Can’t Join a Facebook Group? Every Reason and What to Do

Meta says anyone can join a public group automatically, with no approval. Private groups need admin approval to join, unless the group uses limited membership. Meta doesn’t say how long approval takes.

1. Check whether the group is private. If it is, a pending request is normal. (In a public group you join straight away, though Meta says admins can still require approval before you post or participate.)
2. Read the group’s About section and rules, if you can see them, so you know what the admins expect.
3. Wait. Avoid canceling and re-sending the request repeatedly.
4. If you know an admin or a member, you can ask them to look at the pending requests.

Meta has a page on the differences between public and private groups (external site, opens in a new tab).

You can only join a group you can open. Meta’s steps differ slightly by device.

Don’t know the exact name? Browse instead: Menu > Groups > Discover shows groups Suggested for you (on a computer, Groups in the left menu > Discover). Still not there? Meta says hidden groups you’re not a member of don’t appear in search: only current, invited and former members can find them, and only former members can request to join. If you’ve never been a member, you’ll likely need a member to invite you. The group may also have been removed, or you may have been removed or blocked from it. See Facebook group not showing.

Meta says you can join up to 6,000 groups. Once you reach the limit, you can’t join new ones until you leave some. These are Meta’s steps for leaving a group.

Meta says members aren’t notified when you leave. The group disappears from your list and your Feed, and you stop getting its notifications. Are you the only admin? You’ll be asked to invite a new admin, and Meta says the group is automatically paused if you don’t pick one, or nobody accepts, within seven days.

Meta gives specific rules for Pages: admins might not allow Pages to join, groups can’t invite Pages, and Pages can only request to join.

1. Check whether the group accepts Pages. Meta says admins choose between Profiles and Pages or Only profiles: in private groups this controls who can join, and in public groups whether Pages can post and comment. If it’s set to Only profiles, you can only join as your profile.
2. Don’t wait for an invitation for your Page: groups can’t invite Pages, so the Page has to request to join.
3. Already in the group as your profile? To take part as your Page instead, change your interaction settings (external site, opens in a new tab).

Meta also points out that several people may manage a Page, and Meta says all of that Page’s admins can see and interact with the group’s posts and members. Meta has a page on allowing Pages to join groups (external site, opens in a new tab). Group admins: see the setting below.

Some large private groups use limited membership. Meta says you join automatically and can see all group content and members, react and invite others, but you can’t post, comment or chat until an admin approves you to participate. You’re listed as a “limited member”.

1. Answer any participation questions the admins have set up. You don’t need to fill in a membership questionnaire to join, but you may be asked questions when you request to participate.
2. Wait for the admins. Meta says your request to participate goes to them when you join, or when you first create a post or comment.
3. Posts or comments you write before you’re approved stay waiting: Meta says they’re only published if the admins approve your request to participate.
4. Watch your notifications: Meta says limited members are notified when they’re approved. After that you can post, comment and chat like any member.
5. If you were able to post before and now can’t, it’s a different problem: see can’t post in a Facebook group.

If the admins turn limited membership off, Meta says existing limited members become pending membership requests again, and lose access to the group’s content until they’re approved. Meta’s page: about limited membership (external site, opens in a new tab).

Meta has specific rules for additional profiles in groups. They explain why one of your profiles can join and another can’t.

1. Only two profiles per account per group. Meta says up to two profiles from the same account can join or participate in the same group. If two of yours are already in it, a third can’t join.
2. Each profile needs its own approval. In private groups, and public groups that require participant approval, Meta says every profile has to be approved separately, even if your main profile is already a member.
3. Suspensions and bans carry over to profiles outside the group. If one of your profiles is suspended or banned, your profiles that aren’t already in the group can’t see or join it (until a suspension ends). A removal has no effect on your other profiles.

Meta says you can no longer create new additional profiles; existing ones aren’t affected. Its Community Standards apply to every profile, and serious or repeated violations from any of them can lead to profiles being disabled, including your main one. Meta’s page: how additional profiles work in groups (external site, opens in a new tab).

Group admins and moderators can remove or ban members, and admins can suspend them. Each one affects joining differently.

1. Removed: Meta says removed members have to request to join again. Send a new request.
2. Banned: Meta says banned people can’t find the group in search, can’t see its content and can’t be invited again. Only the group’s admins or moderators can lift a ban: see removed vs banned from a group.
3. One of your profiles is suspended: Meta says your other profiles that aren’t already in the group can’t see, join or participate in it until the suspension ends. Wait for the suspension to finish.

Don’t create new profiles to get around a ban. Meta says admins can also ban future accounts a person creates, though Facebook may not detect every one.