Access levels and permissible use

  • Google Ads API developer tokens have an access level determining production account access and operation limits, and "permissible use" defining allowed API features.

  • There are three access levels: Test Account Access for test accounts with a 15,000 operation limit, Basic Access for test and production accounts with a 15,000 operation limit, and Standard Access for test and production accounts with an unlimited operation limit.

  • You start with Test Account Access and can apply to increase your access level through additional steps.

  • Permissible use, applicable to Basic and Standard Access, is based on intended API use and determines specific feature access like ad creation/management, reporting, or keyword research.

Your Google Cloud project 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 project is allowed to use.

Access levels

There are four different API access levels listed in order in the table. If you don't already have Google Ads API access, you can start by enabling the API to obtain Test Account Access level for your Google Cloud project. You can increase the access level by completing some additional steps in the application.

Access level Can access... Daily operation limit 1 How to apply How long do reviews typically take?
Test Account Access level Test accounts 15,000 operations / day Apply for Test Account Access
Explorer Access level Test and production accounts 2,880 operations / day for production accounts
15,000 operations / day for test accounts		 Apply for Explorer Access
Basic Access level Test and production accounts 15,000 operations / day for both test and production accounts Apply for Basic Access
Standard Access level Test and production accounts Unlimited operations / day for both test and production accounts Apply for Standard Access 10 business days

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

Test Account access level

After you've enabled Google Ads API, your Google Cloud project is granted the Test Account Access level. This means that the project can only make Google Ads API requests against test accounts.

Apply for Test Account access level

Enable Google Ads API in your Google Cloud project to automatically be granted the Test Account Access level for your project.

Explorer access level

After you've completed the initial sign-up for the Google Ads API, Google may let you apply for Explorer Access level.

Explorer Access level allows your Google Cloud project 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 don't serve ads.

Explorer Access level allows your Google Cloud project to execute up to 2,880 operations per day against production accounts. This is sufficient for most developers to get started with the API and build basic automation.

Explorer Access level restricts access to the following features. If you need to use these features, you need to apply for Basic Access level or Standard Access level.

Restricted Functionality Restricted Services and Methods
Account creation CustomerService.CreateCustomerClient
User management CustomerUserAccessInvitationService
CustomerUserAccessService
Planning KeywordPlanService
KeywordPlanIdeaService
KeywordPlanCampaignService
KeywordPlanCampaignKeywordService
KeywordPlanAdGroupService
KeywordPlanAdGroupKeywordService
AudienceInsightsService
ReachPlanService
Account Billing and Payment PaymentsAccountService
BillingSetupService
AccountBudgetProposalService
InvoiceService

Apply for Explorer access level

  1. Navigate to the Google Ads API Overview page in your Google Cloud project.
  2. Verify that the page displays your current access level as Test.
  3. Click to expand the Upgrade access level section.
  4. Confirm that the Next access level is displayed as Explorer.
  5. Click the Apply for access button to apply for Explorer Access level.

Google may automatically upgrade your project's API access level to Explorer Access level after you submit your application.

Basic access level

Basic Access level allows your Google Cloud project 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 don't serve ads.

Basic Access level allows your Google Cloud project to execute up to 15,000 operations per day. This is sufficient for most developers.

Apply for Basic access level

  1. Navigate to the Google Ads API Overview page in your Google Cloud project.
  2. Verify that the page displays your current access level as Explorer.
  3. Click to expand the Upgrade access level section.
  4. Confirm that the Next access level is displayed as Basic.
  5. Confirm that there are no warnings indicating that you haven't completed brand verification for your project. If there are, follow the instructions to complete brand verification before continuing.
  6. Click the Apply for access button to apply for Basic Access level.

Google may automatically upgrade your project's API access level to Basic Access level once you submit your application.

Standard access level

Standard Access level allows your Google Cloud project to execute an unlimited number of operations per day for all services. Individual services and features may still have rate limits and restrictions that are specific to those features, which will continue to apply even if your project has Standard Access level.

The Standard Access level are only granted to developers who require unlimited Google Ads API operations, such as large companies or tools that serve many users.

Apply for Standard access level

  1. Navigate to the Google Ads API Overview page in your Google Cloud project.
  2. Verify that the page displays your current access level as Basic.
  3. Click to expand the Upgrade access level section.
  4. Confirm that the Next access level is displayed as Standard.
  5. Click the Start application button to start the Standard access level application.

The Standard Access application involves a detailed manual audit of your application. Be prepared to answer questions about your tool's functionality and its target audience. If your tool is used by external users, be prepared to provide demo sign-in access to your tool. Note that your tool must comply with the Required Minimum Functionality.

Throughout the review process, the Google Compliance team will communicate with you using your email address. Make sure you respond promptly to the queries from the Compliance team to make progress with your Standard Access application. Once a the review is complete, Google will email you with the final outcome of the review process.

API quotas and system rate limits

Regardless of the access level, all API operations are subject to system rate limits, which restricts how many operations you may perform in a period of time, that is the number of operations per hour. To learn more about how to handle rate limit errors, see error types.

Individual services may enforce additional limits and quota restrictions due to reasons such as product design limitations, product policy restrictions, API performance and latency considerations. See the documentation about API quotas to learn more about these restrictions.

Permissible use

Permissible use only applies to Google Cloud projects with Standard Access levels. Permissible use is allocated based on intended use of the Google Ads API. These permissions the determine which features of the API your tool can use, as elaborated in the following table:

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 Google Cloud project 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.

Change permissible use

If your Google Cloud project has been approved for Standard Access level, you can fill out the application to update permissible use. Fill out the application if you would like to update your permissible use or grant your clients access to your tool.

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