Publisher.id

The exchange's identifier for the seller. Since 2.6 each ID must map to exactly one paid entity and should equal a seller_id in the exchange's sellers.json.

CurrentstringOptionalSince 2.0

Field facts

Path: app.publisher.id, dooh.publisher.id, site.publisher.id
Object: Publisher
Type: string
Requirement: Optional
Added: OpenRTB 2.0
Spec section: 3.2.15

How it is used

Up to 2.5 the field was described only as an exchange-specific publisher ID. The sellers.json link is what lets buyers name the seller and compare it with the exchange's node in Source.schain. Some exchange contracts also key account setup on it; the Equativ profile, for example, expects its network identifier here or in a configured extension.

Example

Where the field sits in a payload, with everything else left out:

{
  "id": "req-1",
  "app": {
    "publisher": {
      "id": "pub-8953"
    }
  }
}

Common mistakes

Reusing one ID for several separately paid sellers, which breaks the one-entity rule and makes sellers.json lookups meaningless.
Sending an ID that is missing from the exchange's sellers.json, so buyers cannot identify the seller.

Version history

Added in OpenRTB 2.0, and present in the latest snapshot. The table shows how each version's spec text types the field.

Versions	Type in the spec	Required	Deprecated
2.0 to 2.2	string	Recommended	No
2.3 to 2.3.1	string	No	No
2.4	string	No	No
2.5 to 2.6-202606	string	No	No