How do you give an agency access to your Facebook ad account?

To give an agency access to your Facebook ad account, add the agency as a partner in your own business portfolio and share the ad account with them: in Meta Business Suite go to Settings, then Partners, click Add, choose Give a partner access to your assets, and enter the agency’s business portfolio ID (Meta’s partner access steps). Give partial access, keep full control of the portfolio and the payment method yourself, and never let the agency create your ad account inside their own portfolio. Meta does not let an ad account move to another portfolio once it is linked to one, so whoever owns it keeps it.

Owners ask this in two ways. Before hiring, it’s “how can I give an agency access to my Business Manager” (an r/SocialMediaMarketing thread asks exactly that, with the extra worry of not wanting the agency to see old ads). After a bad split, it’s threads like “Account taken over by an advertising company” in r/FacebookAds. Both come down to the same setup, so this guide covers handing access over safely and getting it back cleanly. If you’d rather have someone handle Meta ads for you from the start, our Meta ads management page explains how we work.

What do I need before I give an agency access?

You need your own business portfolio that you have full control of, plus the agency’s business portfolio ID. Partner sharing only works between two portfolios, and only someone with full control of yours can add a partner (Meta).

• A business portfolio in your company’s name. If you don’t have one, go to business.facebook.com, click the drop-down menu below Home in the top left, then Create a business portfolio. Use your public business name. You can personally create up to two portfolios, and each business asset can belong to only one (how to create a business portfolio).
• Your Page, Instagram account and ad account inside that portfolio. If your ad account was set up years ago on your personal profile, add it to the portfolio first. Once it’s there, its permissions can only be changed from the portfolio, not from Ads Manager (Meta’s ad account permission guidance).
• The agency’s business portfolio ID. Ask them for it. They find it in Meta Business Suite under Settings, then Business portfolio info, below the portfolio name (find a business portfolio ID).
• Two-factor authentication on your portfolio. Meta lists this as a step before you add partners.

Your login is not on the list. An agency never needs your Facebook password, and Meta says sharing a Facebook account between several people is against its Terms of Service (Meta).

How do I give an agency access step by step?

Six steps in Meta Business Suite once you have the agency’s ID. These follow Meta’s help page, checked on 3 November 2026:

1. Open Meta Business Suite for your business portfolio and go to Settings.
2. In the left menu, under Users, click Partners. If Partners isn’t there, you probably don’t have full control of the portfolio. Ask whoever does, or see the section on old agencies below.
3. Click Add, then select Give a partner access to your assets.
4. Enter the agency’s business portfolio ID and click Next.
5. Pick the assets to share (ad account, Page, Instagram account, dataset) and the level of access for each. For partial access, tick the tasks you want them to do.
6. Click Assign assets. If someone else has full control of your portfolio, they may need to approve it.

After that, the agency assigns the shared assets to its own staff. They can only pass on the tasks you gave the agency, nothing more (Meta). Both of you can see the shared assets in your portfolio Settings, which is the first place to look if the agency says they “can’t see anything”.

Should I give my agency full control or partial access?

Partial access, for almost every asset. An agency running your campaigns needs to build ads and read results. It doesn’t need to change your payment method or decide who else gets in. Meta’s own description of the ad account roles names “an agency managing your campaigns” as the example for the role that can create and edit ads but can’t touch billing or permissions (ad account roles).

Here’s what Meta’s access options mean for a typical ads agency, based on its task-based access table:

The dataset row needs the most thought. If the agency is going to set up tracking events or build website visitor audiences, those tasks sit in the full access tier, which also lets them edit who has access to the dataset. Give it on purpose if they need it, write down that you did, and take it back when the work is finished.

Even a partner with full control of a shared asset can’t pass it on to another business. Only the business that owns the asset can share it (Meta). That’s one more reason the asset should be owned by you.

Should the agency create my ad account, or should I own it?

You should own it. Each ad account can only be in one business portfolio, and Meta says ad accounts already linked to a portfolio “can’t be moved to another one” (Meta troubleshooting page). If an agency creates the account in their portfolio, it stays with them when you leave.

One more case to watch for. If an agency’s ad account is paid through a third party’s billing, Meta says it can’t be moved and you’ll need to create a new ad account. Ask any agency, before you sign, whose portfolio the ad account will sit in. The answer should be “yours”.

Example setup: a roofing company hiring a Meta ads agency

This is an illustration of the settings, not a client story. A roofing company owner, Dan, already has a business portfolio called Dan’s Roofing with his Page, Instagram account, one ad account and a dataset from his website.

1. The agency sends Dan its business portfolio ID by email.
2. Dan goes to Settings, then Partners, then Add, then Give a partner access to your assets, and pastes the ID.
3. He shares the ad account with Manage campaigns, the Page with Ads and Insights, the Instagram account with Ads and Insights, and the dataset with Use events dataset.
4. The agency says it needs to set up a lead event on the quote form. Dan changes the dataset to full access for that week, then back to partial once the event shows in Events Manager.
5. Dan’s card stays on the ad account and he is still the only person with full control of the portfolio.

If Dan and the agency part ways a year later, he removes one partner and every campaign, report and audience is still in his ad account for the next person.

What if I don’t have a business portfolio?

You can add people straight to the ad account in Meta Ads Manager, but it’s clumsier and it gives access to named people rather than to the agency. Go to Ad account settings, click Add people in the Ad account roles section, choose the person, pick a role and click Confirm (add people to your ad account).

Two catches. Meta only lets you add people who have active Facebook accounts and who are your Facebook friends. And every time the agency’s staff change, you’re adding and removing individuals yourself. For an ongoing relationship, creating a business portfolio first is less work. If you do use this route, pick Advertiser: it can create and edit ads using the account’s payment method but can’t edit the payment method or manage who has access. Admin can do both (ad account roles).

Who pays Meta when an agency runs my ads?

If the ad account is yours, Meta charges the payment method on your ad account, and partial access or the Advertiser role can’t change it. The agency’s management fee is a separate bill from the agency. Keeping the two apart means you always see exactly what Meta charged, which makes it easy to check an agency’s work. Our guide to how PPC agencies charge covers the fee models you’ll see. For reference, PPC Fitter manages the first two months free, and you fund your own ad budget in your own account.

How do I remove an agency’s access when we stop working together?

Remove them as a partner from your portfolio. In Meta Business Suite go to Settings, click Partners, select the agency, click Options in the top right, choose Remove from business portfolio, then Remove partner (remove partners). You need full control of the portfolio to do it.

Then check the places partner removal doesn’t cover:

• People in your portfolio Settings: Meta treats removing a partner and removing a person as separate jobs, so remove any agency staff who were added as individual people (remove people).
• Ad account roles in Ads Manager, if anyone was added there before the account joined your portfolio.
• Your Page and Instagram access lists, for anyone with direct access.

Do this the day the contract ends. An old agency login is one more account that can be compromised, and our guide to a hacked Facebook ad account shows how quickly that turns into charges on your card.

What if my old agency owns my Page or ad account?

Ask them first, in writing, to give you full control of your Page and to share or hand back what they hold. Meta asks you to try that before any claim. If they won’t, what you can do depends on which asset they hold.

• Your Facebook Page. If the person with full control was a previous employee or contractor, you may be eligible for a Page admin dispute. You’ll need ID, a signed attestation letter and a document that proves you own the Page, in a non-editable format such as PDF (submit a Page admin dispute).
• Your business portfolio. If the person with full control of your company’s portfolio is a former contractor with no ownership rights, you can request full control from Meta with ID, proof that you own the business and a signed attestation letter (request full control of a portfolio).
• An ad account in the agency’s portfolio. It can’t be moved to yours. Ask them to share it so you can export reports, then create a new ad account in your own portfolio. Meta’s own advice for an account owned by another portfolio is to request access or create a new one (Meta).

Common mistakes when giving an agency access

• Sending your Facebook password. Fix: change it, turn on two-factor authentication, and share assets through Partners instead.
• Making the agency an admin of the whole portfolio. Full control of the portfolio lets them add and remove people and partners, the same powers you have. Fix: remove them as a person and add them as a partner with partial access.
• Letting the agency set up a “fresh” ad account for you. If it’s created in their portfolio, you can’t take it with you. Fix: create the ad account in your portfolio and share it.
• Forgetting the dataset. The agency launches ads that can’t optimise for leads because it can’t see your website events. Fix: share the dataset with Use events dataset when you share the ad account.
• Never looking at Partners again. Fix: check Settings, then Partners, whenever you change suppliers, and remove anyone you no longer work with.

If your ads stop delivering after an access change, check the Page and payment permissions first. Our guide on Facebook ads not delivering covers what to check.

FAQ

Is it safe to give an agency access to my Facebook ad account?

Yes, if you share it as a partner with partial access and keep full control of your portfolio. The agency can build and run ads but can’t change billing or remove you. You can take the access back at any time from Settings, then Partners.

Can my agency see my personal Facebook profile?

No. Meta says giving someone permissions to your ad account doesn’t let them log in as you or see things on your profile that you haven’t shared with them.

I shared my ad account but the agency still can’t see it. Why?

Usually the agency hasn’t assigned the shared asset to its own staff yet, or a second person with full control of your portfolio still needs to approve the share. Check that the agency appears under Partners in your Settings with the right assets listed, then ask them to assign those assets to their team.

Can I stop a new agency from seeing my old ads?

Not within one ad account. Anyone with access to an ad account can view the ads in it, since View ads is part of every ad account access level. If you need a clean start, create a second ad account in your portfolio and share only that one.

Sources: 1. Give a partner access to business assets in your business portfolio (Meta Business Help Center). 2. Business portfolio assets and their task-based access settings (Meta Business Help Center). 3. What are the ad account permission roles in Meta Ads Manager? (Meta Business Help Center). 4. Troubleshoot why you can’t add or connect business assets (Meta Business Help Center). 5. How to create a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite (Meta Business Help Center). 6. Find your business portfolio ID (Meta Business Help Center). 7. Best practices for ad account permissions (Meta Business Help Center). 8. How to add people to your ad account in Meta Ads Manager (Meta Business Help Center). 9. Remove partners from your business portfolio (Meta Business Help Center). 10. Remove people from your business portfolio (Meta Business Help Center). 11. Submit a Page admin dispute (Meta Business Help Center). 12. Submit a request to get full control of a business portfolio (Meta Business Help Center).