Learn the common reasons content is refused and how to address them to improve future submissions.
When you submit content to Adobe Stock, our moderation team reviews it to make sure it meets our technical, legal, and creative standards. Knowing the common reasons for refusal will help you submit better quality content and reduce refusal rates.
Common refusal reasons
The following categories cover the most common reasons content is refused. Review each one to understand what to look for and how to avoid these issues before submitting to Adobe Stock.
Non-compliance
Content may be refused if it doesn’t follow our submission guidelines, including:
- Submitting content generated with references to the artist(s) names whose work is copyrighted. This includes the prompt, title, and/or keywords.
- Submitting content that implies a depiction of a newsworthy event.
- Submitting content that contains the names of government agencies.
- Submitting with inappropriate or irrelevant keywords and metadata.
- Uploading hateful or defamatory content.
- Uploading content with watermarks, branding, or logos.
- Mislabeling generative AI submissions by not selecting the generative AI checkbox, or labeling content that is not generative AI as generative AI.
Always review technical requirements and upload instructions for each content type before submission.
Intellectual property issues
Intellectual property issues may lead to content refusal. Common causes include:
- Use of logos, trademarks, brand names, or identifiable product packaging.
- Commercial products with distinctive designs as the main subject, such as toys, fashion items, electronics, or designer furniture.
- Depictions of ticketed locations or restricted sites without required property releases.
- Certain landmarks or monuments cannot be accepted, even with releases.
- Modern architecture with a unique or recognizable design, when shown as the primary focus without a release.
- Copyrighted works, including art, sculptures, street art, illustrations, fonts, or graphic elements created by others.
Similar content submission
Submissions that are too similar to previously submitted content may be refused. This may include:
- Repetitive angles or poses
- Slight color changes or zoom levels
- Minor retouching variations
- Bulk uploads with little differentiation
Submit only your best and most unique versions of your content to avoid flooding the collection with similar content. Refer to distinct content submission best practices for further details.
Quality and technical issues
Each content type has specific technical expectations. The following is a breakdown of common quality problems by content type.
Photos
Common photo quality issues include:
- Over or underexposure
- Out-of-focus or soft
- Poor white balance and color correction
- Heavily edited or over-sharpened
- Visible dust spots or sensor issues
- Over or undersaturation that creates an unnatural look
Videos
Common video quality issues include:
- Unstable video or jittery camera holds. Use appropriate camera supports and image stabilization located in the camera.
- Low frame rates
- Poor lighting or color grading
- Visible transitions, logos, or text
- Logarithmic gamma (log) videos should have simple color grading applied. We recommend a basic Rec 709 LUT.
- Upscaled videos (e.g., from HD to 4K) will be rejected. Submit videos as shot or at a lower resolution if necessary, shooting in 4K or higher when possible.
Illustrations
Common illustration quality issues include:
- Messy paths or unfinished strokes
- Artifacts from auto-tracing or poor vectorization
- Jagged edges or pixelated elements
Vectors
Common vector quality issues include:
- Ungrouped elements
- Open pathways, as all filled shape paths need to be closed
- Technical errors in layers or paths
- Not fully scalable or editable, your artboard should be at least 15MP
Generative AI
Common generative AI issues include:
- Anatomical inaccuracies or malformed objects
- Surreal or distorted results
- Unrealistic shadows, depth, or lighting that seem ill-fitted to the subject
- Render artifacts
Flagged generative AI issues
Correct labeling is required for all submitted content. Content created with generative AI that is not labeled accordingly may be refused. Likewise, content that is not generated using AI but is labeled as generative AI may also be refused.
Flagged model or property release issues
Content that includes recognizable people, private property, or artwork must have valid releases. If the release includes any of the following reasons, the moderation team will set the content to Remind to complete, allowing you to resolve the issue in the Contributor Portal.
Reasons for Remind to complete may include:
- Incorrect or inconsistent information on release forms.
- Illegible or incomplete signatures.
- Using the same release across different models.
The releases must be accurate, complete, and uploaded with the correct content.
Content refusal is part of the learning process at Adobe Stock. Treat content refusals as opportunities to improve submission quality and refine future work. Consider the following tips:
- Preview files at full size before uploading.
- Submit only high‑quality, unique content.
- Follow submission requirements closely.
- Apply moderation feedback to improve future submissions.
- Explore the educational resources available on the Adobe Stock website to refine your skill set.
Learning tips and resources
Explore the following resources to understand submission requirements better and improve content quality:
