How to Get DV360 Access: Your Complete Guide to Onboarding Display & Video 360

Understanding DV360 Access

Display & Video 360 (DV360) is Google's enterprise demand-side platform (DSP), part of the wider Google Marketing Platform. Unlike Google Ads, which anyone can sign up for in minutes, DV360 is built for scaled, professional media buying — and getting access works differently.

If you're evaluating DV360 or trying to activate a seat, the single most common source of confusion is how to actually get in. There isn't one path; there are several, and the right one depends on your spend, your team's expertise, and how much control you want over billing and technology fees.

This guide walks through every realistic route to DV360 access, what each involves, and how to choose the model that fits your organisation.

Why DV360 Access Isn't Self-Signup

DV360 is a controlled-access platform. Google does not offer an open, self-service registration page where you enter a card and start buying. Access is provisioned through a Google Marketing Platform organisation and a partner or advertiser structure, with billing and contracts attached.

There are a few reasons for this:

• Minimum commitment. DV360 is designed for meaningful media budgets, not test spends of a few pounds.
• Brand safety and quality. Google vets who transacts on premium inventory and connected TV supply.
• Billing complexity. Media costs, platform (technology) fees, data fees and third-party costs all need a proper commercial structure.

Because of this, almost everyone gains access via one of the three models below.

The Three Main Routes to DV360 Access

1. Direct seat with Google

A direct relationship means you contract with Google, hold your own DV360 partner or advertiser structure, and manage billing directly. This is typically reserved for large advertisers and agencies with substantial, consistent spend.

• Best for: Large in-house teams and agencies with high, predictable budgets.
• Pros: Full ownership, direct commercial relationship, complete control.
• Cons: High spend thresholds, longer procurement, and you carry all operational responsibility.

2. Partner or reseller seat

Most advertisers access DV360 through an authorised partner who already holds a seat. The partner provisions an advertiser account for you within their organisation, handles billing and platform fees, and supports onboarding.

This is the fastest and most flexible route for the majority of businesses. Depending on how the relationship is structured, you can run the platform yourself, hand it over entirely, or work in a shared model.

• Best for: Brands and agencies that want faster access without meeting direct-seat thresholds.
• Pros: Quicker setup, flexible billing, expert support, no minimum-spend barrier from Google directly.
• Cons: You rely on the partner's structure and terms.

Learn more about how this works on our DV360 partner account page.

3. Managed-service access

With managed access, a partner holds the seat and runs campaigns on your behalf. You retain strategic control and reporting visibility, but the day-to-day trafficking, optimisation and troubleshooting sit with an expert team.

• Best for: Teams without in-house programmatic specialists, or those who want to scale without hiring.
• Pros: No platform learning curve, immediate expertise, faster time-to-results.
• Cons: Less hands-on control if that's what you're after.

Explore our DV360 managed services for the full picture.

Comparing DV360 Access Models

Access Model	Who Holds the Seat	Who Runs Campaigns	Best For	Speed to Launch
Direct seat	You	Your team	Large advertisers/agencies	Slower
Self-serve (partner)	Partner	Your team	In-house teams wanting control	Fast
Co-managed	Partner	Shared	Growing teams building capability	Fast
Managed service	Partner	Partner team	Teams needing expertise	Fastest

If you want to run the platform yourself under a partner seat, our DV360 self-serve account option gives you hands-on control with support in the background. If you'd prefer to share responsibilities, the co-managed model splits the work between your team and ours.

What You Need Before You Get Access

Regardless of route, a few prerequisites smooth the onboarding process:

• A Google Marketing Platform organisation — the container that links DV360 with tools like Campaign Manager 360.
• Clear billing and invoicing details — including who pays media, platform fees and any data costs.
• Defined user roles — who needs admin, standard or read-only access.
• Brand safety and inventory preferences — the categories, exchanges and channels you want to run.
• Tracking and measurement setup — floodlight tags, conversion definitions and analytics connections.

Having these ready means your seat can be provisioned and campaigns launched with minimal back-and-forth.

Understanding Users, Roles and Permissions

DV360 access isn't binary — it's layered. Once a seat exists, individual users are granted roles at the partner or advertiser level. Common permission types include:

• Admin: Full control over settings, users, and billing configuration.
• Standard: Can build, edit and manage campaigns.
• Read-only: Can view reporting and campaign structures without editing.

Getting these roles right early prevents both security risks and workflow bottlenecks. In a managed or co-managed setup, your partner will typically recommend a permission structure that keeps your team informed while protecting live campaigns.

How Billing and Fees Work

DV360 costs generally break into three buckets:

1. Media cost — what you pay for the impressions themselves.
2. Platform fee — the DV360 technology fee applied to media.
3. Data and third-party fees — audience data, verification, or other add-ons.

How these are invoiced depends entirely on your access model. With a direct seat, you're billed by Google. With a partner or managed seat, billing flows through the partner, which can simplify reconciliation and often removes minimum-spend friction. We don't publish fixed pricing here because it varies by scope — see our pricing page or request a tailored figure.

Choosing the Right Access Model

Ask yourself three questions:

• Do we have in-house programmatic expertise? If yes, self-serve or co-managed suits you. If not, managed service is safer.
• How much do we plan to spend, and how consistently? Very high, stable budgets may justify a direct seat; most others benefit from a partner seat.
• How much control do we want over billing and technology? More control means more responsibility — decide where your team's time is best spent.

For a broader overview of how these options fit together, visit our services page.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Waiting for self-signup that doesn't exist. Choose a route and start the conversation.
• Underestimating onboarding time. Billing setup, tag deployment and user provisioning take planning.
• Ignoring role hygiene. Loose permissions create risk; too-tight permissions slow teams down.
• Overlooking measurement. Get conversion tracking right before you spend, not after.

Get DV360 Access the Right Way

Getting into DV360 shouldn't be the hardest part of your programmatic strategy. Whether you want a self-serve seat, a co-managed setup, or fully managed campaigns, the right access model gets you live quickly and set up to scale.

Ready to activate your DV360 seat or discuss which model fits your team? Talk to a DV360 expert and we'll map the fastest, cleanest route to access for your goals.