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TikTok is developing its Agency Badging Program into a two-tier system. Alongside the existing Agency Partner badge, there is now the new Premier Agency Partner status for a smaller group of particularly high-performing agencies.
For brands, the badges are meant above all to make it easier to choose external TikTok partners. TikTok explicitly positions the badges as a trust signal within its own partner ecosystem.
Agency Partner remains the base tier
The established Agency Partner status is aimed at qualified agencies that, according to TikTok, demonstrate strong operational capabilities, certified team expertise and proven platform performance.
TikTok groups the criteria under three points: Excellence, Experience and Commitment. These include experience with TikTok advertising objectives and full-funnel campaigns, as well as a solid track record with brands.
TikTok does not name concrete public minimum budgets or a fixed scorecard in the announcement.
Premier Agency Partner is the new top tier
The new Premier Agency Partner status is the highest level of the programme. According to the platform, TikTok awards it only to a selected group of particularly high-performing partners worldwide.
According to the platform, the focus is on demonstrated business results, deep TikTok specialisation, advanced media management and the ability to handle complex advertising clients.
This gives the existing badge system an additional level of differentiation: brands should be able to see more quickly which agencies are intended for particularly large or specialised activations.
Why TikTok is expanding the badges
The larger the TikTok advertising ecosystem becomes, the harder it is for brands to choose between agencies with very different focus areas. TikTok therefore wants to use the new tiers as guidance in the TikTok Partner Directory.
The platform change fits TikTok's broader development in its advertising business. With Agentic Hub, Symphony and new AI features, TikTok is already automating more and more parts of campaign planning, creative production and optimisation.
At the same time, current budget data shows that for many brands TikTok has long since stopped being just a test channel. In the back-to-school business 2026, TikTok advertising budgets rose significantly.
What brands should still check when choosing an agency
A platform badge can be a useful signal, but it does not replace your own review. What remains decisive includes experience in the relevant industry, creative expertise, measurement methodology, transparency about media spend, and whether an agency sensibly combines organic content, paid media and creator collaborations.
In the creator business in particular, prices and performance models change quickly. Our overview of creator marketing and growing price pressure shows why brands are paying more attention to measurability and actual business impact alongside reach.
To find certified partners, TikTok itself refers to its own Partner Directory.