CustomerClientLink Undocumented Error: The change for mutate link is invalid.

[Kevin]

Hi,

I'm using the CustomerClientLinkOperation to request a new link in a customer account and keep running into an undocumented error:

My call looks like this:

https://googleads.googleapis.com/v6/customers/6511XXXXXX/customerClientLinks:mutate

{

"customerId": "6511XXXXXX",

"operation": {

"create": {

"clientCustomer": "customers/4291707582",

"status": "PENDING"

}

}

}

Error:

{

  "error": {

    "code": 400,

    "message": "Request contains an invalid argument.",

    "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT",

    "details": [

      {

        "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.ads.googleads.v6.errors.GoogleAdsFailure",

        "errors": [

          {

            "errorCode": {

              "managerLinkError": "INVALID_CHANGE"

            },

            "message": "The change for mutate link is invalid.",

            "location": {

              "fieldPathElements": [

                {

                  "fieldName": "operation"

                }

              ]

            }

          }

        ]

      }

    ]

  }

}

I'm authenticating with an MCC higher up the tree (of which 6511XXXXXX is a child), which should work.

I've tried a few permutations of this, but can't seem to resolve what's causing this error. I've got the same error using the PHP sdk.

Advice appreciated,  thanks!

Kevin

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Kevin,

Did you use this example for creating the link? If so and are running into this error, please reply privately with the full request and response, and your manager client customer Id.

Thanks,
Anthony

Anthony Google Ads API Team

ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q2AIcAw:ref

[Kevin]

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt response. Please give me permission to reply privately.

Thanks

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Kevin,

If you are unable to reply privately, you can email us at googleadsa...@google.com.

Regards,

[Shahil Verma]

Hi Kevin and Google Ads Support,

I'm encountering the same error and was wondering if you could help me understand how to resolve it. I've already reviewed and confirmed the access level for the customer account.

In my case, I'm trying to connect my account to another enabled MCC, and I do have admin access to the customer account and the MCC. Despite this, the error still persists. Could there be any other reason why this might be happening?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to the Google Ads API support team.

As per the provided information, I understand that you are encountering an INVALID_CHANGE error. This error indicates that the change for the mutate link is invalid. I would recommend you refer to this  CustomerManagerLinkService documentation to learn more about it and to know the valid request body for this service. Additionally, I would suggest Linking to Manager Accounts  documentation for more detailed information.

In order to assist you further, kindly share the complete updated API logs (request and response logs with request-id and request header) generated at your end to assist you better. 

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 guides PHP to enable logging at your end. For REST interface requests, you can enable logging via the curl command by using the -i flag.

Also, please be informed that currently v20 is the latest version in the Google Ads API. So, I would suggest you upgrade to the latest version, as soon as possible to benefit from new features. You may refer to this documentation on deprecation and sunset for more information regarding the specific deprecation and sunset dates for each available version.

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

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team

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[2025-08-07 06:39:11Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02AIcAw:ref" (ADR-00055908)

[Prime]

I have same issues but thanks for the information 

[Shahil Verma]

Hi Google Team,

Thank you for your quick response.

In most cases, everything is working well — I’m able to successfully connect my accounts to another MCC, and the functionality behaves as expected. I also confirmed that only accounts with admin access can initiate a link with an MCC, which aligns with your guidelines. I’ve already reviewed the documentation you mentioned and am following the same flow as outlined there.

However, there are a few exceptions where the linking process doesn’t work as intended.
For example, with one particular account (details below), I receive an error when attempting to link it to an MCC — even though I already have admin access to that MCC. Interestingly, the same process works perfectly for several other accounts under similar conditions.

Could you please help us understand why this specific account is returning an error?

Account: 4007012854

Exception Message:{

"StatusCode": 3,

"Details": "Request contains an invalid argument.",

"RequestId": "rhzUP1r30NSWuns7Z1xcAQ",

"Failure": {

"errors": [

{

"errorCode": {

"managerLinkError": "INVALID_CHANGE"

},

"message": "The change for mutate link is invalid.",

"location": {

"fieldPathElements": [

{

"fieldName": "operations",

"index": 0

}

]

}

}

],

"requestId": "rhzUP1r30NSWuns7Z1xcAQ"

}

}

StackTrace: at Google.Ads.Gax.Interceptors.UnaryRpcInterceptor.<>c__DisplayClass1_0`2.<Intercept>b__0(Task`1 oldTask)
at System.Threading.Tasks.ContinuationResultTaskFromResultTask`2.InnerInvoke()
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunFromThreadPoolDispatchLoop(Thread threadPoolThread, ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
--- End of stack trace from previous location ---
at System.Threading.Tasks.Task.ExecuteWithThreadLocal(Task& currentTaskSlot, Thread threadPoolThread)
--- End of stack trace from previous location ---
at Google.Api.Gax.Grpc.ApiCall.GrpcCallAdapter`2.<>c__DisplayClass4_0.<<CallAsync>g__WaitAndCallHandlers|0>d.MoveNext()
--- End of stack trace from previous location ---
at Google.Api.Gax.TaskExtensions.WaitWithUnwrappedExceptions(Task task)
at Google.Api.Gax.Grpc.ApiCall.GrpcCallAdapter`2.CallSync(TRequest request, CallSettings callSettings)
at Google.Api.Gax.Grpc.ApiCallRetryExtensions.<>c__DisplayClass1_0`2.<WithRetry>b__0(TRequest request, CallSettings callSettings) 

Thanks in advance.

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi,

Upon checking the UI, I could not find the customer acccount '4007012854' under the manager account '6316244932'. So, I can confirm that the customer acccount '4007012854' is not managed by the manager account '6316244932'. Please note that once the customer manager link status is set to inactive, the sub account is no longer managed by the manager account. I would recommend that you refer to this guide to link your customer account to your manager account.

Hope this helps. If you have any more queries, please feel free to get back to us.

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team

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[2025-08-07 19:15:34Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02AIcAw:ref" (ADR-00055908)

[Shahil Verma]

Hi,
Thanks for looking into this.

Yes, the above account is not yet connected to the mentioned MCC. However, my concern is that I have already sent a link request to account 4007012854 from my MCC 6316244932, which currently shows a pending status.

When I try to accept this link, I receive the error INVALID_CHANGE: the mutate link is invalid. You can verify in account 4007012854 that the link status is indeed pending. Since it is not inactive, we should be able to accept it.

Could you please help me with this issue?

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi,

I have raised your concern with the rest of our team and one of my teammates will reach out to you once we have an update. Meanwhile, your patience is appreciated.

 

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team

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[2025-08-08 14:50:22Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02AIcAw:ref" (ADR-00055908)

[Shahil Verma]

Hey Google Team,
Any update on this 

Thanks

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi Shahil,

We are still waiting for a reply from our engineering team that takes care of this issue. This may take a while. Once there is an update from them, I will get back to you in this thread. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Thanks,
 

Da Yang Google Ads API Team

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[2025-08-13 13:34:40Z GMT] This message is in relation to case "ref:!00D1U01174p.!5004Q02AIcAw:ref" (ADR-00055908)

[Shahil Verma]

Hey Google Team, 
Gentle reminder for this thread. 
We are eagerly waiting for the update.