How-to
Meta ads in the EU: the DSA beneficiary and payer fields, and how to set them once
Any ad set that targets the EU must name who benefits from the ad (Meta calls it the advertiser) and who pays for it, or the ad cannot be published. Decide both once per ad account, not per launch.
The short answer
Every ad set that targets the EU, one of its associated territories, or the whole world needs two values: an advertiser (the person or organisation the ad benefits, usually the brand; the Marketing API calls this the beneficiary) and a payer (who pays Meta for the ad, the brand or the agency). Meta's rule, verbatim: "Advertiser and payer information is required for all new or edited ads targeting the EU or its associated territories. Without this information, your ad cannot be published." Set a default once per ad account in Advertising settings and every new ad set inherits it. Make every tool that creates ad sets either pass dsa_beneficiary and dsa_payor or read that default.
What the fields are
The EU's Digital Services Act requires platforms to disclose, for every ad, "the natural or legal person on whose behalf the advertisement is presented" and, where different, "the natural or legal person who paid for the ad" (Meta's summary of the law). Meta implements this with two values on the ad set:
- Advertiser (beneficiary): the person or organisation that benefits from the ad. For most advertisers, the brand. Meta's own examples: a small business running its own ads names its organisation; a subsidiary names the subsidiary or brand, with the parent company as payer; an individual promoting a product names the product, with themselves as payer.
- Payer: the person or organisation that pays for the ad. Often the same as the advertiser, and then you leave the "the advertiser and payer are different" toggle off. For agency-run accounts it can be the agency or the client, depending on who Meta invoices.
The names go into the Meta Ad Library, where they stay for one year after the ad's last impression. They are not shown on the ad itself or in feed. Adding them has, in Meta's words, no impact "on how the ads are delivering, cost or bidding, feature accessibility or the ad review process". Edits are archived: every version stays in the Ad Library for a year.
When they are required
Meta's list is specific: "if you are creating a global campaign or if your ad is targeting some or all of the following European Union countries or territories". The list is the 27 member states plus the associated territories: the Åland Islands, the Azores, Büsingen am Hochrhein, Campione d'Italia, the Canary Islands, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Heligoland, Livigno, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte, Melilla and Ceuta, Mount Athos, Réunion and Saint Martin (France).
Not on the list: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland. An ad set that targets only those does not trigger the requirement. One that targets any of them plus one EU country does, and so does worldwide targeting.
This applies wherever your business is based. A US brand targeting Germany needs the fields. A Dutch brand targeting only the US does not, though setting a default costs nothing and saves the question later.
What happens when they are missing
The ad cannot be published. In Ads Manager the publish step stops until both values are present. Through the Marketing API the ad set is refused, unless the ad account carries a default advertiser and payer: then Meta applies the default to the new ad set. In our own test on 24 October 2026, a paused ad set created without the fields on an account with a default came back with the account's values on both.
An earlier version of this article said an ad set could publish and then quietly skip the EU. Meta's documentation says the opposite, the ad cannot be published at all, so we corrected it.
Where to set them
Once per ad account (recommended): Ads Manager, Advertising settings. Meta: "You can add or change your default advertiser and payer at the ad account level by going to Advertising settings in Ads Manager. This information will automatically be used when creating new ad sets in that ad account." You need full control of the ad account to manage it. Meta may have prefilled it with your Facebook Page or Instagram profile name: review that before trusting it, because a Page name is not always the legal entity you want in the Ad Library.
Per ad set: when the targeting includes the EU, the ad set shows the advertiser field. You can pick from up to 10 "recently used" names in that ad account, from entities Meta has verified (a verified business, a confirmed Page owner, a verified disclaimer for social issue ads, a firm reference number), or type another name. Switch on "The advertiser and payer are different" to add a separate payer.
Marketing API: on the ad set object, as dsa_beneficiary and dsa_payor. Both are plain strings naming the entity. A tool that creates ad sets passes them, or leaves them out and lets the account default apply. A tool that only creates ads inside an existing ad set inherits whatever that ad set already has.
The agency problem
With several clients, the per-ad-set "recently used" list is a liability: it offers the last client's legal name as the first suggestion. The fix is the account default. Each client's ad account gets its own default advertiser and payer in Advertising settings, decided once and written down next to the pixel, the Page and the UTM template; see managing multiple Facebook ad accounts. From then on nobody types a name at launch time.
How Adlio handles it
Adlio reads the ad account's default advertiser and payer first. If the account has one, you are not asked: the new ad set is created and Meta fills both values from the default, the behaviour we verified live. If the account has none, Adlio asks once, stores the answer per ad account as part of that account's identity settings, and writes both values on every new ad set it creates. A team member who types a different name for one launch changes that ad set only; the account setting stays as it was. Launching into an existing ad set leaves that ad set's own values untouched. Nothing is shared or suggested across accounts, so client A's entity cannot end up on client B's ad set.
Every ad lands paused, so "advertiser and payer present and correct" is check number 9 on the pre-launch QA checklist, done before any EU impression is bought.
Quick checklist
- Default advertiser and payer set per ad account in Advertising settings, with the legal entity you want in the Ad Library.
- Every ad set that targets the EU or worldwide has both values.
- New ad sets created by any tool receive them automatically, from the account default or from the tool's own per-account record.
- Spot-check one ad set per batch before setting the batch live.
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Frequently asked questions
Who needs to fill in the beneficiary and payer?+
Any advertiser whose ad sets target the EU or one of its associated territories, or the whole world, wherever the advertiser is based. Meta's words: "required for all new or edited ads targeting the EU or its associated territories". If your targeting includes any EU country, or is worldwide, Meta requires both values.
What is the difference between beneficiary and payer?+
The beneficiary is the person or organisation the ad promotes or benefits, typically the brand. Ads Manager labels this field "advertiser"; the Marketing API calls it dsa_beneficiary. The payer is who pays Meta for the ad. For an agency-run account that can be the agency or the client, depending on the billing setup. For a brand running its own ads they are usually the same entity, and then the payer field can stay off.
Where do the values live in the Marketing API?+
On the ad set, as dsa_beneficiary and dsa_payor. A tool that creates a new ad set has to pass both, or rely on the default advertiser and payer saved on the ad account, which Meta applies to new ad sets automatically. A tool that launches into an existing ad set uses the values already on that ad set.
What happens if the fields are missing?+
The ad cannot be published. Meta: "Without this information, your ad cannot be published." In Ads Manager the publish step is blocked until both values are present. Through the Marketing API the request is refused, unless the ad account has a default advertiser and payer, in which case Meta fills the new ad set from that default.
Do ads targeting the UK need advertiser and payer information?+
Not on Meta's list. The locations that require it are the 27 EU member states and their associated territories (Åland Islands, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Réunion and others). The United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway are not on it. An ad set that targets only the UK does not trigger the requirement; one that targets the UK plus any EU country, or worldwide, does. A UK company can be the advertiser or the payer of an EU-targeted ad: the field is a name, not a location.
Is the payer name shown on the ad itself?+
No. Meta: the information "will be available in the Meta Ad Library but will not be displayed on the ad itself or in feed", and it stays in the Ad Library for one year after the ad's last impression. Adding it "will not have any impact on how the ads are delivering, cost or bidding, feature accessibility or the ad review process".
Sources
Adlio team
Built by media buyers who launch Meta ads in volume. Questions or corrections: support@adlio.ai.
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- Meta ads in the EU: the DSA beneficiary and payer fields, and how to set them once