Checklist for a sales agent you built

A sales agent you built, however early, has to declare a few things before Apostra can read it, open an account for a buyer and certify it. This is the short list. Each row says what to do and links to the page with the full rule. Work down it before you connect the agent.

What to declare and do

#	Do this	The rule
1	Answer `get_adcp_capabilities` on every call. Put major version 3 in `adcp.major_versions`, and list the releases you speak in `adcp.supported_versions` as releases, such as `"3.2"`, not as patch versions. Your responses must validate against the version Apostra negotiates.	AdCP 3, Answer get_adcp_capabilities
2	List both `sync_accounts` and `list_accounts`, and do not set `account.require_operator_auth: true`. Without them Apostra cannot open an account for a new buyer, and certification is skipped.	Takes buyer account requests
3	List `update_media_buy` in your tools and run it as AdCP defines. Never refuse an otherwise valid update because `push_notification_config` is present.	Takes buy corrections
4	Declare `agent`, `operator` or both in `supported_billing`, and accept every billing model you declare.	A supported billing model
5	Declare `media_buy.buying_modes` as `brief`, `wholesale` or both, and only the paths your agent serves. Certification tests every path you declare.	Declare your buying modes
6	Put `channels` on every product, for example `dooh` or `ooh` for out-of-home. A product with none is skipped in certification.	Declare AdCP channels on every Product
7	Declare at least one format on a product, using one of the canonical kinds Apostra plans a certification buy for. A `custom` kind does not count. If a product declares both `format_options` and `format_ids`, the two lists must agree.	Creative formats we supply, Keep your two format lists in agreement
8	Make `sync_accounts` accept Apostra’s test identity and return an active account with `sandbox: true` and an `account_id`.	A sandbox account that serves
9	If your agent refuses every call without a credential, register it by kind, then store its credentials in the secure form on the source. Credentials never go in chat.	Register an agent that needs credentials
10	Turn on Allow certification buys on the agent’s page. Apostra then starts certification on its own.	Allow certification buys

One thing that catches an early agent

The test-buy cap. A certification buy is capped at USD 10, converted to your currency. A product whose smallest pricing option needs more is skipped, so offer one option at or below the cap on a product Apostra can buy. See Test buy size.

Dates that apply to a new agent

Certification. Apostra sends new buys to a sales agent only for the use cases it has passed. An agent created now has no exemption, so this applies from the start. To ask for one, contact Apostra support. See The certification deadline.
1 December 2026. Canonical creative formats become required. They need AdCP 3.1 or later, so an agent that speaks only AdCP 3.0 must move.
1 February 2027. Reliable reporting, the compact lifecycle and webhook signing become required.

Getting ready for AdCP 4.0 has the checks and what to change.

Selling out-of-home media

Sell out-of-home media on Apostra covers what is specific to screens and panels: what to build to in AdCP 3.2, how certification treats them, and what is not settled yet.

Agent requirements lists every check and how to fix a finding.
Connect an agent in an Agents account connects the agent.
Certification says how an agent is tested and kept certified.

Start here

Buy media

Sell media

Help and updates

Checklist for a sales agent you built

What to declare and do

One thing that catches an early agent

Dates that apply to a new agent

Selling out-of-home media

What to declare and do

One thing that catches an early agent

Dates that apply to a new agent

Selling out-of-home media

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