How-to

How an agency gets access to a client's Meta ad account: partner access, step by step

A new client signs, and the first job is getting into their ad account without anyone sharing a Facebook login. Meta has two routes, both between business portfolios. Here they are step by step, with what to ask for and what goes wrong.

Adlio team8 min read

The short answer

There are two routes, and in both the ad account stays in the client's business portfolio while your agency's portfolio gets access to it. Route A: the client shares the ad account with your portfolio as a partner. Route B: you request access from your own portfolio and the client approves. Either way you need a business portfolio and its ID, and the client usually needs someone with full control of their portfolio and two-factor authentication turned on. Ask for partial access with the tasks needed to run ads, not full control: that is our default, not a Meta rule.

Everything Meta-specific below is quoted from Meta's help centre, checked on 28 September 2026. What we recommend on top of that is labelled as our default or our experience.

Before you start: what each side needs

AgencyClient
A business portfolioYes, and you give the client its IDYes, the ad account lives in it
Full control of its own portfolioNeeded to add partners (Route B2)Needed for Route A and B2; in B1 the ad account owner can also approve
Two-factor authentication on the portfolioNeeded for Route B2Needed for Route A
What to hand overYour business portfolio IDThe ad account ID (Route B1), or portfolio ID, name and email (Route B2)

Meta: "Your partner must have a business portfolio. They also need to tell you their business portfolio ID." The ID is in "Meta Business Suite's Settings for an organization's business portfolio". From our experience: the ads run under the client's Facebook Page and usually their Instagram account, so ask for those in the same round, not a week later.

Which access level to ask for

Meta has "2 levels of access: full control and partial access", for portfolios and for assets such as ad accounts. With partial access, people "can complete specific tasks they've been assigned to work on, such as creating content, managing ads and responding to messages". With full control of an asset, they "have all permissions available for that asset, including the ability to delete it".

Our default: partial access to the ad account, with the tasks for creating and managing ads and viewing performance. Payment and the access list stay with the client, so it is an easier yes. Ask for full control only if you really run the client's billing or permissions. Which task covers what is in Meta ad account roles for agencies.

Route A: the client shares the ad account with you

The client does this in their own portfolio. Meta's steps:

  1. Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite for the client's business portfolio.
  2. Click Partners in the Users section. "If you do not see Partners, then you may not have full control of the business portfolio."
  3. Click Add, then select Give a partner access to your assets.
  4. Enter the agency's business portfolio ID, then click Next.
  5. "Choose which business assets you want to share with your partner and the level of access you want to provide. If providing partial access, select which tasks you want your partner to work on."
  6. Click Assign assets.

"Someone else with full control of your organization's business portfolio may need to approve this action." After that, "Both you and your partner can view the shared business assets in the Settings of your respective business portfolios." A shorter path exists from the ad account itself: "Ask them to go to the Ad Accounts tab, click Assign Partner, and enter your business portfolio ID."

The message we would send a new client (our template):

In Meta Business Suite, go to Settings, then Partners, then Add, then Give a partner access to your assets. Enter our business portfolio ID (your ID here). Select the ad account, plus the Facebook Page and Instagram account the ads run under. Choose partial access with the tasks for managing ads and viewing performance. Click Assign assets.

Route B: you request access from your portfolio

Meta's partner overview puts the agency side plainly: "You can request access to assets in your clients' business portfolios." There are two ways.

B1: request one ad account

Meta describes this option for exactly this case: "you work for an agency, and the ad account belongs to a client. The account will remain in their portfolio, but access will be shared with your portfolio."

  1. Go to Settings in your agency's portfolio.
  2. Go to Accounts, then click Ad accounts.
  3. Click + Add, then select Request access to an ad account in another business portfolio.
  4. Enter the Ad account ID.
  5. "Choose the level of access you want to request: partial access or full control. If requesting partial access, select the tasks you want permission to work on."
  6. Click Confirm.

"You can access and use the ad account once your request is approved by the ad account owner or someone with full control of the business portfolio the ad account is in." In our experience, tell the client the request is coming, or it sits unanswered.

B2: ask for several assets at once

In Settings, click Partners, then Add, then Ask a partner to assign you their assets. You enter "the partner's email address and their organization's business portfolio ID" and pick the asset types and permissions. "Your partner can approve or deny your request, or change which asset types and permissions to share." On their side, "only someone with full control of this business portfolio can choose to share assets with your organization. This person may also need finance access, depending on which permissions are shared."

Which route (our default): B1 when you have the ad account ID and the client only has to approve; B2 when you need the ad account and the Page in one request; Route A when the client prefers to do it themselves.

After access: assign your own people

The shared account now shows in your portfolio's Settings, and you assign your people there: Meta says you can "edit someone's permissions to a business asset in the Accounts section in the left menu of Settings". Four rules decide what you can hand down:

  • Partial access caps you. "If you give a partner partial access to a business asset, then they can only assign people in their business portfolio permission to complete the specific tasks that you have assigned the partner."
  • Full control still cannot re-share. A partner with full control "can manage everything but they cannot share the business asset with another business"; "only the organization that owns the asset can share it with another business portfolio". A freelancer's business or a sub-agency gets access from the client, not from you.
  • Portfolio permissions win. "Permissions assigned at the portfolio level override asset-level permissions." Our default: full control of the agency portfolio for one or two people, and partial access to only their own client accounts for everyone else.
  • The 25 limits. "One person can manage up to 25 ad accounts." And: "An ad account can be assigned to up to 25 people." A media buyer on 30 client accounts (an example) hits the first one.

Adding a colleague step by step is in giving a colleague access to a Meta ad account; the activity history shows who changed what once several people work in one account. For clients whose ads can run in the EU, settle the DSA beneficiary and payer now. The next thing most clients ask for is to see ads before they run: see client approval before launch.

What goes wrong (our experience)

  1. The wrong ID. The client needs your business portfolio ID. We regularly see an ad account ID or a Page ID sent instead.
  2. The client contact lacks full control. They cannot find Partners, or the share waits for someone else to approve. Ask up front who holds full control on their side.
  3. Two-factor authentication is off. Meta lists "Turn on two-factor authentication for your business portfolio" before the sharing steps. Have it done before the call.
  4. Asking for full control. It makes clients hesitate, and running ads does not need it.
  5. Trying to add the client's ad account to your portfolio. "An ad account can only be in one business portfolio. You can request access to that ad account instead." Adding an existing ad account to a portfolio "may permanently move it into the portfolio, meaning it can't be deleted or transferred to another portfolio". Request, do not claim.
  6. Creating the client's ad account in your own portfolio. Meta: "If you create a new ad account in a business portfolio, it will permanently be a part of that portfolio. This means the ad account can't be deleted or transferred from the portfolio." If you create one to run a client's ads, you mark it for "Another business or client", and "someone with full control of the portfolio must confirm the on-behalf-of relationship". Then: "Once you've established an on-behalf-of relationship with one business, you can't remove it or replace it with another business. You can specify this change only once, because an ad account should only run ads for a single client." When the relationship ends, the account "will automatically become inactive, but remain in your business portfolio for historical records". Our default: the client creates the ad account in their own portfolio and shares it, so the account and its history stay with them if you part ways.

Where Adlio fits

We are Adlio, so weigh this section accordingly. Adlio does not replace any step above: whoever connects Facebook to Adlio needs their own access to the client's ad account first, through Route A or B.

What changes is what comes after. On the Team plan, team members log in with their own email and work through the owner's Facebook connection, so they need no role in the client's business portfolio. They see only the client ad accounts you share with them, and per account you decide whether they may launch; without launch rights they can edit copy, naming and UTM defaults but cannot upload or create ads. The Page, Instagram account and EU DSA details stay with the owner. Each ad account keeps its own settings (Page, Instagram account, pixel, default copy, naming, UTMs, DSA beneficiary and payer), which is how managing multiple Facebook ad accounts stays clean. Every ad Adlio creates is paused; switching a batch on happens in Ads Manager, by someone with access there. See the agency page and how bulk upload works. The first 15 ads are free, without a card.

Frequently asked questions

Does the agency need its own business portfolio?+

For partner access, yes. Meta: "Your partner must have a business portfolio. They also need to tell you their business portfolio ID." Both routes run between two portfolios. A freelancer without a portfolio can instead be added to the client's portfolio as a person, which Meta says "is different to adding partners to your business portfolio". Temporary access for people "provides only basic access for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 75 days".

Should we ask for partial access or full control?+

Our default is partial access to the ad account, with the tasks your team needs to create and manage ads and view performance. Payment and permissions stay with the client. Ask for every task you will need, because with partial access you "can only assign people in their business portfolio permission to complete the specific tasks that you have assigned the partner". Even full control does not let you re-share the account: only the organization that owns it can.

Can the client remove the agency later?+

Yes. Meta: "You can remove partners (example: an agency you work with) from your business portfolio, provided you have full control of the business portfolio." In Settings, under Partners, they click Options, then Remove from business portfolio, then Remove partner.

How many client ad accounts can one person manage?+

Per Meta, "One person can manage up to 25 ad accounts" and "An ad account can be assigned to up to 25 people." At the limit, Meta says you need to "remove yourself or have someone with full control of the business portfolio remove your access to any ad accounts you no longer use". Our default: remove access when a client relationship ends.

Does the client's ad account move into our portfolio?+

No. When you request access, Meta says: "The account will remain in their portfolio, but access will be shared with your portfolio." An ad account can only be in one business portfolio, and the client keeps it.

Sources

Adlio team

Built by media buyers who launch Meta ads in volume. Questions or corrections: support@adlio.ai.

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Teams and client accounts

Running Meta ads across many ad accounts with more than one person: access, roles, approval, and keeping accounts apart.

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