How does the DV360 authorized sellers setting filter inventory?
Part of Google Ads placements
The short answer
The authorized sellers setting in Display & Video 360 is an inventory source quality option. It checks each seller in a bid request's supply chain against the publisher's ads.txt or app-ads.txt file, always blocks undeclared sellers, and lets the buyer choose whether to bid through direct sellers only, direct sellers and resellers, or publishers with no file.
Key takeaways
- Display & Video 360 checks each node in the SupplyChain object against the publisher's file, and an empty SupplyChain object counts as unauthorized.
- Unauthorized sellers are blocked under all three options; the choice only decides how resellers and publishers without a file are treated.
- The option is set at partner, campaign, insertion order or line item level, new items inherit it from their parent, and SDF uploads change it in bulk.
- The Troubleshooter separates sellers missing from a file from publishers with no file, which tells a buyer which fix applies.
What is the authorized sellers setting in DV360?
Google's Authorized Digital Sellers help page (opens in a new tab) treats the setting as buying policy, not as a list. A site list says where a line item may serve; the authorized seller option says which sales paths into those sites it accepts. The two controls are separate, so a clean, approved site list can still lose delivery to this setting.
| Option in the interface | Value in the SDF column | Bids through DIRECT sellers | Bids through RESELLER sellers | Bids on publishers with no file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized Direct Sellers only | Authorized Direct Sellers | Yes | No | No |
| Authorized Direct Sellers and Resellers | Authorized Direct Sellers And Resellers | Yes | Yes | No |
| Authorized and Non-Participating Publishers | Authorized and Non-Participating Publisher | Yes | Yes | Yes |
No option buys from undeclared sellers. Google's bidding table marks an unauthorized seller as never bid on, whatever the targeting status, and adds that other bid rejection reasons may still apply. The setting only decides how strict Display & Video 360 is about resellers and about publishers that have published nothing.
How does DV360 use ads.txt and app-ads.txt to filter inventory?
Display & Video 360 checks that every seller, including intermediaries, identified in the SupplyChain object is authorized by the publisher by checking the publisher's ads.txt/app-ads.txt files and automatically excludes inventory from unauthorized sellers
The check runs on the chain, not only on the last seller. The IAB Tech Lab SupplyChain object specification (opens in a new tab) gives each node an advertising system domain (asi) and a seller ID (sid), the same values used in ads.txt files. A reseller that forwards a request appends its own node, so one impression can carry the publisher's account and one or more resellers.
How one web or app request reaches a bid decision
- Find the publisher's file. For a website, ads.txt at the root domain; for an app, the app-ads.txt file on the developer website listed in the app store.
- Match each node. Each seller in the SupplyChain object has to appear in that file with its exchange domain and account ID; a seller that does not appear is unauthorized and the request is dropped.
- Read the relationship. Declared sellers are sorted into DIRECT or RESELLER from the file's account type field.
- Apply the option. The line item's authorized seller option decides whether a RESELLER path, or a publisher with no file at all, may receive a bid.
Three cases sit outside that flow. Google says CTV devices that do not support app-ads.txt are treated as non-participating and bid regardless of targeting. Digital out of home inventory is not covered by either specification. For shared CTV inventory, a partner named in inventorypartnerdomain is checked only when the SSP also passes that field.
Should resellers be allowed in DV360?
The answer depends on how the listed sites are sold. IAB Tech Lab's ads.txt 1.1 implementation guide (opens in a new tab) says that when a publisher outsources the majority of its monetization, the most direct route may be through a reseller. A direct only default can quietly remove those publishers from an approved list.
| Option | Strengths | Weaknesses | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized Direct Sellers only | Shortest declared paths; simple to state in a buying policy | Drops publishers whose declared paths are all RESELLER | The client asks for direct paths in writing |
| Authorized Direct Sellers and Resellers | Keeps publishers that rely on a declared partner; undeclared sellers stay blocked | Accepts longer chains, so each reseller still needs a sellers.json check | The list includes publishers that outsource ad sales |
| Authorized and Non-Participating Publishers | Reaches publishers that have not posted a file | Google says it increases inventory quality risk and suggests it only temporarily, such as for private deals | A specific private deal with a known publisher |
Allowing resellers does not end the review: the sellers.json specification (opens in a new tab) shows whether the exchange lists a reseller's seller ID as a publisher or an intermediary.
What happens to sites without ads.txt in DV360?
A publisher with no ads.txt or app-ads.txt file is non-participating in Google's terms, and only the third option bids on it, at the buyer's own risk in Google's words. The missing ads.txt guide covers confirming an absent file. A Display & Video 360 buyer has a narrower question: is the site truly non-participating, or can Google not read a file that exists?
Google names that second case. A domain or app can show as non-participating despite having a file when the Google crawler cannot discover it or it does not follow the IAB Tech Lab specification. For apps, the listing must carry a valid developer website and the file must be reachable from the root domain or a valid subdomain, because, under the app-ads.txt specification (opens in a new tab), verifiers derive the file's path from that developer URL.
Where is the authorized sellers setting applied in DV360?
Google says the option can be applied at the partner, campaign, insertion order or line item level, and new entities inherit their parent's setting. Because the default is set at the partner level and can be overwritten below it, two line items in one advertiser can run under different options without anyone touching them.
Changing the option on one item or in bulk
- Open the item. In the insertion order or line item details, find Inventory source, then Quality, and choose an option.
- For many line items, start at the advertiser. Open Resources, then Brand controls, choose View breakdown, then Actions and Download to export the Structured Data File.
- Edit one column. Set Inventory Source Targeting, Authorized Seller Options to an accepted value from the SDF Line Item reference (opens in a new tab), where the column is required for Display, Video and Audio line items.
- Upload and read back. Choose Actions, then Upload, and open a few line items to confirm the new value.
When web and app inventory need different policies, Google suggests temporarily using separate line items, since one line item carries one option. API users set the same choice as an authorized seller status targeting option, whose reference page (opens in a new tab) maps each enum value to its interface label.
How do you see what the authorized sellers setting is filtering?
Display & Video 360 reports the two kinds of loss in different places, and each points to a different fix. Google's Troubleshooter page (opens in a new tab) counts Unauthorized seller (Ads.txt) as a prebid filter for sellers the publisher did not declare, and lists Authorized Seller state under targeting for impressions filtered because the advertiser excludes inventory without an ads.txt file.
| Signal | Where to find it | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unauthorized seller (Ads.txt) | Troubleshooter, Prebid | A seller in the chain is undeclared in the publisher's file | Ask for a file fix; no option unblocks it |
| Authorized Seller state | Troubleshooter, Targeting | The option excluded publishers without a file | Decide per publisher, not per line item |
| Authorized Seller state dimension | Reports | Delivery split into Authorized Direct Sellers, Authorized Resellers, Non-Participating Publishers and Ineligible | Compare the mix with the buying policy |
| Inventory Availability report, reach forecasts | Planning tools | Estimated reach under each option | Compare before switching a live line item |
What does an authorized sellers review look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
An escape room operator in Saskatchewan
A fictional escape room and party venue operator in Saskatoon and Regina asks its trading desk for English display ads beside Saskatchewan local news, events listings and family weekend content. The approved list holds 48 publishers.
The new line item inherits Authorized Direct Sellers only from the partner. Checking each listed site's ads.txt, the desk finds two local news sites that declare only RESELLER lines to a regional sales house, whose seller IDs appear in the exchanges' sellers.json files as intermediaries. One community events site has no file.
The desk switches the line item to Authorized Direct Sellers and Resellers and notes why in the buying policy. It keeps the events site off this line item and asks the publisher to post a file. With too few queries for the Troubleshooter, it compares options in the reach forecast and reads the Authorized Seller state report after the first week.
How does PlacementGraph show who sells each site before a DV360 buy?
What should a trading desk check before changing the authorized seller option?
Before switching a line item's authorized seller option
- The value the line item inherited has been read in Inventory source, not assumed from the help page.
- The client's buying policy says whether reseller paths are acceptable, and the line item note records the rule applied.
- Each RESELLER path on a listed site has been looked up in the exchange's sellers.json.
- Non-participating publishers have been checked for a file Google may not be able to crawl.
- Any non-participating option is limited to a named private deal or a separate line item with an end date.
- The reach forecast has been compared across options before a live change.
For deals on the same line item, see Display & Video 360 inventory sources.
Frequently asked questions
Does Display & Video 360 read sellers.json for the authorized seller check?
Google's help page describes matching each seller in the SupplyChain object against the publisher's ads.txt or app-ads.txt file, and does not describe sellers.json as part of that check. To learn who a reseller is, a buyer still looks up its seller ID in the exchange's sellers.json directory.
Why is the authorized seller option missing on some line items?
Google says the option may not be visible on line item types that exclusively target ineligible inventory, where ads.txt or app-ads.txt enforcement does not apply. Digital out of home is the example the page names, so the setting's absence there is expected.
Can one line item use different authorized seller options for web and apps?
No. A line item carries one authorized seller option. When web and app buying need different policies, Google's help page suggests temporarily using separate line items for web and app inventory, each with its own option, then reporting on them side by side.
How soon does a publisher's corrected ads.txt file change what Display & Video 360 buys?
Google's help page gives no recrawl timing. The ads.txt specification says that without cache-control directives, consuming systems should default to an expiry of 7 days. Recheck the Troubleshooter or the Authorized Seller state report about a week after the publisher confirms the change.
Sources
- Authorized Digital Sellers (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Troubleshoot your deals and line items (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Structured Data Files v11: Line Item (opens in a new tab)Google for Developers
- AuthorizedSellerStatus (opens in a new tab)Google for Developers, Display & Video 360 API
- SupplyChain object (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- ads.txt specification version 1.1 (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- app-ads.txt specification (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- ads.txt 1.1 Implementation Guide (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- Sellers.json specification (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.