How to give someone access to Google Tag Manager
Open Admin, click User Management, click the plus button and choose Add users. Enter their email address, choose an account permission and a permission for each container, then click Invite. About 2 minutes. You need to be an Administrator on the account.
This is for the person who runs a Google Tag Manager account and wants to let a colleague or an agency in. You open Admin, then User Management, add their email and choose two things, an account permission and a permission on each container. Give the lowest permission that lets them do the job.
Before you start
You need to be an Administrator on the Tag Manager account. They need a Google account.
- Time
- About 2 minutes
- Account
- A Tag Manager account with two containers, walked read-only
| Role | What it can do here |
|---|---|
| Account Administrator | Can create new containers and modify user permissions for the account as well as its containers. This is the wording Tag Manager shows next to the Administrator box. |
| Account User | Can view basic account information. This box is ticked by default when you invite someone. |
| Container Read | Can view tags, triggers, and variables. |
| Container Edit | Can create workspaces and edit tags, triggers, and variables. Cannot modify user permissions. |
| Container Approve | Can create container versions. |
| Container Publish | Can publish container versions. |
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1
Open your container and click Admin
Go to Tag Manager, open the container and click the Admin tab at the top.
You should see: Two columns, Account on the left and Container on the right, each with a User Management entry.
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2
Click User Management
Click User Management in the Account column to give access to the account and its containers. Click it in the Container column to manage one container only.
You should see: A panel called Account permissions with a list of people, their roles and their status.
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3
Click the plus button, then Add users
Click the blue plus button at the top right of the panel. The menu has two entries, Add users and Add user groups. Choose Add users.
You should see: A panel called Send invitations with an Email addresses field.
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4
Enter their email address
Type the Google account email of the person in Email addresses.
You should see: The address shown in the field.
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5
Choose the account permission
Under Account permissions, tick Administrator only if they must create containers and manage users. Otherwise leave User ticked.
You should see: User ticked, and Administrator unticked unless you chose it.
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6
Choose a permission for each container
Under Container permissions, click a container, tick Read, Edit, Approve or Publish in the Direct column and click Done. Use Set all to apply one level to every container.
You should see: The container's row changes from None to the level you chose.
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7
Click Invite
Click Invite at the top right of the panel.
You should see: The panel closes and the person is listed with an invitation status until they accept.
If it does not work
You cannot find User Management, or the plus button is missing. Only an Administrator on the account can add users. Ask an Administrator to add the person or to make you one.
The person says they cannot edit anything. Open their container permissions and check the level. Read only lets them look. They need Edit to change tags and Publish to push changes live.
The person was invited but cannot see the container. The container shows None until you set a permission on it. Open Container permissions in their row and choose a level.
Questions
Where do I give someone access in Tag Manager?
Open your container, click the Admin tab, then click User Management. There is one in the Account column and one in the Container column, and both open a list of who has access.
What is the difference between account and container permissions?
The account permission is Administrator or User. The container permissions are a separate list with four levels, Read, Edit, Approve and Publish. When you invite someone you choose both, and each container shows None until you set it.
Which permission should I give an agency?
Give the account permission User and Edit on only the containers they work on. Add Publish only if they should push changes live, and Approve or Publish are separate boxes so you can keep publishing with yourself.
Can I give access to just one container?
Yes. Leave the account permission on User and set a permission only on the container you want. The other containers stay at None.
Can I set the same permission on every container at once?
Yes. The Container permissions section has a Set all link at the right.
How we checked
Verified 11 Oct 2026 against the live interface on a Tag Manager account with two containers, walked read-only.
What we observed
- The Admin tab has two columns, Account and Container, and each has its own User Management entry. The Container column also shows the container's ID under its name.
- The plus button in the account's permissions list opens a menu with two entries, Add users and Add user groups. The list has the columns Name, Email, Roles and User status, and the owner's row read Administrator and Has access.
- The Send invitations panel has an Email addresses field, an Account permissions section with Administrator (unticked) and User (ticked by default), a Container permissions section listing each container with None and a Set all link, and an Invite button.
- Opening a container's permissions shows four levels with their descriptions, Publish, Approve, Edit and Read, and two columns of tick boxes labelled Inherited and Direct.
Related guides
Ready to do it?
Run these 7 steps on your own Google Tag Manager page. Each step shows in a panel on the page, Next when you are ready.