How to Get Access to DV360 in India: A Step-by-Step Guide
DV360 has no public sign-up. Google sells it through its sales team, and most brands and agencies in India get access through a provider's partner seat, as a self-serve advertiser, a child seat or a managed service. Very large advertisers can contract with Google directly for their own partner seat, usually with spend commitments.
If you have used Google Ads, the first surprise with DV360 is that there is no "Start now" button. You cannot open an account with an email address and a card. DV360 is an enterprise product sold under contract, and someone has to create a place for you inside it.
That sounds harder than it is. For most Indian brands and agencies, getting access is a matter of days once the paperwork is ready. The real work is choosing the right route and account type, and agreeing the terms that protect you later. If you are new to the platform itself, start with our guide to what DV360 is.
Can you sign up for DV360 directly?
No. Google's DV360 help centre tells new advertisers to talk to its sales team, and there is no public sign-up form. Direct contracts with Google suit very large advertisers and agency groups, and they usually come with spend commitments.
Everyone else gets access under an existing partner seat. A partner is the top level of DV360. It holds billing, contracts, users and every advertiser beneath it. When a provider gives you access, it creates an advertiser or a child seat for you under its partner. If that structure is new to you, our guide to how DV360 works explains each level, from partner down to line item.
What are the routes to DV360 access in India?
| Route | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Direct contract with Google | Your own partner seat | Very large advertisers and agency groups |
| Provider's partner seat, self-serve | An advertiser with logins for your team | Brands and agencies with trained traders |
| Provider's partner seat, child seat | Your own space with several client advertisers | Agencies running DV360 for many clients |
| Co-managed | A shared advertiser, with the provider doing the hard parts | Teams building programmatic skills |
| Managed service or single campaign | An expert team runs it and you see reports | Brands and agencies without a trading team |
For most mid-sized brands and agencies, a provider's partner seat is the quickest route. You avoid a large commitment, and billing is usually local, in rupees with GST invoices. Providers differ a lot, though, so read our guide to choosing a DV360 reseller in India before you compare quotes.
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Which DV360 account type do you need?
Decide this before the first call, because it shapes control, cost and ownership.
- Advertiser account. One brand, set up under a provider's partner. Right for a single brand that wants its own data, tags and reports in one place. Our DV360 advertiser account page lists what setup includes.
- Child seat. An agency's own space under a larger partner seat, with room for many client advertisers. The parent seat handles the Google relationship and billing. Our post on child seat and partner accounts explains the difference in detail.
- Partner account. The top level, with full control over users, billing and advertisers. Google decides who gets one, and it usually means spend commitments and more admin.
- No login at all. If you would rather not run the platform, a managed service or a one-off campaign gives you results and reports without needing DV360 skills in-house.
How do you get a DV360 account, step by step?
Through a provider, the process usually runs like this:
- Discovery call. Share your brand, markets, monthly budget range, channels and who will use the platform. With us, this is a 30-minute call.
- Plan and proposal. You receive a written proposal with scope, fee model and timelines, often with a first media plan.
- KYC and agreement. The provider verifies your business and agrees the fee model, payment terms and any minimum spend in writing.
- Account creation. The provider creates your advertiser or child seat with the right currency, time zone and billing, plus brand safety defaults.
- User access. Your team is added with the right roles. Each person needs a Google Account linked to their work email.
- Tracking. Floodlight tags or analytics links are set up so conversions flow into DV360.
- First campaign. Deals, audiences and creatives go live after QA and brand safety checks.
What documents and details should you keep ready?
Having these in one place can save days:
- Registered business name and address
- GST registration for invoicing
- Website domains and app IDs you will advertise
- Names and work emails of everyone who needs access, and the role each one needs
- Expected monthly spend and the channels you want
- Who will run campaigns: your team, the provider or both
Some categories, such as financial services, healthcare and alcohol, have extra rules under Google's advertising policies. Mention your category early so any checks start in parallel.
Which user roles will your team get?
DV360 has several user roles. These are the ones you will meet most:
| Role | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Admin | Full control, including users and billing; exists only at partner level |
| Standard | Build and manage campaigns, creatives and reports, without user or billing control |
| Read only | View data and build reports |
| Reporting only | Create and manage reports |
Under a provider's seat, your traders will usually be Standard users and your managers Read only. The Admin role stays with whoever holds the partner. That is normal and not a reason to worry. What matters is that your contract says the advertiser data is yours.
How long does DV360 account setup take?
Once your company documents and billing details are in, most accounts are ready within a few working days. Programmatic Guaranteed deals with OTT apps or publishers can take longer, because each publisher confirms inventory for your dates.
A partner seat of your own takes longer still, because of commercial talks and Google's own approval. In practice, getting tags live on your website often takes more time than creating the account, so start that work early.
What should you set up before your first campaign?
Use the first week for groundwork, so your data is clean from day one:
- User access: give each person only the role they need.
- Conversion tracking: place Floodlight or Google tags on key pages such as lead forms and thank-you pages.
- Audiences: build remarketing lists and upload first-party lists where your consent and data policy allow.
- Brand safety: set content exclusions and decide on third-party verification.
- Creatives: check sizes, video lengths and landing pages for each channel.
- Naming rules: agree how campaigns, insertion orders and line items will be named, so reports stay readable.
What should you check in the contract?
Read for five things. They matter more than the headline price.
- Ownership. Who owns the audiences, reports and campaign history, and what happens to the advertiser if you leave? With us, your audiences, reports and campaign history belong to you whichever model you choose.
- Fees. Is the fee a percentage of media or fixed, what does it cover, and are media cost and fees shown separately? Expect terms to vary with spend: a brand putting ₹5 lakh a month through DV360 will usually get different terms from one spending ₹50 lakh. Our DV360 pricing guide lists the fee lines to expect.
- Minimums. What monthly spend is required, and what happens if you fall short? Our guide to the minimum budget for DV360 shows where minimums come from.
- Access. Which logins and roles will you get, and how will reports be shared?
- Exit. If you leave, how will audiences, tags and reports be handed over? Moving an advertiser between partner seats is not always a simple transfer, and some history may stay behind, so agree the steps in writing.
What if you do not want to log in to DV360 at all?
Plenty of teams do not. When we run your campaigns through our DV360 Managed Service or as a Campaign-Based Engagement, you follow spend and delivery in our DV360 Reports Section. It pulls data from DV360 through its APIs and updates daily, and agencies can ask for a login for each client, limited to that client's advertiser.
If you are weighing whether to run DV360 yourself at all, our self-serve vs managed DV360 comparison sets out when each model makes sense, and our guide on whether a managed DV360 service is worth it covers what a good managed partner should do.
Next step
Tell us your brand, budget and who will run campaigns, and we will suggest the right setup and timeline. Reach us through our contact page; a programmatic specialist replies within one working day.
