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Developer onboarding

There are two primary developer onboarding steps:

  1. Create an account on the TikTok Shop Partner Center, and
  2. Register as a developer.

Create an account on Partner Center​

If you don't already have one, create an account using the TikTok Shop Partner console.

The process is the same for both the US market and non-US market. At the Log In dialog box, select Sign Up:

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On the sign up dialog box, provide your email address and, optionally, your phone number. Ensure your email address on Partner Center is current, as it is essential for receiving crucial updates from the Partner Center platform:

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Note: The TikTok Shop Partner Platform and Open Platform merged into the TikTok Shop Partner Center in late 2022. If you currently have a TikTok Shop Partner Platform account or Open Platform account, you can log in using your existing credentials on Partner Center.

Register as a developer partner​

The process for developer registration for seller developers and app developers/system integrators (ISV) is as follows:

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To register as a developer partner, follow these steps:

Before you begin: determine your developer type​

When you register as a TikTok Shop developer, you'll be prompted to select one of two types of developer:

  1. TikTok Shop seller developer; or
  2. App developer or system integrator (ISV).

The primary distinction between these two developer types is app developers and system integrators (ISVs) can build public apps and request authorization to access the data for sellers on TikTok Shop, while seller developers can build custom apps that can access their own seller data only. That is, seller developers can't request authorization to access any other TikTok Shop seller's data.

Note that seller developers are required to have an activated TikTok Shop account before they can register as a developer on Partner Center. Also, the email you've used for verification must be the same email used to register the TikTok Shop. There's no option to provide an alternative email.

Registering as an app developer or system integrator (ISV)​

To register as an app developer or system integrator (ISV), follow these steps:

  1. Start your partner registration application (select category and market):

On the business guide dialog box, select For app developers (ISV), then select Start Business:

  1. Click on start business to begin your partner application:

  1. Specify your registration region, target market, and business category:

  • Registration region: please ensure the region is consistent with your company's business certification.
  • Target market:

Cross-border partners (registration region is China and/or Hong Kong, China) have the option to select (UK, MY, VN, TH, PH, SG) as their target market. Local partners (entities in the local market) should choose only the local market as their target market. Target market

: - Cross-border partners (registration region is China and/or Hong Kong, China) have the option to select (UK, MY, VN, TH, PH, SG) as their target market.

  • Local partners (entities in the local market) should choose only the local market as their target market.

  • Business category: select your business category.

📌 Note: The available business categories may vary depending on the registration region and target market.

  1. Specify the name of your company, your contact information, and please provide some additional details about your business to help us support you better:

  1. Upload your company's business certificate and specify your company's registration information:

If you don't have a scanned image of your company's business certificate or your company's registration information, you can select save for later. Then, you'll be presented with two options: back to profile or create app or service. If you select create app or service, you will not be able to publish your app until you've completed the certification process.

Otherwise, if you select submit, TikTok Shop begins your certification review:

You can check the status of your application by going to My Account > My category & market:

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Once your application has been approved, your category and market will no longer include the under review message.

Registering as a seller developer​

To register as a seller developer, follow these steps:

  1. Select the category Seller inhouse developer / TikTok Shop Seller and link the activated TikTok Shop account in the next step.

📌 Note: Please ensure the seller account information you entered is authentic.

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Once you've successfully registered as a developer partner, you must initiate the compliance and legal review process, which can take three or more weeks to complete. Compliance and legal reviews are required on a case-by-case basis for some partners, but they are always required for US and UK partners. Contact the Partner Development & Management team for your market and request a due diligence questionnaire for your region.

Refer to Compliance and Legal Review for more information on the process.

Next Steps

Now that you have a partner developer account, you're ready to get started by making your first TikTok Shop API call.