What is Zscaler Site Review?

Site Review (sitereview.zscaler.com) is Zscaler's URL category lookup tool for users going through the Zscaler service, so open it from a device that's on Zscaler. Enter a URL or IP address and it shows how Zscaler's URL filtering database classifies it. From the same page you can request a different category. It shows Zscaler's own classification only, not the custom categories your admins have configured, so the result can differ from what users see in your tenant.

How long does a Zscaler Site Review request take?

Zscaler doesn't publish a turnaround time. Each request opens a support case automatically, is handled on a best-effort basis with no SLA, and you get an email once it has been reviewed. Treat it as days rather than hours, and use a custom URL category in your own ZIA tenant if users need the site before then.

How do I change a URL's category in Zscaler right away?

In the ZIA Admin Portal, go to Internet Access > Resources > URL Categories and add the URL either to the predefined category it belongs in or to a custom category that an allow rule uses, then activate the change. That overrides Zscaler's classification in your tenant only. Submit a Site Review request as well, so you can remove the exception once Zscaler recategorizes the site for everyone.

Can I request a Zscaler recategorization through the API?

No. There is no API for recategorization requests. The three routes are the Site Review website, the review link on the end user block page, and a support ticket, and only a support ticket can move a URL to a different cloud application. Your own custom categories are what the API can change, which is how an override gets applied from outside the portal.

Zscaler Site Review: how to check and change a URL's category

By Ashu Arun Sethi, Zscaler-certified (Zscaler ACE), HuCortex · Updated 5 November 2026

Look the URL up on sitereview.zscaler.com to see how Zscaler classifies it, and request a change from the same page if the category is wrong. Zscaler opens a support case, reviews it on a best-effort basis and emails you when it's done. There's no published turnaround, so if people need the site now, override the category in your own ZIA tenant with a custom URL category, activate, and remove the override once Zscaler catches up.

What Site Review is, and what it isn't

Site Review is Zscaler's URL category lookup tool for people whose traffic goes through Zscaler. You don't need an admin login, but you do need to open it from a device that's on Zscaler (Client Connector connected, or on a network that forwards to Zscaler); from anywhere else it won't work. It answers one question: how does Zscaler's URL filtering database classify this URL or IP address? Zscaler publishes the current categorization there and takes recategorization requests through the same page.

Two things it doesn't do:

It doesn't know about your tenant. Site Review shows Zscaler's classification only. If your admins have put the host in a custom category, or added it to a predefined one, your users get that treatment instead. A site that Site Review calls "Business" can still be blocked for you, and the reverse.
It doesn't change anything in your policy. A recategorization request changes Zscaler's database for every customer, eventually. It isn't an unblock button.

Admins have a second lookup that does see the tenant: in the ZIA Admin Portal, Internet Access > Resources > URL Lookup shows the URL classification, any security alert, and the cloud application the URL belongs to. Use that one when a user says "it's blocked for me", and Site Review when you want to know what Zscaler itself thinks.

How to look up a URL

From a device that's on Zscaler, go to sitereview.zscaler.com. If the page doesn't load, check that Client Connector is connected, or that you're on a network forwarded to Zscaler.
Enter the URL or IP address. Press Enter, or click Add More, to add up to three sites in one lookup.
Click Look Up. The result shows the URL, its current categories, and the cloud application if Zscaler associates one with it.

Look up the exact host the user typed. app.example.com and example.com can be classified differently, and a lookup of the wrong one sends you down the wrong path. Zscaler also doesn't usually categorize bare IP addresses, since one address can host many sites; the exceptions are ranges a SaaS provider dedicates to one application.

If the user got there from Zscaler's block page, there's a shortcut: the block page carries a link to request a review, and it opens Site Review with the URL already filled in.

How to request a recategorization

After a lookup, the Request Review page lets you suggest a change:

Select up to three categories you think fit, from the drop-down or the full category menu, and click Done. They appear under Suggested Categories.
In Comments, say why. One or two sentences about what the site is and who runs it does more than "please unblock".
Enter your email. Zscaler uses it to open a support case for the request and to send the result.
Click Submit Request.

Zscaler Support reviews the request and emails you when it has been actioned. The same request can also be raised as a support ticket from your account, which is the only route if what you want is to move a URL to a different cloud application rather than a different URL category. Site Review can't do that.

What to expect on turnaround

Zscaler says Site Review requests are handled on a best-effort basis and aren't covered by an SLA. In practice that means days, not hours, and sometimes longer for a small site nobody else visits. A request with the exact host, a sensible category and a clear reason tends to go through cleanly; a vague one gets bounced back. Either way, don't make a user wait on it. Give them the site through your own policy and let the review catch up.

One more reason to still file the request: a category change in Zscaler's database applies to every tenant, so the exception you add today can be removed later and your normal policy takes over again. Overrides that never get removed are how allow lists turn into a liability.

Override the category in ZIA in the meantime

Your own entries win over Zscaler's classification inside your tenant, and they take effect as soon as you activate. There are two ways to do it, and both live under Internet Access > Resources > URL Categories.

Approach	How	Use when
Add the URL to the right predefined category	Edit the predefined category the site belongs in (say, Professional Services) and add the host as a custom URL. Your existing rules for that category now apply to it, as if Zscaler had recategorized it.	Your policy for the correct category is what you want, and you'd rather not add rules
Put it in a custom category with its own rule	Add the host to a custom category (for example one named for reviewed sites) and reference that category in an ALLOW rule placed above the rule that blocks it.	You want the exception visible in one place, easy to audit and easy to remove

When you add a URL to a category, ZIA asks whether it should keep its original parent category too. For an override, don't keep it: you want the host treated as the new category only, not as both.

Some details that save a second ticket:

Enter the exact host. app.example.com covers that host; .example.com with a leading dot covers every subdomain. Loosening policy for a whole domain is a bigger decision than fixing one host.
Activate. ZIA changes aren't enforced until the configuration is activated, and "I added it and it's still blocked" is nearly always this.
Rule order still applies. With the custom category approach, ZIA applies the first URL filtering rule that matches. If your ALLOW rule sits below a BLOCK that also matches, the block wins. The troubleshooting runbook walks through finding the deciding rule.
Check the other layers. If the site is in a security category (malware, phishing), or a Cloud App Control rule blocks the app, a URL category override doesn't help, and for a security category it shouldn't.
Watch the limit. Custom URLs across all categories are capped (25,000 in Zscaler's current limits), which is plenty until nobody ever prunes the list.

For sites Zscaler has no opinion on at all, the uncategorized URLs guide covers how to check whether a site deserves an exception, and when to allow it only through browser isolation instead.

Checklist

Exact host looked up, in Site Review (from a device on Zscaler) and in the admin portal's URL Lookup
Security category or Cloud App Control block? Stop here and treat it as a security question
Override added (predefined category or custom category plus allow rule), activated, retested with the user
Site Review request submitted with a reason and a work email, ticket number noted
Reminder set to re-check the category and remove the override once Zscaler has recategorized it

Doing this with Zmate

With Zmate, the lookup, the override and the clean-up all happen in your Slack channel, and the person on the ticket doesn't need the admin portal.

Check the category. /zmate lookup app.example.com returns Zscaler's classification and any security alert for the host, the same answer as the admin portal's URL Lookup. /zmate why app.example.com adds the part Site Review can't see: which of your own categories contain the host and which URL filtering rules decide it, in the order Zscaler applies them. Anyone in the channel can ask, on the free Starter plan.
Check the site, if Zscaler hasn't. For an uncategorized host, /zmate investigate-url app.example.com gives a verdict with a trust score and the reasons behind it. When the verdict is safe or needs a human look, the card carries an Open Site Review button that takes you straight to Zscaler's form (open it from a device that's on Zscaler). Zmate can't submit the request for you, because there's no API for it, but it saves the trip.
Override in the meantime. /zmate url-allow app.example.com allows that exact host and nothing broader. The change shows exactly what will happen, waits for a Zmate admin to approve it, and is live as soon as they do. /zmate url-isolate app.example.com is the cautious version: people can read the site through browser isolation.
Remove the override when Zscaler catches up. /zmate allowed lists every site your team has allowed through Zmate and flags the ones Zscaler has since categorized, with a button to remove the exception. A daily check posts the same to the channel, so the reminder in the checklist above sets itself. /zmate url-unallow app.example.com reverses the override in one line.

Example, with a made-up host (replies shortened):

/zmate lookup app.example-crm.com

🔍 URL Lookup
URL: app.example-crm.com
Categories: MISCELLANEOUS_OR_UNKNOWN
Security alerts: none

/zmate url-allow app.example-crm.com
   (an admin approves)
✅ URL allowed: app.example-crm.com
Run /zmate url-unallow app.example-crm.com to reverse.

   (nine days later, in the daily check)
✅ app.example-crm.com is now categorized by Zscaler:
PROFESSIONAL_SERVICES. It no longer needs Zmate's exception.
[Remove exception]

Lookups are free on Starter. Changes need Pro. Zmate connects through Zscaler's official APIs, with access your team grants and can withdraw at any time, and it doesn't use AI.

Start free with Zmate

FAQ

What is Zscaler Site Review?: Site Review (sitereview.zscaler.com) is Zscaler's URL category lookup tool for users going through the Zscaler service, so open it from a device that's on Zscaler. Enter a URL or IP address and it shows how Zscaler's URL filtering database classifies it. From the same page you can request a different category. It shows Zscaler's own classification only, not the custom categories your admins have configured, so the result can differ from what users see in your tenant.
How long does a Zscaler Site Review request take?: Zscaler doesn't publish a turnaround time. Each request opens a support case automatically, is handled on a best-effort basis with no SLA, and you get an email once it has been reviewed. Treat it as days rather than hours, and use a custom URL category in your own ZIA tenant if users need the site before then.
How do I change a URL's category in Zscaler right away?: In the ZIA Admin Portal, go to Internet Access > Resources > URL Categories and add the URL either to the predefined category it belongs in or to a custom category that an allow rule uses, then activate the change. That overrides Zscaler's classification in your tenant only. Submit a Site Review request as well, so you can remove the exception once Zscaler recategorizes the site for everyone.
Can I request a Zscaler recategorization through the API?: No. There is no API for recategorization requests. The three routes are the Site Review website, the review link on the end user block page, and a support ticket, and only a support ticket can move a URL to a different cloud application. Your own custom categories are what the API can change, which is how an override gets applied from outside the portal.