Google Ads EVENT_TIME_TOO_OLD Error: Causes and Fixes
Last verified: 2026-11-05
EVENT_TIME_TOO_OLD means the conversion timestamp you uploaded is outside the acceptable range. Google Ads rejects conversions where the event time is older than the GCLID’s validity period.
Common Causes
1. Wrong Date Format
Intended: April 10, 2026 → "2026-04-10 14:30:00-05:00"
Mistake: "04/10/2026 14:30:00" (Microsoft format used for Google)
Parsed: October 4, 2026 (future date — also rejected)2. Wrong Timezone
Conversion time sent: 2026-04-10 14:30:00+00:00
Actual event: 2026-04-10 14:30:00-05:00If the offset says UTC and the job was closed at 2:30 p.m. in Chicago, Google records the event five hours earlier than it happened.
3. Legitimately Old Records
The click happened more than 90 days before the conversion. Common for long sales cycles.
4. Upload Delay
The conversion happened within the window, but you waited too long to upload.
Fixes
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Wrong date format | Use yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss±HH:mm, with the offset on that timestamp |
| Wrong timezone | Put the offset on the conversion time, not only in a header row |
| Old records | Upload faster; use Enhanced Conversions for Leads |
| Upload delay | Automate uploads with TUOCA for daily processing |
Prevention
TUOCA validates timestamps before uploading and warns when records approach the lookback window limit.