Hiring an agency for TikTok Shop raises a practical question on day one: how do they get in? Too many brands answer it by emailing over the owner login. That works for an afternoon and causes problems for months. TikTok gives sellers two proper ways to let outside help into a shop, a staff sub-account created in User Management and a formal TikTok Shop Partner (TSP) authorization. Ads usually need a third step in TikTok’s Business Center. Each one controls a different slice of access, and each can be switched off without changing your password.
This guide follows TikTok’s US Seller University pages “How to use User Management” (dated June 16, 2026) and “Work with TikTok Shop Partners” (dated May 26, 2026), plus TikTok Academy’s agency material for Business Center. Menu names move around, so treat paths below as a snapshot and check them against your own Seller Center.
Short version. Never share the owner login. For an agency team member, the owner adds them under Account Settings → User Management → Add User, picks one or more of eight preset roles, and the invitee has 120 hours to activate from email. For an agency that is a registered TikTok Shop Partner, the agency sends an authorization link; US sellers authorize (and renew) only through that link, for up to one year, and can cancel any time under TikTok Shop Partner → My Services. Ad accounts are shared separately through Business Center.
Why Sharing the Owner Login Is the Wrong Answer
The owner account is the one account TikTok treats as the shop itself. According to User Management, only the owner can add users and assign roles, and a set of pages is visible to the owner alone: Account Information, Holiday Mode, Tax Information, Bank Accounts, Communication Preference, Delegation Mode, User Management and Linked TikTok Accounts. Hand out that login and an outside party can change where payouts go, unlink your TikTok account, or add and remove other users. You also lose any audit trail of who did what.
There’s a softer cost too. When an agency relationship ends badly, a brand that shared its owner credentials has to reset passwords, re-secure email and phone verification, and hope nothing was changed in the meantime. A brand that used sub-accounts or a TSP authorization just deactivates a user or cancels an authorization. Our guide to TikTok Shop account protection covers the rest of the security basics, including keeping a backup admin.
Option 1: Add Agency Staff as Sub-Accounts
This is the right route when an agency’s people will work inside your Seller Center day to day and the agency isn’t operating through a TSP authorization, or when you want named individual logins you control.
How to add a user
- Log in as the shop owner and go to Account Settings → User Management. (TikTok’s other help pages describe the path as My Account → Account Settings → User Management.) Click Add User.
- Select one or more roles, enter the person’s email address and pick a default language, then submit.
- The invitee gets an activation email and must set a password within 120 hours. You can see pending invitations on the Invited User tab and delete one before it’s activated.
- Once activated, the user appears on the Added User tab, where you can Edit roles, Deactivate (suspend access, reversible) or Delete them.
One snag catches agencies constantly: TikTok says one email address can only be added to one store. A strategist who already has a sub-account on another client’s shop under the same email will be rejected. The fix is for the agency to use a separate email per client shop, or for the other store’s owner to delete that sub-account first. Plan for this before kickoff rather than discovering it on the onboarding call.
The eight preset roles, and which one each agency function needs
Roles, not individual permissions, control access. TikTok’s FAQ is explicit that you can only assign roles to a sub-account, though you can stack several on one person and the owner can create custom roles. Every preset role gets the general pages (Homepage, Shop Health, Help Center, Academy, Data Compass, Message Center and some Seller Profile tabs). Beyond that, per TikTok:
| Preset role | What it can view and edit (beyond general pages) | Typical agency use |
|---|---|---|
| Main Administrator | Almost everything except owner-only pages such as User Management, Account Information and Linked TikTok Accounts | Full-service account lead, only if you trust them with near-total control |
| Affiliate Manager | Affiliate Marketing | Creator outreach, samples, commission plans |
| Advertising Manager | Ads | Paid media buyer |
| Marketing Specialist | Promotions | Vouchers, flash deals, campaign registration |
| Customer Service Agent | Customer IM, Products, Orders, Shipping | Outsourced customer service |
| Order Fulfillment Specialist | Orders and Shipping | 3PL or fulfillment partner |
| Product Management Specialist | Customer IM; view-only Products, Orders, Shipping | Listing or catalog reviewer (note the view-only limits) |
| Finance Specialist | Finance (bills, payments, invoice center) | Bookkeeper, rarely an agency |
Two practical notes. First, TikTok warns that permissions are split into viewing and editing, so a role can see a page without being able to change it. If an agency says they “can’t edit products,” check whether you gave them a role with view-only product access before assuming a bug. Second, start narrow. An affiliate agency rarely needs Ads or Finance, and a media buyer rarely needs order editing. Adding a role later takes a minute; undoing a mistake made with too much access can take much longer.
Looking for a team that onboards the right way?
We set up access with scoped roles from day one, document exactly who can touch what, and run creator, LIVE and ads programs inside those limits.
Apply to Work With Us →Option 2: Authorize a TikTok Shop Partner (TSP)
TikTok Shop Partners are third-party service providers registered with TikTok. TikTok describes three partner types: seller services that help run and grow shops, creator services, and creator matchmakers or partner-affiliates. If your agency is a registered TSP, the formal route is a service authorization rather than (or alongside) sub-accounts.
How authorization works for US sellers
- Find or confirm the partner. TikTok lists partners in Seller Center under Apps & Services → Agencies & Services and on its independent partner portal. You can send a request from there, and the request shows statuses such as Partner reviewing, Partner accepted and Connected.
- Receive an authorization link. TikTok says US and UK local merchants and cross-border merchants can only authorize a TSP service through an authorization link the partner sends. You open it, log in, and review the details.
- Check what you’re granting. The form covers the authorized accounts or shops, the duration and contact information, and TikTok tells sellers to review the partner’s analytics and management permissions before confirming.
- Confirm. Authorization can run for up to a year. Renewal, for US sellers, also happens through a link from the partner, and My Services flags authorizations expiring within 15 days.
TikTok’s Partner Center documentation describes what a partner can be authorized for, such as raising shop operation tickets on your behalf, viewing Data Compass data, and Seller Center access limited to the pages within the role you approve. It also notes that only the seller’s main account can authorize TSP services, and that the seller can skip adding Seller Center access during authorization. In other words, you can authorize a partner for data and tickets without letting them operate inside Seller Center.
How to end it
Go to Seller Center → TikTok Shop Partner → My Services, choose the service, click Cancel and confirm Cancel Authorization. TikTok says the partner then loses access to your data. Statuses in My Services tell you where things stand: Active, Completed (expired), Authorization Canceled, or Closed (the partner was removed from the platform for policy violations). Also note that unlinking a TikTok account immediately invalidates any service authorization tied to it.
Sub-Account or TSP Authorization: Which Should You Use?
| Sub-account (User Management) | TSP authorization | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Any person you invite by email | Registered TikTok Shop Partners only |
| Who sets it up | Shop owner account | Partner sends link; seller’s main account authorizes |
| Scope control | Preset or custom roles per person | Service scope and permission role chosen at authorization |
| Expiry | None until you deactivate or delete | Up to one year, then renew by link |
| Turning it off | Deactivate or delete user | Cancel Authorization in My Services |
Many brands use both: a TSP authorization for the agency as a company and a small number of named sub-accounts for specific people who need hands-on access. Whatever you choose, write it into the contract. Our list of agency contract red flags includes vague language about account ownership and access, and it’s worth fixing before signing.
Don’t Forget the Ads Side: Business Center
Seller Center access doesn’t automatically include your TikTok ad account. Agencies running paid media typically work from their own TikTok Business Center. TikTok Academy’s agency course describes two ways an agency centralizes a client’s ad accounts: creating a new ad account from its Business Center, or requesting access to an existing ad account by pasting in the Ad Account ID and choosing the access level. The client, as the ad account’s admin, then accepts the request in Ads Manager.
If you already have an ad account with spend history, the request-access route keeps the account (and its billing) in your name. If an agency proposes creating a new ad account for you, ask whose Business Center owns it and what happens to it if you part ways. The same thinking applies to creator content you boost: our guide to Spark Ads and whitelisting explains how creator authorization codes work.
An Access Checklist for Agency Onboarding
- List every function the agency will run (affiliates, ads, promotions, customer service, LIVE) and map each to the narrowest role.
- Ask whether the agency is a registered TSP. If so, decide whether you want a TSP authorization, sub-accounts, or both, and what scope the authorization should include.
- Use named, per-person sub-accounts with agency emails dedicated to your shop, so the one-email-one-store rule doesn’t block anyone.
- Keep owner-only pages owner-only. Bank accounts, tax information and user management stay with you.
- Share ad accounts through Business Center rather than logins, and keep billing ownership clear.
- Calendar the TSP renewal date if you authorized one; it lapses after the period you chose.
- Review users monthly. Deactivate anyone who has left the agency or no longer works on your account.
The first weeks with a new agency set the tone for the relationship. Our first 90 days with a TikTok Shop agency guide covers what should happen after access is in place.
Offboarding: Removing Access When an Agency Relationship Ends
When you part ways, work through the same three layers in reverse. In User Management, deactivate or delete every agency sub-account. In My Services, cancel any TSP authorization. In Ads Manager or Business Center, remove the agency’s access to your ad accounts. Then check Linked TikTok Accounts and your bank account details as owner to confirm nothing changed. If you’re switching agencies rather than bringing the work in-house, our guide on when to switch TikTok Shop agencies (linked below) covers how to hand over without losing momentum.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a user to my TikTok Shop Seller Center?
Log in as the shop owner, go to Account Settings, then User Management, and click Add User. Choose one or more roles, enter the person's email and a default language, and submit. TikTok says the invitee must activate the account from the email within 120 hours. Only the owner account can add users.
What permissions can I give a TikTok Shop sub-account?
You assign roles, not individual permissions. TikTok's US User Management page lists eight preset roles: Main Administrator, Affiliate Manager, Finance Specialist, Advertising Manager, Marketing Specialist, Customer Service Agent, Order Fulfillment Specialist and Product Management Specialist. You can stack roles, and the owner can create custom roles. Bank accounts, tax information, User Management and Linked TikTok Accounts stay owner-only.
Why can't I add my agency's email as a sub-account?
TikTok says one email address can only be added to one store. If that email is already a sub-account on another shop, or was used to register a shop, it's blocked. Use a different email dedicated to your shop, or have the other store's owner delete the existing sub-account.
How do I authorize a TikTok Shop Partner agency?
US sellers authorize a TikTok Shop Partner service through an authorization link the partner sends. Open it, log in with the main account, review the shops, duration and permissions, and confirm. Authorization lasts up to one year and is renewed through a new link from the partner.
How do I remove an agency's access to my TikTok Shop?
Deactivate or delete their sub-accounts in User Management, cancel any partner authorization under TikTok Shop Partner, then My Services, then Cancel Authorization, and remove their access to your ad accounts in Ads Manager or Business Center. TikTok says a canceled partner can no longer access your data.