolbars without permission.

2.3 Banned Categories

  • The following content is strictly prohibited (PubMatic aligns with industry standards from 4A’s and IAB):
  • Adult & Explicit Sexual Content: Child sexual abuse material (CSAM), explicit sexual acts, genitals (real or animated), pornographic or highly suggestive material.
  • Arms & Ammunition: Sales or promotion of firearms/ammunition (legal or illegal), instructions on making/using illegal weapons, glamorizing harm with weapons.
  • Violence & Criminal Activity: Graphic promotion or depiction of murder, violence, willful harm, human trafficking, slavery, or other serious crimes.
  • Online Piracy: Copyright infringement, torrents, warez, black-hat hacking, or promotion of content theft.
  • Hate Speech & Aggression: Content inciting hatred or violence based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc., including bullying.
  • Military Conflict: Content intended to provoke war or aggression; graphic footage of war crimes or genocide (except legitimate news).
  • Obscenity & Profanity: Excessive shocking, offensive, or insulting language/gestures meant to offend.
  • Illegal Drugs: Promotion or sale of illegal drugs, paraphernalia, or prescription drug abuse (where prohibited by law).
  • Malware & Harmful Code: Distribution of or linking to malware, viruses, spyware, phishing schemes, or other harmful code.
  • Terrorism: Promotion or advocacy of terrorist acts or harm to people/society.
  • Tobacco, eCigarettes, Vaping & Alcohol to Minors: Sales or promotion of these products, especially targeting minors.
  • Online Gambling: Any real-money wagering (regardless of local legality). Simulated gambling without money is allowed.
  • Sensitive Social Issues / Human Rights Violations: Harmful or disrespectful treatment of topics like abortion, extreme politics, self-harm, animal cruelty, or targeted harassment.
  • Other Illegal Content: Defamation, libel, bomb-making instructions, lock-picking guides, or promotion of harmful/illicit activity.
  • Excessive User-Generated Content: Unmoderated UGC, video chat, or live streaming (except sports/concerts/public events).
  • Made for Advertising (MFA): Sites primarily designed to display ads rather than serve users, including sites categorized as MFA by Jounce Media or similar verification providers. This includes ‘AI Slop’ sites with auto-generated low-value content.

2.4 Restricted Categories

These are generally legal but may be limited depending on context:

  • Adult humor
  • Suggestive content
  • Sexual health topics
  • Significant user-generated content
  • Sale of alcohol
  • Sale of prescription drugs
  • Fantasy/daily fantasy sports (in some jurisdictions)
  • Cannabis-related content

Contact your PubMatic account manager for guidance.

2.5 Better Ads Standards

All properties must comply with the Coalition for Better Ads Standards. See: betterads.org

2.6 Slideshows / Galleries

  • Maximum 3 ads per slideshow page.
  • Ads must appear at or above the bottom of the slideshow (one additional ad allowed immediately below on mobile).
  • Auto-advancing slideshows cannot load new ads with each slide.
  • Each slide must contain materially different content (minor changes do not qualify).
  • No auto-refresh on slideshow pages.

SECTION 3 – IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES

3.1 General Conduct Standards. These apply to the entire property if any PubMatic ads are served.

(a) Prohibited Conduct:

You must not:

  • Start downloads or change settings without user consent.
  • Hide or disguise your real URL or traffic source.
  • Artificially inflate impressions, clicks, or requests (including via pop-ups, pop-unders, or forced redirects).
  • Vary ad number, layout, or refresh rate based on visitor source.
  • Show fake error messages or alerts.
  • Require login for most content.
  • Trick users into clicking ads (e.g., no arrows or “click here” near ads).

(b) Required Conduct:

You must:

  • Clearly separate ads from content.
  • Provide accurate inventory details to PubMatic.
  • Disclose real owners/operators (no vague “About Us” pages).
  • Offer a transparent, direct contact method (no generic webmail like Gmail or Hotmail).
  • Ensure properties are safe per reputable malware/invalid traffic tools.

PubMatic may suspend unsafe properties until issues are resolved.

3.2 Ad Number and Position

  • Do not edit, resize, obscure, or modify ads.
  • Ads must be clearly distinguishable from content; entire creative must be visible (including in iframes).
  • No ads in pop-ups, pop-unders, or email bodies.
  • Limit ad density – generally no more than 3 ads visible at once (more may count as “ad clutter”).
  • Desktop: Ads on standard web pages (other apps need prior approval).
  • Mobile Apps: Ads only inside the active app (Apple App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, or Microsoft store only . No ads on lock screens or in the background.
  • CTV/OTV: In-stream ads only; max 5 ads per block. Content must be at least 4x longer than ads

SECTION 4 – AD REFRESH

4.1 General Rules

Refresh ads only when:

  • User navigates to a new page/screen, or
  • Page has substantial new content and at least 1 minute has passed, or
  • Ad has been in view for at least 30 seconds (MRC-verified).

Maximum: 20 refreshes per user session.

4.2 Video

  • Only one video plays at a time in viewport.
  • Maintain reasonable content-to-ad balance (e.g., avoid very short content with long ads).
  • Video inventory must include industry-standard attributes (player size, placement type, plcmt) in the ad request.

SECTION 5 – INVENTORY QUALITY & FRAUD

5.1 General

PubMatic monitors quality. Provide full domain transparency and cooperate with quality controls.

5.2 Inventory Quality Risks

“Inventory Quality Risk” includes fake impressions (bots, manipulated placements, redirects with no human view) or brand safety issues (ads near prohibited content).If risks are detected:

  • PubMatic may pause monetization or block specific impressions.
  • PubMatic may charge an Inventory Quality Fee of $0.02 CPM for impressions flagged as low-quality. Monthly charges are rounded up to the nearest $10 and waived if under $100.”

5.3 Fraudulent Impressions

If fraudulent or low-quality impressions are identified:

  • PubMatic may withhold payment for those impressions during investigation.
  • You will not be paid for confirmed fraudulent impressions.
  • Repeated violations can lead to immediate suspension or termination of your account.
  • PubMatic can pause monetization immediately for policy violations until resolved to PubMatic’s satisfaction.

SECTION 6 – INVENTORY PERFORMANCE

6.1 Impression Volume Limits (“Max Cap”)

PubMatic may set daily maximum impression limits based on traffic quality and market value. Exceeding the Max Cap can result in suspended monetization until resolved. PubMatic will try to notify you beforehand (unless platform stability is at risk).

6.2 Inventory Lifecycle Management

You should work with PubMatic to optimize performance by:

  • Removing or displacing low- or non-monetizing inventory.
  • Regularly refreshing content and placements.
  • Filtering underperforming geo-locations.
  • Removing poor-performing ad units or domains.

6.3 Excess Inventory

Exceeding Max Caps may incur an Excess Inventory Fee of $0.001 CPM (rounded up to nearest $10/month). The first daily overage each month is not charged.

SECTION 7 – AD REQUEST REQUIREMENTS

7.1 Multi-Impression Handling

Send only one ad request per unique impression opportunity. Include separate impression objects only for truly distinct slots with different GPIDs. Disable any settings in other ad servers that could create duplicate impressions for the same opportunity.

7.2 Multi-Format Handling

For slots that support multiple formats (e.g., banner + video + native), use multi-format requests with a unique object for each format.

7.3 Multi-Size Inventory

Include all supported sizes in the format object of a single ad request.

7.4 Price Waterfalling

Send only one ad call per impression opportunity. Do not send multiple requests with different floor prices (including sequential calls).

SECTION 8- DATA PRIVACY & COMPLIANCE

8.1 Prohibited Data

You must not pass the following data in ad requests to PubMatic:

  • Full names, usernames, or direct contact information (email, phone)
  • Government-issued identification numbers
  • Precise geolocation without opt-in consent
  • Biometric data
  • Payment card or financial account numbers
  • GDPR special category data (Article 9(1): racial/ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health, sexual orientation)
  • Any data enabling direct identification of an individual

For clarity, you must use only pseudonymous identifiers (cookies, resettable device IDs) in ad requests.

8.2 Video Privacy (VPPA)

For video and CTV inventory, you must obtain any consent required under the Video Privacy Protection Act before passing video viewing data to PubMatic.

SECTION 9 – ENFORCEMENT

9.1 Tiered Enforcement

PubMatic enforces this policy through a tiered approach:

  • Warning: PubMatic may notify you of a policy violation and require remediation within a specified timeframe.
  • Restriction: PubMatic may limit monetization on specific properties, ad units, or inventory types.
  • Suspension: PubMatic may pause all monetization pending investigation and remediation.
  • Termination: Repeated or severe violations may result in permanent account termination.

9.2 Immediate Action

PubMatic reserves the right to bypass the tiered process and take immediate action (including suspension or termination) for severe violations, including fraud, malware distribution, or content involving the exploitation of minors.

9.3 Financial Consequences

Inventory Quality Fees (Section 5.2) and Excess Inventory Fees (Section 6.3) apply as described in those sections. PubMatic may withhold payment for any impressions under investigation and will not pay for confirmed fraudulent impressions.