Granting an agency access to your TikTok ad account doesn’t mean handing over your login.
TikTok’s Business Center connects two separate Business Centers as partners. The agency works inside your account using its own login, with only the permissions you specifically choose to share.
This is a different mechanism from adding someone to your own team. Internal team members join your Business Center directly with a role like Admin or Standard.
An agency partnership works across two separate Business Centers instead, yours and the agency’s.
This guide covers exactly how to set that partnership up, what you control, and how to remove access when the relationship ends.
Still deciding whether to bring in an agency at all, versus running campaigns yourself? Settle that first. It changes whether this setup even applies to you.
Table of Contents
Get Up to $6,000 in Free TikTok Ad Credits
TikTok offers ad credit incentives for new advertisers, helping you test campaigns with a lower upfront cost.
Key Takeaways
- Agency access works through a Business Center-to-Business Center partnership, not a login share or an internal team role.
- You need the agency’s Business Center ID to send the invitation. Only a Business Center Admin can send or approve one.
- You choose exactly which assets the partner can see, asset by asset, not all-or-nothing: ad accounts, pixels, catalogs, TikTok accounts.
- Only a Business Center Admin can change or revoke a partner’s permissions after the fact.
- Never share your account password or login credentials with an agency. The partnership system exists specifically so you never have to.
What Agency Access Actually Means
Agency access is a partnership between two Business Centers, yours and the agency’s. It isn’t a shared login or a role assigned inside your own account.
TikTok calls this a partner relationship. Once established, the agency’s team logs in through their own Business Center and works inside whichever of your assets you’ve shared with them.
This matters for security. If you ever want to cut off access, revoking the partnership or the specific asset permission is enough. There’s no password to change and no risk that a former agency retains standing access.
How to Add an Agency as a Partner in Business Center
Log in as a Business Center Admin, go to Partners, and add the agency using their Business Center ID.
TikTok’s own documentation states that only a member with Admin access to the Business Center can perform this task.
- Log in to your Business Center and click Partners in the left-hand menu.
- Click Add Partner and enter the agency’s Business Center ID, which they’ll need to provide you.
- If your account is a Direct Business Center connecting to an Agency Business Center, TikTok will ask you to confirm the media agency partnership.
- Select the specific accounts and assets you want the agency to access, and set the permission level for each one.
- Send the invitation. The agency sees all shared assets and accounts in their own Business Center once they accept.
The agency sends you their Business Center ID directly. You don’t look it up yourself.
What Permissions You Can Actually Grant
You control access asset by asset, not with a single all-or-nothing toggle.
According to TikTok’s asset-level permissions documentation, Business Center admins can precisely control access to individual ad accounts, TikTok accounts, Pixels, catalogs, audiences, and leads.
That means you can share your ad account for campaign management while keeping your Pixel or catalog untouched. Or do the reverse: share the Pixel for tracking setup without handing over campaign control.
Set the narrowest permission that gets the job done. You can always expand it later.
How to Change or Revoke Agency Access
Only a Business Center Admin can change a partner’s permissions or remove access entirely, as instructed by TikTok.
To adjust access, go back to the Partners section, select the agency, and update or remove the specific asset permissions.
Removing the partnership entirely cuts off all shared access at once. That’s useful when a contract ends and you don’t want to revoke assets one at a time.
Since no password or login was ever shared, revoking access here is complete. There’s nothing left for the former agency to retain.
Common Agency Access Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake is sharing full account access when the agency only needs one asset, like campaign management without Pixel access..
Broader access than needed isn’t just a security risk. It also makes it harder to audit who changed what if something in the account goes wrong later.
Another mistake is never revisiting the partnership after the initial setup. Review agency access periodically, especially before renewing or ending a contract.
Unclear or overbroad agency permissions are also a common, overlooked cause behind ad account violations, since an agency working outside the scope you intended can trigger policy flags you didn’t expect.
If your account’s health score drops after granting new access, check what changed first. A new agency partner making unfamiliar edits is a common, fixable cause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to give an agency my TikTok Ads Manager password?
No. TikTok’s Business Center partnership system is built specifically so agencies never need your login credentials. The agency logs in through their own Business Center once you’ve added them as a partner.
What’s the difference between agency access and adding a team member in TikTok Business Center?
Adding a team member gives someone a role, like Admin or Standard, directly inside your own Business Center.
Agency access is a partnership between your Business Center and a separate agency Business Center. Their team works from their own account rather than joining yours directly.
Can I limit what an agency partner sees in my TikTok Business Center?
Yes. You choose which specific assets, ad accounts, Pixels, catalogs, and TikTok accounts to share. Set the permission level for each one individually, rather than granting blanket access to everything.
How do I find my TikTok Business Center ID to give to a partner?
Your Business Center ID is available in your Business Center settings under Business Info. You’ll need to share this ID with any agency or partner you want to add, and you’ll need theirs to add them.
Can I revoke TikTok Ads agency access at any time?
Yes. A Business Center Admin can remove specific asset permissions or end the entire partnership at any time. Since no login was ever shared, revoking access is immediate and complete.
Do I still need agency access if I’m just getting started with TikTok Ads?
Not necessarily. Many new advertisers manage their first campaigns themselves through the standard TikTok Ads Manager setup and only add an agency once spend or complexity grows.
Claiming any available new advertiser ad credit is worth doing either way, before your account has any paid activity on record.
Conclusion
Agency access on TikTok Ads runs through a Business Center partnership, not a shared password. You keep full control over exactly what an agency can see and do.
Add the partner using their Business Center ID. Grant only the specific assets they actually need, and revisit those permissions periodically rather than leaving them untouched.
When the engagement ends, revoking access takes one step and leaves nothing behind for the former agency to retain.
Sources
- TikTok’s official documentation: How to add partners to your Business Center
- TikTok’s official documentation: Assign accounts or assets to partners in Business Center
- TikTok’s official documentation: About account and asset level permissions
- TikTok’s official documentation: Change the permissions for your TikTok Business Center partner