How to Grant Access to a Facebook Ad Account (3 easy methods)

Meta’s UI isn’t exactly known for being user-friendly. 

So when you’re trying to give someone access, and you’re seeing different options, permissions, and settings, it’s easy to feel unsure if you’re doing it right.

There are two main ways to grant access within Meta: through Meta Business Portfolio or directly via Ads Manager.

We’ll walk you through both, so you can choose what works best. And if security is a concern, don’t worry, when set up properly, granting access is safe and fully controlled on your end.

⭐ And if you’d rather skip the process altogether, we’ll also show you a third, faster way to manage access using Leadsie.

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TL;DR

There are three ways to give access to your Facebook ad account:

👉 Via Ads Manager – best for quick access to individuals

👉 Via Business Portfolio (Meta Business Manager) – better for managing access across people, assets, and partners (including agencies)

👉 Via Leadsie – best when working with agencies and you want to grant access quickly without navigating Meta

Need to request access instead? Check out our guide on how to request access to a Facebook ad account.

Roles and permissions (what access should you give?)

Before you grant access, you need to understand what someone can do once they’re in your ad account.

Permissions work differently depending on how you grant access:

1. Directly in Ads Manager
2. Or through Meta Business Portfolio (formerly Meta Business Manager)

We’ll break both down:

1. Ads Manager roles 

If you’re assigning access directly to an ad account, you’ll choose from three roles:

Admin

Has full control over the ad account.

They can:

• Create and edit ads
• View performance and reports
• Manage payment methods
• Add or remove people

Best for: Business owners or trusted team members. 

⚠️ Note: External partners like agencies typically don’t need this level of access, as it includes sensitive permissions, so it should only be granted to them in specific cases where it’s absolutely necessary.

Advertiser

Can manage campaigns, but not account settings.

They can:

• Create and edit ads
• View reports

They can’t:

• Change billing details
• Manage permissions

Best for: Most agencies and freelancers.

Analyst

Read-only access.

They can:

• View ads
• Access reports

They can’t:

• Create or edit anything

Best for: Clients, stakeholders, or reporting-only roles.

2. Business portfolio permissions (Meta Business Manager access)

If you’re granting access through your business portfolio in Meta Business Suite, the structure is slightly different.

Instead of assigning a single role (like Admin or Advertiser), access is split into two levels:

• Business portfolio permissions (access to the entire portfolio and all assets)
• Asset permissions (what they can do on specific assets like your ad account)

Full control

This is the highest level of access.

They can:

• Manage all assets (ad accounts, pages, Instagram, etc.)
• Add/remove people
• Update settings and permissions
• Access billing (if enabled)

It’s equivalent to admin-level control across your business.

Partial access

This is more flexible and task-based.

They can:

• Work only on assigned assets (e.g., specific ad account)
• Be limited to certain tasks (like managing ads only)

This is the recommended option for external partners. 

➡️ What happens next? Once someone is added to your business portfolio, you then assign:

• The specific assets they can access (like your ad account)
• The permissions for that asset (e.g. create ads, view performance)

Someone can have full control of a specific asset (like your ad account) without having full control of the entire business portfolio.

Learn more about business portfolio permissions here.

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Option 1: How to give access to a Facebook ad account via Ads Manager

If you want a quick and direct way to give someone access to your ad account, you can do it straight from Ads Manager.

This method is usually best when:

• You’re working with an individual (freelancer, contractor)
• You’re not using a full business portfolio setup
• You just need to grant access to a single ad account

📝 A few things to check before you start:

• You need admin access to the ad account 
• You can only add Facebook friends
• This method gives access to a person, not a business (not ideal for adding agencies with multiple team members)

Step 1. Go to Ad Account Settings in Ads Manager.

Step 2. Find the Ad account roles section and click “Add People.”

If you don’t see this section or the button is greyed out, you likely don’t have admin permissions.

Step 3. Search and select the person, then choose their role (Admin, Advertiser, or Analyst).

You’ll only be able to find people you’re connected with on Facebook.

Step 4. Click “Confirm.”

Once confirmed, they’ll be able to see the account right away.

Removing or changing access in Ads Manager

Need to remove someone or update their permissions? You can do both from the same place in Ads Manager:

1. Go to Ad Account Settings in Ads Manager
2. Find the Ad Account Roles section
3. Locate the person you want to update

To remove access, click “Remove user.”

To change their role, remove them first, then click “Add people,” re-add them, and select the new role.

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Option 2: How to give access to a Facebook ad account via business portfolio 

If you’re working with an agency or multiple people, this is the better, more scalable option.

Instead of giving access to individuals, you’re assigning permissions to assets (like your ad account) inside the business portfolio.

This keeps everything cleaner, more secure, and easier to manage long-term.

📝 A few things to check before you start:

• You need full control of the business portfolio
• Your ad account must already be added to your business portfolio

Step 1. Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite.

Step 2. Click “People” or “Partners,” depending on whether you want to assign assets to individuals (employees, freelancers) or external businesses like agencies. 

Step 3. Select the person or partner you want to assign access to and click “Assign assets.”

This assumes they’ve already been added to your business portfolio.

👉 If they’re not listed, you’ll need to add them first before assigning assets.

Step 4. Select your ad account and assign permissions. 

Step 5. Click “Assign assets.”

They’ll now have access to the ad account based on the permissions you selected.

Access is usually immediate, but they may need to refresh or switch accounts to see it.

Removing or changing access in business portfolio

You can update or remove someone’s access at any time through your business portfolio:

1. Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite
2. Click “People” in the left menu and select the person you want to update

From here, you have a few options:

• To change their business-level access, click “Manage” under Business portfolio access and update their permissions
• To remove them, click “Remove”
• To update access to a specific asset (like your ad account), click “Manage” next to the asset, and adjust permissions or remove access

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Option 3: The fastest way to give access to a Facebook ad account with Leadsie

If you’d rather not go through Meta’s setup at all and just get access sorted quickly, there’s a simpler option.

Leadsie is a client onboarding tool that lets you grant access to your Meta assets using a single secure link, bypassing the usual Meta workflow.

👉 This is typically something your agency will send you.

Here’s how it works:

1. The agency sends you a secure access request link

2. You log in and choose the accounts you want to share

3. Access is granted automatically

The best part? The same link works across 31+ social and ad platforms, so you can grant everything in one go.

🔒 What about security?

With Leadsie:

• You don’t share passwords
• You choose exactly what to grant access to
• Access is permission-based and fully revocable

If you’re an agency, this is a much faster way to onboard clients. And if you’re a business, you can either follow the link your agency sends, or share this option with them to make the process easier.

⚒️ Troubleshooting common access issues 

Even if you follow all the steps, things don’t always work perfectly the first time.

Here are the most common issues and how to resolve them:

“I added them, but they can’t see the ad account”

This usually happens because:

• You added the wrong Facebook profile
• They’re looking in the wrong ad account
• Access was given at the business level, but not assigned to the ad account

💡 Fix: Double-check the ad account is assigned under Assets > Ad accounts in Business Portfolio.

“They can see the account, but can’t create or publish ads”

If you’re seeing errors like:

• Page not showing in the dropdown (error 1443121)
• Ad not available (error 2446289)
• Can’t edit CTA or post-based ads
• “Object not visible” or restricted access (error 1487194)

…it’s almost always a missing permission somewhere else.

For instance, in some cases, the person doesn’t have access to the Facebook Page or Instagram account linked to the ad account.

Make sure:

• The Page is assigned to them in business portfolio
• The Instagram account is connected and usable (it must be a professional account)
• They have permission to use both for ads

🔎 Bonus: If you’re not sure how to connect your Instagram account:
Go to your Instagram profile > Menu > Ads payments > Add new payment method with a Facebook account. Then select your ad account and tap Continue.

For a full walkthrough, you can follow this guide: https://help.instagram.com/282255443132789/ 

“I can’t add someone (or the button is greyed out)”

This comes down to permissions.

If you don’t have admin (or full control), you won’t be able to add or manage people.

💡 Fix: You’ll need someone with the right access level to do this, or upgrade your permissions first.

“I don’t see the ad account at all”

This usually means one of two things:

• The ad account hasn’t been added to your business portfolio
• Or it’s owned by another business

💡 Fix: In that case, you’ll need to either add it to your portfolio or request access from the owner.

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“I can’t add an ad account or share access”

If everything looks right but you still can’t add or share access, it might be a setup issue rather than permissions.

This can happen if your email hasn’t been verified or your ad account doesn’t have a payment method set up yet.

💡 Fix: Go to your ad account settings, make sure your email is verified, and add a payment method if needed. Then try again.

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⚡Pro tip: Save time and stay in control of your marketing accounts

Working with marketing partners or agencies? There’s an easier, faster, and more secure way to share access to your business accounts.

With Leadsie, you can grant access to all your marketing accounts in just a few clicks. 

What is Leadsie?

Leadsie is a client onboarding software that simplifies requesting and giving access to marketing assets, social media, and ad accounts with one secure link. Give access to your Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok, Shopify, LinkedIn, and 20+ other accounts without sharing passwords.

How does Leadsie work?

Leadsie speeds up client onboarding by replacing manual access requests with one secure approval link. Your agency partner sends it to you, you approve the permissions you want to give, and they get instant access.

Benefits of Leadsie for client onboarding

✅ Approve the exact access your partners need 

✅ Keep all your permissions secure and easy to manage

✅ Reduce onboarding time by more than 50%

✅ Avoid costly mistakes like giving the wrong level of access

✅ Get projects started faster

🎁 If your agency isn’t using Leadsie yet, share this with them—they can try it free for 14 days (no credit card needed)!

P.S. It's risk-free and you get to keep the account connections after the trial ends 🙌