An error occurred while calling the Google Ads API

[mai xun]

We keep getting authentication_error: NOT_ADS_USER when calling the Google Ads API. We have already created the relevant account in the background and don’t understand why this error occurs. I hope we can get an answer to this question as soon as possible. Thank you！ The SDK used is as follows： <dependency> <groupId>com.google.api-ads</groupId> <artifactId>google-ads</artifactId> <version>36.1.0</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId> <artifactId>guava</artifactId> <version>33.1.0-jre</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>com.google.protobuf</groupId> <artifactId>protobuf-java</artifactId> <version>3.19.6</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>com.google.api-client</groupId> <artifactId>google-api-client</artifactId> <version>1.32.1</version> </dependency>

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for contacting the Google Ads API support team.

The NOT_ADS_USER error occurs when the login user account / email address used to generate the access token is not associated with any Google Ads account. With this, make sure to log in with a valid Google Ads account (typically your manager account) for the OAuth flow.

Also, I would recommend using the Desktop app flow guide instead and not the service account flow if you can. You can only use it unless you need a domain-specific feature (for example, impersonation). One step being incorrect means that it won't work for service accounts, which appears to be the case here.

However, if you still want to use a service account, then make sure you follow this guide and use your desired client library to lessen the incorrect setup.

Please provide complete API logs (request and response logs with request-id and request header) generated at your end so that we can investigate this issue further.

If you are using a client library and haven't enabled the logging yet, I would request you to enable logging for the specific client library that you are using. You can refer to the Java guide  to enable logging at your end. For REST interface requests, you can enable logging via the curl command by using the -i flag.

You can send the details via Reply privately to the author option, or direct private reply to this email.

 

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team

Feedback
How was our support today?

               
[2025-04-28 16:37:07Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!500Ht01qV9w6:ref" (ADR-00302604)