A surprising number of AdMob and AdSense payout holds are not about money at all — they are about identity. Google runs a strict two-step sequence: verify who you are first, then verify where you live. Miss either deadline and ad serving stops.
What happened
To keep serving ads and getting paid, publishers must verify identity: a government-issued photo ID (passport, driver's license, or national ID) plus a face scan or video selfie for face matching, about 5–10 minutes online. You may refuse biometrics and go through manual review instead (2–3 business days). The hard deadline: 45 days from the first verification request, or ads stop serving.
Only after identity verification does Google mail the 6-digit address PIN — by international regular mail with no tracking number, taking about 3 weeks — once earnings reach the $10 verification threshold. Enter it on receipt: three wrong entries and ad serving stops. The PIN clock is 4 months from generation; expire it and ads stop too. Haven't received it after 3 weeks? Request a replacement (at least 3 weeks between requests); after the fourth request plus 3 weeks, use the PIN troubleshooter. One trap: if your address was ever linked to fraud, you must switch to a brand-new, different, deliverable postal address and restart the process. And as with Play Console, verification attempts are limited — uploading files unrelated to your ID can get the account suspended. Note: if the same payments profile is also tied to a Play Console account, a separate developer identity verification may still be required.
Who's affected
New AdMob/AdSense publishers waiting on their first payout, anyone who moved or changed the address on their payments profile, and teams where the profile name does not exactly match the submitted ID — the most common failure root cause, per community reports, is profile–document inconsistency. YouTube Partner Program creators are affected too: YPP earnings settle through AdSense for YouTube, which needs the same identity and PIN verification completed.
KappS's take
- Identity first, PIN second — the sequence is enforced; do not wait for a PIN that will never be mailed.
- Before submitting, align the name on your payments profile with your ID exactly — mismatches are the top failure cause.
- Use a real, deliverable mailing address (international regular mail, no tracking) — and enter the PIN immediately on arrival; three strikes stops your ads.
- Calendar both deadlines: 45 days for identity, 4 months for the PIN. They are separate clocks.