# Shopify collaborator request code: what agencies need

Agencies and freelancers work in a client's Shopify store as **collaborators**: they get their own login through their
Shopify Partner account, do not count as a staff seat, and the store owner decides which sections they may use.
To send a request, the agency needs the store's **collaborator request code**.

## Where the store owner finds the code

1. In the Shopify admin, open **Settings › Users**.
2. In the section about collaborators, the store shows its **collaborator request code** (four digits), and whether a
   code is needed at all.
3. Send the code to the agency.

## How the agency sends the request

In the Shopify Partner Dashboard the agency adds a store and chooses **request access to a store**, enters the store's
address and the collaborator request code, and selects the permissions it needs.

## How the store owner approves it

The request appears in the Shopify admin under **Settings › Users**. The owner reviews the requested permissions, can
remove any of them, and approves. Access can be removed there at any time.

![Flow: the store owner shares the collaborator request code, the agency requests access in the Partner Dashboard, the owner approves](/guides/images/shopify-collaborator.svg "The code only lets an agency ask; the owner decides.")

## Which permissions

Ask only for the sections the work needs, for example products and orders for a shop redesign, or online store and
themes for a theme change. Collaborators never get the store owner's own rights, like transferring the store.


## Frequently asked questions

### Do collaborators count as staff accounts?

No. Collaborator accounts do not use one of the store's staff seats.

### Can I change what a collaborator can do later?

Yes, the store owner can change or remove a collaborator's permissions under Settings › Users.

## The quicker way

In an Agency Client Onboarding link, Shopify is a guided step: the client enters the collaborator request code once,
it is shown only to the agency, and deleted a week after the step is done.