You've paid for the clicks, maybe for years, and now the agency says the Google Ads account is theirs, or it just stops replying. What you can do next depends on one thing: how much access you have today. With admin access, you can fix this yourself in minutes. Without it, the route runs through the agency and then Google, it's slower, and you may end up starting a new account. Here's each case in order. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Ask for your customer ID first. Google requires agencies to provide it when you ask, and you'll need it for everything else.
- If you have admin access, you don't need permission. You can unlink the agency's manager account yourself, once you've checked billing and tracking.
- If you don't, ask for admin access in writing and export whatever you can see.
- Google has a form for getting access back, but it needs proof the account is yours and is written for accounts with no reachable admin.
- If the account can't be recovered, start a new one in your own name. You lose the history in the old account, not your business.
Find out where you stand
Sign in to Google Ads and go to Access and security in the Admin menu. The Access level column shows what each person can do, and the Managers tab shows any agency account linked to yours. If you can't get in at all, search your inbox for old invitations from Google Ads, then skip to the section on asking in writing.
| What you have today | What to do | What you can't do yet |
|---|---|---|
| Admin access | Add a second admin from your business, then remove the agency yourself | Nothing. Admins can change access and unlink managers |
| Standard or read-only access | Export your reports now, then ask for admin access in writing | Change who has access, or unlink a manager |
| Email-only or billing access | Ask in writing for admin access and your customer ID | Run campaign reports |
| Only PDF reports, or no login | Ask in writing for your customer ID and admin access | See the account at all |
Source: Google Ads Help, about access levels, read November 2026.
Agencies usually run accounts from a manager account. If a manager account creates a new account, Google says it automatically becomes the owner. The owner's admins can then add and remove users on your account, grant or revoke admin access, and unlink other managers. An account you created yourself and linked later works differently: the agency doesn't get ownership unless someone with admin access turns it on.
Google also says owners "do not take data ownership or administrative rights away from client accounts", and that the client account "still owns its data and has the ability to remove ownership access by unlinking." That only helps if someone on your side has admin access, which is why the steps split here.
If you have admin access
You don't need the agency's permission: Google says users of the client account can always unlink a manager with ownership. Check what could break first, then do it in this order. If your contract still has time to run, read how to get out of a marketing agency contract before you start, because removing the agency doesn't end what you owe.
Add a second admin
Invite someone from your business, using a company email address, at Admin level. Google warns that an account with only one admin can lose access to its tags if that person becomes unavailable.
Check who pays Google
If the account is on monthly invoicing and the agency is the paying manager, the account stops serving after you unlink it. Set up new billing first.
Check your tracking
If the agency used its own cross-account conversion tag, it stops recording conversions for clicks after you unlink. Put your own conversion tag on the site first.
Check your audiences
Remarketing lists that rely on the agency's shared tag stop filling, you lose its shared lists, and ad groups that target them stop running. Note what depends on them.
Unlink the manager account
In Access and security, open Managers, find the agency and select Remove access in the Actions column. Review the preview, then select Unlink. Google says the account keeps its campaign history and features.
Remove individual logins
In Access and security, select Remove access for anyone from the agency. Then make sure the payment method on the account is yours.
If you don't: ask in writing
Email your account manager and the agency's owner. A written request starts the paper trail that Google's forms, or a lawyer, will want later. Keep it short and ask for four things:
- Our Google Ads customer ID, the 10-digit number for our account, and your manager account ID.
- Admin access for [name, company email address].
- Confirmation of whether your manager account holds ownership of our account, and who pays Google.
- A full export of campaign, keyword and conversion reports by month, before any access changes.
You're on firm ground with the first. Google requires third parties to provide customers with their customer IDs when requested and lists refusing to do so as untrustworthy behavior. Where monthly reporting applies, agencies must also show costs, clicks and impressions at account level, at the exact amount Google charged and without their own fees. They can meet that rule by letting you sign in to the account, so an agency that shares neither has a problem.
Admin access is less clear-cut. We couldn't find a line in Google's third-party policies saying an agency must give it to you, so your contract matters. Look for what it says about who owns the account and what happens when the relationship ends, and if a lot of money or history is at stake, have a lawyer read it.
Going to Google
Google has two routes, and they do different jobs.
- Account Access Request. Google's sign-in help points here when the person who managed the account has left, or when there are no active admins. The form asks for your company name, customer ID, manager account ID and the email address to add. Google says access follows once it has validated proof of account ownership.
- Third-party policy complaint. Use the complaint form if the agency refuses your customer ID, hides costs or misreports them. It asks for your customer ID and the agency's name and website, and lets you upload evidence. Account access isn't one of its listed reasons, so treat it as pressure rather than a way to get the account back.
Set your expectations on the first form. Its opening advice is to contact an existing admin, and an agency that's active and refusing is a different situation from an account nobody can reach. Google doesn't say how it handles that, and it publishes no response time or list of accepted documents. Send it anyway if you can show the account is yours: the contract, invoices showing Google Ads spend, card statements with Google charges, and ads that point to your domain.
If you have to start again
Sometimes the cleanest answer is a new account in your own name, especially when the agency owns the old one and the history isn't worth a legal bill.
Export what you can
Any reports you can reach, plus anything the agency will send: keywords, search terms, negative keywords and ad copy. That's what the history taught you.
Create the account yourself
Use a company email address, your own card and two admins from your business.
Install your own conversion tracking
Don't rely on the old agency's tag, and test that conversions record before you spend.
Get the old campaigns paused
Ask in writing. If the old campaigns keep running, you risk paying twice for the same searches.
Rebuild the best, not everything
Start with the campaigns that brought customers, then add more as data comes in.
You lose the campaign history and conversion data in the old account. You keep your website, your exports and your customers. One exception: if the old account was suspended, don't open a new one. Google treats that as circumventing its systems, as our guide to a suspended Google Ads account explains.
Same problem on Facebook?
Meta's rules are stricter. An ad account created in the agency's business portfolio can't be transferred, so the realistic options are shared access or a new account in your own portfolio. A Page is different: the agency removes it from its portfolio, and you then add it to yours. Our guide to switching agency without losing data covers the order. If the same company also holds your Google Business Profile or your website, those have their own routes.
Stop it happening again
- Create the Google Ads account yourself, with a company email address, and invite the agency into it.
- Keep two admins from your business on the account at all times.
- Don't turn on manager ownership unless there's a reason. Google recommends it only if the manager account needs those privileges.
- Put your own card on the account, so you can see exactly what Google charged.
- Write it into the contract: you own the account and everything in it, and access stays with you when the work ends.
That's how we work too: inside your own Google Ads account, never a locked agency one. Whoever you hire, make it one of the questions in our guide to choosing a Google Ads agency.
Questions people ask
Does my agency own my Google Ads account?
It depends who created the account and what your contract says. If the agency created it from its manager account, Google treats that manager as the owner, so its admins can add and remove users. Google also says the client account still owns its data, but you need admin access to act on that.
Can an agency refuse to give me access to my Google Ads account?
Google requires agencies to give you your customer ID and to report costs, but we couldn't find a Google rule that says they must give you admin access. Whether they can refuse depends on your contract and local law, so have a lawyer read it if a lot is at stake.
What is a Google Ads customer ID, and can I ask for it?
It's the 10-digit number that identifies your account. Google requires agencies to provide it when you ask, and lists refusing as untrustworthy behavior. You need it for both of Google's forms, so ask for it first.
Will I lose my campaign history if I unlink my agency?
No. Google says an account that unlinks from a manager won't lose its own campaign history or features. What can break is monthly invoicing paid through the agency, shared remarketing lists and cross-account conversion tracking, so check those first.
How do I get Google to give me access to my account?
Use the Google Ads Account Access Request form. Google says access follows after it validates proof of account ownership, but it doesn't list accepted documents or give a response time. The form is written for accounts with no reachable admin, so it may not settle a dispute with an active agency.
Should I just open a new Google Ads account?
If the agency owns the old account and won't move, that's often the practical answer. You lose the history in the old account, so export what you can first and get the old campaigns paused. If the old account was suspended, don't open a new one, because Google treats that as circumventing its systems.
Can I stop paying the agency until they give me access?
Be careful. Stopping payment doesn't end a contract, and it can give the agency a claim against you and a reason to dig in. Read your contract first, give notice the way it requires, and get advice if the amount is large.
Locked out, or planning to leave? Book a strategy call and we'll work out what you still control and what to do first.
