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DIRECT vs RESELLER in ads.txt explained

By the ads-txt.in team · Published November 8, 2026

The third field of every ads.txt record is either DIRECT or RESELLER. Choosing the wrong one does not usually break your file, but it gives buyers inaccurate information about who controls the account, so it is worth getting right.

DIRECT

Use DIRECT when you, the publisher, own and control the account named in the line. You signed up with the ad system yourself, you can log in, and payments come to you. Your AdSense line is always DIRECT because the AdSense account belongs to you:

google.com, pub-1234567890123456, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

RESELLER

Use RESELLER when another company is authorised to sell your ad space using an account that it controls. This is common when you work with an ad management partner or header-bidding company. They give you a list of lines to add, and most of those lines refer to their accounts on various exchanges, so they are marked RESELLER:

example-exchange.com, 98765, RESELLER, abc123def456

How to decide

Ask one question: whose account is this? If the account ID belongs to you, it is DIRECT. If it belongs to an intermediary selling on your behalf, it is RESELLER. When a partner sends you lines, copy them exactly as provided; they know which accounts are theirs.

Why it matters to buyers

Advertisers often prefer to buy through the shortest path, with fewer companies taking a cut. Clear DIRECT and RESELLER labels, together with the sellers.json files published by ad systems, let them trace the full supply chain. Labels that do not match a network’s sellers.json can make your inventory look less trustworthy. Our guide on sellers.json explains how the two files work together.

Common mistakes

  • Marking every line DIRECT, including lines provided by a partner for their own accounts.
  • Writing “Direct”, “direct ” with a space problem, or misspelling the word. The value is case-insensitive in the standard, but a misspelling makes the line invalid.
  • Typing anything else, such as “PARTNER” or “OWNER”, which are not valid values.

Our validator flags any line whose relationship is not DIRECT or RESELLER.

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