What documents you need to open an ad account

The five facts every platform verifies

Every advertising platform runs the same background check before it lets an account spend money. It is answering one question: does the business described in the application actually exist, and is the person applying authorised to act for it?

Five facts get verified. The legal business name and registration number. The registered business address. A website that belongs to the business. A payment instrument in the business name. And the identity of the person who will control the account.

When any of these disagree with each other, review stalls. A company registered as “Northwind Trading GmbH” that applies under “Northwind Digital” will be questioned even when both names are legitimately used by the same people. Consistency across documents matters more than any single document being impressive.

Company registration and tax identification

The core document is whatever your jurisdiction issues as proof of legal existence: a certificate of incorporation, a commercial register extract, or a business licence. Platforms increasingly check online registries directly, which means the details in your application have to match the registry record exactly — including punctuation in the legal name.

The tax identifier — VAT number in the EU and UK, GST or ABN in Australia, EIN in the United States, TRN elsewhere — serves a second purpose. For businesses in the EU and UK it determines how VAT is applied to the advertising services, so a wrong or missing number creates an invoicing problem later as well as a verification problem now.

Sole traders and partnerships should expect manual review. There is no register entry to match against, so the platform has to assess the documents on their own merits. Budget extra time rather than assuming the application is stuck.

Proving the business exists online

A domain that does not resolve, a website with no company details, or a contact address that appears nowhere are the three most common reasons a real business fails verification. The reviewer is not judging your design. They are checking whether a third party could confirm the business is real.

The practical minimum is modest: a working website that names the business, an email address on your own domain rather than a free provider, and company details that match the registration. A postal address and phone number help. If you sell goods, a returns or contact page makes the review straightforward.

Brand-new businesses without a website face a genuine catch. The most reliable path is to have the account opened through a channel partner, who can submit the business for verification with documentation a self-serve signup will not accept.

Payment method and billing name

This is the single most common cause of delay. The payment method must be held in the legal name of the business being verified. A card in a director’s personal name, or in a different group company, will trigger a mismatch even when the money is ultimately coming from the right place.

Platforms also read repeated failed charges as a risk signal. Before applying, confirm the card is enabled for international transactions, carries enough limit for the intended first payment, and that the billing address registered with the issuer matches the address on the application.

Where a partner funds the account, this step changes shape. The partner’s payment instrument sits behind the account and your payment relationship is with the partner rather than the platform. That removes card and currency limits from the equation, but it adds a commercial agreement that is worth reading properly.

Authorised representative identity

The person who will control the account must be identifiable and connected to the business. A government-issued photo ID is standard. Some platforms also ask for a document tying that person to the company: a director listing, a letter of authorisation, or a registry record.

Two-factor authentication is effectively mandatory now, so confirm the nominated representative has a phone number and email address they will keep. Handing an account to a departing employee without transferring the recovery details is a well-worn route to losing access to your own account.

How the three platforms differ

Google is the most document-driven. Business verification is separate from account creation, it nominates a legal entity, and it feeds the advertiser verification programme that applies to advertisers regardless of spend level. Expect identity checks, business checks and, for some verticals, advertiser-specific checks.

Meta reviews at the business portfolio level rather than the ad account. Once a portfolio is verified, additional ad accounts inherit that status — which is why Meta rewards getting the structure right the first time rather than adding accounts ad hoc.

TikTok allows the fastest signup, but the lighter front door is matched by stricter review once spend begins. Accounts that clear signup in minutes can still be asked for documents at the first significant billing event.

What to prepare before you apply

Prepare these first: certificate of incorporation or registry extract; tax or VAT number; business address matching the registry; a live website naming the business; an email address on your own domain; a payment method in the business name; photo ID for the authorised representative; and a one-line description of what you advertise.

Assembling this before you start is the whole game. An application submitted complete moves through review in a single pass. An application submitted in stages joins a queue each time it is returned.

Frequently asked questions