As a Shopify Partner, you can use collaborator accounts to access merchant stores directly through your own Partner Dashboard or using the Shopify app. Collaborator accounts give you access to only the sections of a store that a merchant wants you to access, and don't count toward a store's [staff limit](https://help.shopify.com/manual/your-account/staff-accounts). Any stores that you have access to by using a collaborator account are labeled as **Managed** stores in your Partner Dashboard. If you're building or customizing a theme for a merchant, then you can use a collaborator account with the **Themes** permission to create and manage themes in the merchant's store. ## Prerequisites To request collaborator access to a store, you need a [Shopify Partner account](https://www.shopify.com/partners). ## Limitations You need to log in to the store through the **Stores** section of your **Partner Dashboard** instead of logging in directly to the store. ## Request access If you want a collaborator account for a client's store, then you need to send a request to the store owner through your Partner Dashboard. You can also send your client [the Shopify Help Center page on collaborator permissions](https://help.shopify.com/manual/your-account/staff-accounts/collaborator-accounts/) to explain how collaborator accounts work. If you already have a staff account for the client's store or have been invited by the store owner to activate a staff account, but not yet activated it, then your request for a collaborator account prompts the store owner to update your current account permissions to reflect those of your collaborator account. As an additional layer of security, merchants can set up a 4-digit collaborator request code for their Shopify store. When a store has the code set up, you need to enter the code when you request access as a collaborator. If you enter an incorrect code, then you see an error in the Partner Dashboard and your request isn't sent to the merchant. 1. From your Partner Dashboard, click **Stores**. 2. Click **Add store**. 3. In the **Store type** section, select **Managed store**. 4. Enter the URL of the Shopify store that you want to access. 5. If the Shopify store requires a collaborator request code, then enter the code. 6. In the **Permissions** section, select the sections of the store that you want to access, or check **Full access**. The account owner can change these permissions after your account is created. 7. If you want to include a message to the store owner in your request, then enter a message in the **Add a message** section. 8. Click **Save**. After you submit a request, the store owner receives an email about the request and a notification on their Shopify Home. ## Cancel a pending access request If you requested access to a store but need to cancel the request, then you can do so through your Partner Dashboard. 1. From your Partner Dashboard, click **Stores**. 2. Beside the store with the access request that you want to cancel, click **Cancel request**. 3. Click **Cancel access request**. ## View your managed stores You can view the stores that you've requested access to on the **Stores** page in your Partner Dashboard. There is no limit to the number of managed stores that you can have, but you can have only up to 10 pending requests open at a time. If your access to a store is removed, then you can remove the store from your Stores list by clicking **Remove from list**. ## Manage access to a store Partner organizations often have access to multiple development stores and managed stores, and have multiple staff members who perform different tasks in the organization. To increase oversight over your staff members and maintain merchant security, you can limit access to stores in your Partner organization to only the staff members who need to access them. [Learn more about managing access to merchant stores](https://help.shopify.com/en/partners/dashboard/managing-stores/manage-access). ## Remove your access to a store If you no longer need to work on a client's store, then you can remove your access to the store. Removing your access deletes your collaborator account from the store. If you need to do more work on the store after you remove access, then you'll need to request access to the client's store again. After your access to a store is removed, you can remove the store from your Stores list by clicking **Remove from list**. 1. From your Partner Dashboard, click **Stores**. 2. Find the store you want to remove your access from in the list. 3. Click **Remove access**, and then click **Remove store**. ## Expired access Collaborator access to managed stores remains active as long as a user logs into the store at least once every 90 days. If there is no login activity within this period, then Shopify will automatically expire the Partner's access. If you need collaborator access after it has expired, then you can [request access](https://help.shopify.com/partners/dashboard/managing-stores/request-access) again through your Partner Dashboard. ## Next steps - [Create](/docs/storefronts/themes/getting-started/create) or [customize](/docs/storefronts/themes/getting-started/customize) a theme for the merchant - [Connect to the merchant's store using Shopify CLI](/docs/storefronts/themes/tools/cli/cli-2/commands) - [Connect to the merchant's store using the Shopify GitHub integration](/docs/storefronts/themes/tools/github)