Meta invitation or Page access request not showing: where it went and what to do

First work out what was sent, because each kind lands in a different place. A request for access to a Facebook Page is approved by someone with full control: in Meta Business Suite under Settings > Requests > Other requests, or on the Page itself under Page setup > Page access > Review request. An invitation to join a business portfolio, and Facebook access to a Page given to a person, arrive by email. An Instagram shared access invitation arrives as a notification and lasts 7 days.

What was sent?

Ask the sender which button they used. Each one goes somewhere else.

• Request shared access to a Facebook Page (an agency asking for your Page from its business portfolio). Lands with the people who have full control of the Page or of the business portfolio it is in. If the Page is in no business portfolio, its admin can accept.
• Ask a partner to assign you their assets (an agency's partner request to your business). Sent to an email address and a business portfolio ID. Someone with full control of that business portfolio approves, denies or changes it.
• Request access to an ad account in another business portfolio. The ad account owner, or someone with full control of the portfolio it is in, approves it.
• Invite people in a business portfolio's People settings (a person invited to join). Arrives by email.
• Page access > Add New on a Page (a person given Facebook access or task access to a Page). Arrives by email.
• Shared access > Invite people in the Instagram app. Arrives as an Instagram notification.

Meta's help does not name the screen where a partner request or an ad account request is approved. The request guide sets out where to start looking.

A Page access request: where the owner approves it

Only someone with full control can approve it, and Meta gives two places:

• In Meta Business Suite: Settings, then Other requests below Requests, which lists the businesses asking for access to your Page, then Approve or Decline.
• On the Page: Settings > Page setup, Next beside Page access, then Review request. Facebook may ask for your password again before you Accept.

The full steps for both are in how to approve an agency's request for your Page.

If you see neither, you may not have full control. Meta's advice for a pending request is to send its approval instructions straight to the person with full control of the business portfolio that owns the Page, and Meta will not tell the requester who that is.

An invitation to join a business portfolio

The invitation comes by email. To accept:

1. Open the email and click Log in to accept invitation.
2. Click Log in with Facebook or Log in with Instagram. With a managed Meta account, click Account managed by an organization? Log in instead.
3. Enter your name as it should appear in the portfolio, then click Continue. With a managed account, you confirm your name and email address instead.
4. Review the portfolio and its assets, then click Continue. If you do not know the business, click Decline the invitation.
5. Click Accept invitation.

If the email never came, the invitation may have gone to another address. Meta says the address used for an invitation "must match the one used for their Facebook account". In an organization that moved to managed Meta accounts, invitations may only go to managed accounts; that is a setting under Security in Organization Manager.

If you log in to one business portfolio with Facebook and to another with Instagram or a managed account, Meta creates a separate user profile for each. Switch between them with the profile switcher in the top right of Meta Business Suite's home page.

Facebook access to a Page, given to a person

When a Page's admin adds you under Page access > Add New, Facebook says you "will receive an email to accept your invitation to access your Page". Check the inbox of the address your Facebook account uses, and its spam folder. To see what access you have on a Page now, switch into the Page and open Settings & privacy > Settings > Page setup > Page access.

If the access you had has gone, Facebook says someone else who manages the Page may have removed you, and suggests asking someone with full control of the Page to add you back.

It expired, went to the wrong address, or is blocked

• Instagram shared access: the invitation lasts 7 days, and the sender can resend it after it expires.
• Business portfolio invitation: Meta's article on accepting one gives no expiry. If the link fails, ask for a new invitation to the email address on your Facebook account.
• Wrong address: the invitation has to go to the email address on the person's Facebook account, as above. A new invitation to the right address fixes it.
• Second approver: Meta says another person with full control may need to approve adding someone to a business portfolio, under Requests in Settings, and may need to approve a share with a partner. Ask the sender whether anyone on their side still has to approve.
• A disabled or restricted account: Meta says neither the person sending a business portfolio invitation nor the person being added can have one. Business Support Home shows an account's status.

What the sender can do

• A partner request: check its status under Partners in your own business portfolio's Settings, cancel it there, correct the email address or business portfolio ID, and send it again.
• A Page request: you need a primary Page in your business portfolio to send one. Send the client Meta's approval steps (above) and ask them to forward them to whoever has full control.
• A business portfolio invitation: if Meta asks you to confirm your own email address first, it is under Business info in Settings. Then invite the person again with the address on their Facebook account.
• A dataset share: pending requests are under Settings > Data sources > Datasets & pixels > Partners. The receiving business has to agree to it.

When a request is approved, the Page or asset goes to your business portfolio, not to a person. Assign your staff to it, as described in when access arrives. If your client would rather give you access directly, send them the partner access guide and your business portfolio ID.

Is the request real?

An invitation or partner request you did not expect deserves a second look before you accept it. See how to check that an agency access request is real.