Short answer
Spark Ads are TikTok ads made from an organic post: a brand pays to show your video, under your name, and the likes, comments, shares and follows go to your original post. You allow it by turning on ad authorization for one video in TikTok, choosing 7, 30, 60 or 365 days, and sending the brand the code. Charge for the code on top of the video, by the length of the window, and get the terms in writing, because you can only switch authorization off for a video that isn't running as an ad.
What are TikTok Spark Ads?
A native ad format that uses organic TikTok posts, including other creators' posts with their authorization (TikTok). The ad shows your handle and your caption, and TikTok says all the engagement it gets is attributed to the original organic post: views, likes, comments, shares and follows. It's one of the ways brands get creator-made UGC in front of buyers without reposting it.
For you, the brand's budget can bring your account followers. It also means comments from people who saw an ad land under your post, and the video has to stay public and on your profile while the ad runs. Brands that find you through TikTok One, TikTok's own creator marketplace, can send an authorization request there instead of asking for a code.
How is a Spark Ads code different from paid usage rights?
A code lets a brand advertise your post, from your account, for a set window. Paid usage lets it run the video file as an ad from its own account, which is the usual deal when a UGC creator sells a video. They're separate rights, priced separately, and a brief can ask for either or both.
| Permission and what the brand gets | How long | Can you stop it early? |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok Spark Ads video code: one post as an ad, under your handle; the engagement goes to your post | 7, 30, 60 or 365 days | Yes, unless an ad is using it |
| TikTok account-level authorization (TikTok Studio): your posts as ads, under your handle | Until you turn it off | Yes, except for posts an ad is using |
| Paid usage of the file: the brand runs your video from its own ad account | What the contract says | Only by contract |
| Meta partnership ad code (Instagram, Facebook): a post as an ad, shown with both handles | Meta's page gives no length | Meta says creators can revoke at any time |
A Spark Ads code works like whitelisting for one video. If the brief says "whitelisting" with no detail, ask whether it means a code per video or account-level access, and for how long.
How do you create a Spark Ads code on TikTok?
- Allow authorized posts on your profile
TikTok's help says the creator's profile must allow Authorized Posts before any code works.
- Open the post's ad settings
On the video the brand wants, open the ad settings and turn on the Ad authorization toggle.
- Pick the length
Choose 7, 30, 60 or 365 days. Pick the length the brand is paying for; a longer code gives away usage you haven't been paid for.
- Agree to the advertising terms and copy the code
Accept TikTok's Advertising Content Terms, tap Copy Code and send it to the brand, with the dates in the same message.
- Note the dates
Write down when the code started and ends. The brand may ask you to extend it if the campaign runs on.
TikTok's limits on which posts can be used: videos up to 10 minutes, not Stories, and with restrictions on Duets and posts with several creators. If a post is set to private, TikTok makes it public once a campaign uses it, and you can't change that while it's promoted (error codes, creation guide).
How long does a Spark Ads code last, and can you take it back?
A code lasts as long as you set it: 7, 30, 60 or 365 days (TikTok). Ending it early has limits:
- You can switch authorization off only for videos "that aren't actively in usage as paid ads", per video or for your whole profile (TikTok Content Suite). The brand can pause or end its own ad, but you can't pull your authorization while the ad is using the video.
- Requests through TikTok's Content Suite default to 365 days (TikTok). If a brand sends a request rather than asking for a code, check the length before you accept.
- You can't delete the video while it's authorized. TikTok says it has to be un-authorized first, and a code can only be deleted once every ad using it is deleted.
- The ad stops when the code expires. The brand sees "Authorization expired" and is told to contact you to extend it (error codes). If you revoke, its dashboard shows "Post authorization revoked" (ad statuses).
How much should you charge for a Spark Ads code?
Our rate calculator prices a code like whitelisting: 30% of the video fee for each 30 days. That sits inside SideShift's guide, which puts whitelisting at 30 to 50% of the base rate for 30 to 60 days (SideShift); raise it if your account has a large or engaged audience, since the ad borrows it. Here it is for one edited 15 to 30-second video (the calculator's typical fee is $175 for a beginner and $500 for an intermediate creator) with organic use and no extra hooks, so the code is the only right on top:
| Code length | Beginner ($175 video) | Intermediate ($500 video) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | $53 ($30–$90) | $150 ($90–$240) |
| 60 days | $105 ($60–$180) | $300 ($180–$480) |
| 365 days | $630 ($360–$1,080) | $1,800 ($1,080–$2,880) |
The calculator counts in 30-day months, so the 365-day row is 12 of them, and it can't price a part month: quote a 7-day code at the 30-day price, since it still puts your handle on an ad. With the video, a 30-day code makes the beginner quote $228 ($130–$390) and the intermediate one $650 ($390–$1,040). If the brand also wants the file for its own ads, that's a separate line: 90 days of paid usage adds $88 ($50–$150) for the same beginner video, for $368 ($210–$630) with a 60-day code.
- A code for a video you already posted: charge the same percentage of your normal video rate for each 30 days, even though there's nothing new to film.
- One code per video. Three videos means three codes, each priced.
- Renewal is a new fee, for the next window, agreed before the code expires.
What should a Spark Ads agreement say?
- Which videos and how many codes, by link.
- The window for each code, with start and end dates, matching what you set in TikTok.
- Whether the brand also gets the file for its own ads, and for how long. A code doesn't include that.
- The fee for the code and for each renewal, and when it's paid.
- That the post stays up and public for the window, and what happens if TikTok removes it.
- Who moderates comments on the post while the ad runs.
- Disclosure: if the brand paid for the video or gave you the product, it's branded content, so switch on TikTok's commercial content disclosure.
- Exclusivity, if any, priced per month.
Do Spark Ads views count for Creator Rewards?
No. TikTok excludes paid and promoted views from qualified views, and sponsored content isn't eligible for the Creator Rewards Program (TikTok support). The brand's spend can still grow the post's view count and your followers; the paid views just don't earn rewards.
What didn't we check?
- The app screens. We read TikTok's ads help pages, not a live account, so menu names may differ slightly in your version of the app.
- Account type. None of the TikTok pages we could open says whether codes need a Personal or Business account.
- Music rules for sparked posts. Some guides say a sparked post's sound must come from TikTok's Commercial Music Library; TikTok's Spark Ads page we read doesn't say so. If a brand wants to spark a post with a trending sound, ask it to check before you send the code.
- Market rates. The prices are the calculator's defaults from published US rate guides; your niche and country may differ.
