*Source: Marketplace Ad Pros — canonical version at https://marketplaceadpros.com/guides/how-to-get-access-to-client-amazon-accounts/*

# How to get access to a client's Amazon Ads and Seller Central accounts

## The short answer

Don't take the client's password. Each Amazon console has its own invite: the client adds you in the Amazon Ads
console under Access and settings, and in Seller Central or Vendor Central under User Permissions, at the lowest
level that covers your work. Tools that read the account's data need a separate step: the client authorizes the
app with their own login, and for Seller Central data that authorization has to be renewed every year.

*Published by Marketplace Ad Pros, which sells software agencies connect their clients' Amazon accounts to. Amazon
moves menus and renames permissions often, so labels below may differ slightly in your client's account. Sources are
listed at the end.*

*Last updated: October 14, 2026*

## Why not just share the login?

It's the fastest way to start, and it causes problems for the rest of the engagement:

- **Two-step verification goes to the owner's phone.** Every sign-in from a new device waits on the client.
- **Every change is recorded under the owner's name.** Nobody can tell which bid change came from you.
- **You can't scope it.** A shared login sees payments, deposit details and everything else in the account.
- **Ending the engagement means a password reset**, and every other person who had the password loses access too.

Separate invites fix all four, and they take the client about five minutes per console.

## What to ask for, console by console

| Access | Who sends it | Where | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Ads console | An admin on the client's ads account | Access and settings, then Users, then Invite user | Editor to run campaigns; Viewer for an audit or reporting |
| Seller Central | The primary account user | Settings, then User Permissions | Authorized-partner access, or a user scoped to advertising and reports |
| Vendor Central | An admin on the client's vendor account | Settings, then user permissions (label varies) | The vendor codes and areas you work on |
| Data for your tools | The client, with their own Amazon login | The tool's connect or authorization link | Read access to the accounts you manage |

### Amazon Ads console

Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, display ads, Sponsored TV and DSP are all permissioned in the Amazon Ads
console, separately from Seller Central. Removing someone from Seller Central does not remove their ads access.

- **Standard roles:** admin, editor and viewer. Ask for **Editor** if you will build and change campaigns, and
  **Viewer** for an audit or a reporting-only engagement. Ask for **Admin** only if you will handle billing or add
  other people for the client.
- **Custom permissions:** Amazon also lets the client grant access per application, such as reporting only or the
  Stores builder, which is useful when a client wants to keep billing to themselves.
- **Manager accounts:** Amazon supports invitations at the manager-account level or the advertiser level. An
  agency running many clients from one manager account can be invited once at that level instead of per
  advertiser. Billing can sit with the agency's manager account or with each advertiser.

### Seller Central

Seller Central access is set by the account's primary user from **User Permissions** in Settings. There are two
ways in, and Amazon prefers the first for outside companies:

- **Authorized partner (preferred for agencies).** Amazon's guidance is to add outside service providers as
  authorized partners rather than as users. The agency sends the client a consent link; the client chooses the
  marketplace and the permissions, then authorizes. Authorizations expire after a year, so put the renewal in
  the calendar.
- **A user login.** Some engagements still use a named user invited from User Permissions. If so, grant access by
  area: for PPC work that means the advertising area, including Campaign Manager, plus the reports you need. If
  Campaign Manager doesn't appear, advertising may not be activated on the account yet.

Leave payments, deposit methods and account settings off unless the engagement truly needs them.

### Vendor Central

Vendor Central has its own user permissions, managed by an administrator on the client's vendor account. Ask to be
limited to the vendor codes or groups you manage, and to the reporting areas you need. Vendor advertising runs in
the Amazon Ads console, so a vendor client usually needs to send two invites: one for Vendor Central and one for
the Ads console.

### Brand Analytics and Search Query Performance

These reports appear only for brand-registered accounts, and only to users who have been given access to them. If
you plan to use search-term share or search query performance data, ask for it in the same permissions request
instead of discovering it's missing in month two.

## User access is not app authorization

Being invited to a console lets *you* sign in. It doesn't let a reporting or optimization tool read the account.
Tools connect through Amazon's APIs, and each API has its own authorization:

- **Amazon Ads API.** The person who signs in with Amazon authorizes the app, and the app sees only the ad
  accounts that login can reach. If you already have Editor or Admin access to the client's ad accounts, you can
  usually connect them yourself.
- **Selling Partner API (Seller Central and Vendor Central data).** The selling partner authorizes the app.
  Third-party guides say that means the primary account user or a user given administrator-level rights. Amazon
  requires the authorization to be renewed every 365 days and emails a reminder about a month before it expires. For a
  vendor, the authorization covers the vendor codes tied to the login that authorizes it, so check it's the right
  login.

## A message you can send the client

> Hi [name], to get started we need access to your Amazon accounts. Please don't send us a password. Instead:
>
> 1. **Amazon Ads console:** go to Access and settings, then Users, and invite [agency email] as an **Editor**.
> 2. **Seller Central:** we'll send you a link to authorize us as a partner. Choose your marketplaces and approve
>    the advertising and reports permissions it lists.
> 3. **Our reporting tool:** we'll send a separate connect link. Sign in with your own Amazon login and approve
>    read access. It doesn't give us your password and you can revoke it any time.
>
> Each step takes a few minutes. Reply when they're done and we'll confirm we can see everything.

## Offboarding

When the engagement ends, remove access in each place it was granted, not just one:

1. The Amazon Ads console user (and any manager-account link).
2. The Seller Central or Vendor Central user or partner authorization.
3. Every app authorization the client granted for your tools. In Seller Central, apps are listed under **Manage
   Your Apps**.
4. Any shared folders or reports that still pull from the client's data.

## Connecting a client to Marketplace Ad Pros

Marketplace Ad Pros connects each client's Amazon Ads and Seller Central or Vendor Central data to Claude,
ChatGPT or our in-app chat, so your team can pull reports and work through reviews one brand at a time. The client
never shares a password:

1. **Create an integration link** in your Marketplace Ad Pros workspace: one for Amazon Ads (choose the region) and
   one for Seller Central or Vendor Central (choose the marketplace and account type).
2. **Send it to the client.** They open it, sign in with their own Amazon login and approve access. Each link
   works once and expires after 14 days.
3. **Group the client's ad accounts into a brand**, so reports, recommendations and chat stay scoped to that
   client.

If you already have access to a client's ad accounts, you can skip the link and connect them yourself.

Getting started takes three steps: sign up, send your first client their link, and run next week's review with it.
[Connect your first client free](https://app.marketplaceadpros.com/signup); when you're ready to run their
reviews through it, two weeks of the Launch plan is $20. Then work out what the client should pay with the
[agency pricing calculator](/amazon-ppc-agency-pricing-calculator/), and how many more you can take on with the
[agency capacity calculator](/amazon-agency-capacity-calculator/).

### When Marketplace Ad Pros is the wrong choice

- **You need clients to see a fully white-labeled tool.** That isn't available today.
- **You want hands-off autonomous bidding.** MAP recommends and your team approves.
- **You manage retailers other than Amazon.** MAP is generally available for Amazon only.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should a client give their agency their Amazon password?

No. Seller Central, Vendor Central and the Amazon Ads console all let the account owner invite other people with their own logins and limited permissions. A shared password also shares the owner's two-step verification, records every change under the owner's name, and means a password reset when the engagement ends. Ask for an invite to each console, and an app authorization for any tool.

### What access level does an agency need in the Amazon Ads console?

Editor, if you will create and change campaigns. Viewer is enough for an audit or reporting-only work. Admin is only worth asking for if you will manage billing or other users for the client. Amazon also supports custom permissions per application, so a client can grant exactly the tools you need.

### How does a client give an agency access to Seller Central?

From User Permissions in Seller Central. Amazon's guidance is that outside service providers should be added as authorized partners rather than as users, which in practice means the agency sends a consent link and the client chooses the marketplace and permissions before authorizing. Ask only for the areas you will work in, such as advertising and reports, and re-check the authorization each year.

### How do I get access to a client's Vendor Central account?

Ask an administrator on the client's Vendor Central account to invite you from its user permissions settings, and to limit you to the vendor codes and areas you will work on. Vendor Central advertising runs in the Amazon Ads console, so a vendor client usually needs to send two invites: one for Vendor Central reports and one for the Ads console.

### Who can authorize a third-party app on a client's Amazon account?

For the Amazon Ads API, whoever signs in with Amazon, and the app sees only the ad accounts that login can reach. For Seller Central and Vendor Central data, the selling partner authorizes the app, usually the primary account user or a user they have given administrator-level rights. Selling Partner API authorizations must be renewed every 365 days.

### Can an agency connect a client's accounts to a tool without the client's login?

Yes. The client authorizes the tool with their own Amazon login, and the tool receives a token, not a password. In Marketplace Ad Pros you create an integration link, send it to the client, and they approve access to Amazon Ads or Seller Central from their side. If you already have access to the client's ad accounts, you can connect them yourself with your own login.

## Related guides

- [Best Amazon agency software for multiple brands (2026)](/guides/best-amazon-agency-software-multiple-brands-2026/)
- [Amazon Selling Partner API (SP-API) explained](/guides/amazon-selling-partner-api-sp-api-explained/)
- [How to find wasted ad spend on Amazon: a 5-check audit](/guides/amazon-ppc-wasted-ad-spend-audit/)
- [Amazon advertising metrics glossary](/guides/amazon-advertising-metrics-glossary/)

## Sources

1. [Amazon Ads -- a guide to the Amazon Ads advertiser account (roles, manager-account and advertiser-level invites, billing)](https://advertising.amazon.com/library/guides/advertiser-account)
2. [Amazon Ads -- custom access controls for the advertising console](https://advertising.amazon.com/resources/whats-new/custom-access-controls)
3. [Amazon SP-API documentation -- authorize applications](https://developer-docs.amazon/sp-api/docs/authorizing-selling-partner-api-applications)
4. [Amazon SP-API documentation -- authorize public applications (365-day re-authorization)](https://developer-docs.amazon/sp-api/docs/authorize-public-applications)
5. [Amazon Seller Forums -- adding service providers as authorized partners rather than users](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/78c10543-85e2-4f62-a124-631346c0cd29)
6. [Advertising Beast docs -- Seller Central service provider permissions (consent-link flow)](https://docs.advertisingbeast.com/getting-started/onboarding/connecting-accounts/connecting-selling-partner-accounts/granting-account-access/seller-central-service-provider-permissions)
7. [Openbridge -- troubleshooting SP-API user permissions (admin rights to authorize)](https://docs.openbridge.com/en/articles/5915575-troubleshooting-sp-api-user-permissions)
8. [Intentwise -- managing access in Vendor Central](https://www.intentwise.com/blog/manage-access-vendor-central-portal)

Sources were checked on October 14, 2026. Menu labels are described as they appeared then.