Access Levels and Permissible Use

Each Google Ads API developer token is assigned an access level and "permissible use". The access level determines whether you can affect production accounts and the number of operations and requests that you can execute daily. Permissible use determines the specific Google Ads API features that the developer token is allowed to use.

Access levels

There are three different access levels listed in order in the table. If you do not already have Google Ads API access, you can start by signing up to obtain test account access. You can increase the access level by completing additional application instructions.

Access level	Can access...	Daily operation limit^1	Daily limit for get^2 operations	Apply
Test account access	Test accounts	15,000 operations / day	1,000 requests / day	Instructions
Basic access	Test and production accounts	15,000 operations / day	1,000 requests / day	Instructions
Standard access	Test and production accounts	Unlimited operations / day	1,000 requests / day	Instructions

¹ "Per day" is based on a sliding 24 hour time period in which API requests were made with your developer token. Your application will receive an error if it exceeds the request limit for your access level within the last 24 hours.

² get is being sunsetted in v10. Use search or searchStream instead to retrieve objects.

Test account access

Once you complete the initial signup for the Google Ads API, you will be issued a developer token with the test account access level. This means that the developer token can only make Google Ads API requests against test accounts.

Important: Refer to the test account guide to learn more about how to create a test account.

Applying for test account access

Simply complete the Google Ads API sign up within the Google Ads UI and you will automatically be granted the test account access level.

Basic access

Basic access allows the developer token to make Google Ads API requests against both test accounts and production accounts. Production accounts are any accounts that serve real, live Google ads (test accounts do not serve ads).

Basic access level allows the developer token to execute up to 15,000 requests per day and 1,000 get operations per day. This is sufficient for most developers.

Applying for Basic access

If you currently have a test account access level developer token and you would like to apply for production account access, fill out the basic access application form. Make sure you have followed these simple steps:

1. Ensure that you already have a developer token with test account access level.
2. Ensure that the API Contact Email in the API center is up-to-date. You will not be able to complete the application process without a valid, regularly checked Developer Contact Email. Ensure you have linked all of your active Google Ads accounts to the manager account with the API token.

Standard access

Standard access allows the developer token to execute an unlimited number of operations per day for most services. This includes (but is not limited to) GoogleAdsService Search and SearchStream. For more details of limits and exceptions to this, see the API quotas page.

Standard access tokens are still subject to the daily limit of 1,000 get operations. Standard access level will only be granted to developers who require unlimited Google Ads API operations (typically large companies or tools which serve many users).

Note: Regardless of access level, all API operations are subject to system rate limits. To learn more about how to handle rate limit errors, read our guide on Error Types.

Applying for Standard access

If you currently have basic access level and you would like to apply for unlimited Google Ads API operations, fill out the standard access application form.

If your tool is external, be prepared to provide demo sign-in access to your tool. Note that your tool must comply with the Required Minimum Functionality.

Permissible use

Permissible use only applies to Basic Access and Standard Access tokens. Permissible use is allocated based on intended use of the Google Ads API. These permissions determine what features of the API a token can be used for, as elaborated in the table below.

Following is a list of permissible uses:

Permissible Use	Description
Ad creation / management	Provide access to all services of the API for creating and managing Google Ads campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords.
Reporting	Only make GoogleAdsService.Search or GoogleAdsService.SearchStream requests (or, read-only calls). This is for developers who only use the API to request stats.
Researching keywords and recommendations	Allow the token to access RecommendationService, KeywordPlanIdeaService, and KeywordPlanService. This is only used by tools requiring suggestions to help facilitate the creation and management of Google Ads campaigns.

Changing permissible use

If you have been approved for either the basic access or standard access level, you can fill out our application to update permissible use. Fill out the application if you would like to update your permissible use, or if you grant your clients access to your tool.