How do I give my agency access to our Meta ad account without handing over ownership?

TofuAnswer by the Tofu team · checked

A hand holding out a set of house keys in front of an open door.

Keep the ad account in your own business portfolio and add the agency as a partner. In Meta Business Suite, go to Settings > Partners > Add > Give a partner access to your assets, enter the agency's business portfolio ID, then pick the ad account, Page and dataset and the access for each, such as Manage campaigns. You need full control of your portfolio. Meta says a partner can't share your asset with another business, even with full control of it. Don't let the agency create your ad account in its portfolio: Meta says that can't be undone.

As of October 2026.

Before you start

  • Full control of your business portfolio. Meta lets only people with full control share assets with partners. One Meta page now calls it full access.
  • Two-factor authentication on your portfolio. Meta lists it as a step before sharing.
  • The agency's own business portfolio and its ID. They find the ID in Settings > Business portfolio info, below the portfolio name. Get it through a channel you already use, such as their work email or a call: the number you enter decides which business gets in.
  • A second approver, maybe. Meta says someone else with full control may need to approve the share.

Step 1: Check that your business owns the ad account

In Settings, open Ad accounts, filter Owned by and choose Self. Those are the accounts you own. If the ad account isn't yours yet:

  • Claim it if a person owns it: + Add > Add an ad account, enter its ad account ID, then Claim ad account. The owner must approve if it isn't you. Meta warns this "may permanently move it" into your portfolio.
  • Create a new one in your own portfolio. Meta says a new ad account is permanently part of the portfolio that created it and "can't be deleted or transferred."

If the agency created the account in its portfolio, it stays the agency's. You can ask them to share it, but you can't move it, so start a new one in your portfolio for future campaigns. The same goes for an account the agency created "on behalf of" your business: it's in the agency's portfolio, and Meta says you can't see it unless the agency grants you permission.

Step 2: Share the ad account, Page and dataset

  1. Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite for your business portfolio.
  2. Click Partners in the Users section of the left menu.
  3. Click Add, then Give a partner access to your assets.
  4. Enter the agency's business portfolio ID and click Next.
  5. Choose the assets and the access level for each. For partial access, pick the tasks.
  6. Click Assign assets.

You can also start from the Ad accounts tab with Assign Partner. For the pixel, go to Settings > Data sources > Datasets > Assign partners, enter the ID and set the access.

Step 3: Give partial access, not full control

AssetAccess to giveWhat the agency can do
Ad accountManage campaigns (partial)View, create and edit ads; see reports
Ad accountView performance (partial)View ads and reports only
Ad accountManage ad accounts (full)Everything above plus ad account settings, finances and permissions
PageAds (partial)Create, manage and delete ads for the Page
Dataset (pixel)Use events dataset (partial)View data and analytics; create conversion ads
Dataset (pixel)Manage events dataset (full)Also change settings, add or remove events, edit access and create audiences

Manage campaigns covers day-to-day ad work. If they build website custom audiences from your pixel, they need Manage events dataset on that dataset.

Don't add agency staff to your portfolio with full control. Meta says people with it can remove assets or people and even delete the portfolio.

Step 4: Let the agency assign its people

Both businesses now see the shared assets in their own Settings. The agency assigns its own staff from its portfolio, and with partial access Meta says it can only give them the tasks you gave the agency. You don't need to add each agency employee to your own portfolio.

Step 5: Turn on peer approval for the agency's ads

Peer approval makes a trusted person in your business approve ads before they run. Go to Settings > Security Center > Peer approval, click Manage next to Ad account security, choose the ad account and a protection level, pick the approvers, then Save. Meta recommends Extra protection (every ad needs approval) for ad accounts where partners advertise for you. Custom protection only asks for approval above a budget you set. Your business must own the ad account to use it.

Step 6: Check every partner request before you approve it

An agency can also ask you for access from its side, with Ask a partner to assign you their assets or Request access to an ad account in another business portfolio. Scammers use the same requests. Before you approve:

  • Open Meta Business Suite yourself instead of using a link in an email.
  • Approve only if the business name and portfolio ID match what your agency gave you, and only for the assets and tasks you expect.
  • Don't trust the sender address alone. Meta says its emails come from its own domains, such as facebookmail.com and meta.com, but security firm Huntress reported on July 7, 2026 that attackers abused Meta's business partner request emails, so their phishing came from a genuine Meta address. Huntress says the attacks subsided after Meta took action.
  • Meta says its staff never ask for your password or payment details. Report phishing to [email protected].

If an unknown partner already has access, see what to do when your Meta business portfolio is hacked.

Step 7: Remove the agency when the work ends

Go to Settings > Partners, click Options in the top right, choose Remove from business portfolio, then Remove partner. The ad account and its history stay in your portfolio, because your business owns them. Thinking of switching? See how to judge a B2B agency's performance.

Common problems

ProblemWhy it happensFix
No Partners option in SettingsYou don't have full control of the portfolioAsk someone with full control, or ask Meta for it through Business Support Home
Can't claim the ad accountAn ad account can be in only one portfolio, and this one is in anotherAsk for shared access instead, or create a new account in your portfolio
The share is waitingAnother person with full control must approveAsk them to approve it
Agency staff can't do a taskA partner can only give its people the tasks you assignedChange the partner's access on that asset
Sources (14)

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