My answer wasn't published or showed an error
What “under review” and “not published” mean, the messages (too short, already answered, policy violation), and how to edit your answer.
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Every answer goes through an automatic check before publishing, and our team may review it.
Check outcomes
| What you see | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Your answer is published” or “Your answer is published and the asker has been emailed” | Published immediately (the asker is emailed for visitors' questions). |
| “We received your answer and it will be published after a quick review” | Sent to our team; the status is “under review”. Common reasons: personal data of a third party, inappropriate wording, guaranteed-outcome claims, or an advert with no legal content. |
| “Couldn't publish the answer: …” | Rejected for a violation (e.g. abuse or content unrelated to the question); the reason is shown. Under “My recent answers” it appears as “Not published”, and the question page says it wasn't published and invites you to edit it. |
Other error messages
- “The answer is too short (at least 80 characters)”: expand your answer.
- “The answer is too long”: the limit is 8000 characters.
- “You already answered this question”: one answer per office is allowed.
- “Answering is available to lawyers who own a published listing”: claim your listing and wait for approval, or make sure your listing is published. Verification isn't required to answer, but it adds the Verified badge.
- “You can't edit this answer”: the answer doesn't belong to one of your listings.
- “The question isn't available”: the question was withdrawn or is no longer published.
- “An error occurred, try again”: retry shortly.
How do I edit my answer?
- Open the question page while signed in (or press Edit next to it under “My recent answers”).
- If it's published, press Edit your answer under it; if it's under review or not published, press Edit answer in the notice.
- Change the text and press Save changes.
The edit goes through the automatic check again: either “Changes saved and published” or it goes to review. An answer our team rejected goes back to review after you edit it and isn't published automatically.
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