This site provides an asbof levy notification system for UK Search advertisers that bill directly with Google. Once an advertiser has registered with this site, Google will notify the advertiser what it owes in asbof levy on an ongoing basis every quarter. At the same time, we will notify asbof what the advertiser owes, so that asbof can arrange payment directly with the advertiser quickly and easily.

It's important to note that Google will not take money off advertisers who are signed-up. It's up to the advertiser and asbof to arrange levy payment separately. Google has worked closely with asbof in developing this new levy notification system and asbof is happy to work with each advertiser to put in place a simple payment mechanism.

Traditionally the asbof levy has been collected from advertisers by advertising agencies at the point of billing. Agencies then give that money to asbof. However, there has, until now, been no way for Search advertisers that bill directly with Google (not through an advertising agency) to pay the asbof levy. Google has built this site to make it easier for those advertisers to pay. The levy is used to fund UK advertising self-regulation and the work of the industry regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.

This site is intended for any advertiser that spends money on Google UK Search advertising and pays Google directly. The site is not for advertising agencies or advertisers that pay Google through an advertising agency for their Search advertising spend. This site calculates the asbof levy for Search spend only - not for Google display or YouTube advertising spend.

Asbof (Advertising Standards Board of Finance) is an independent body set up by the main trade associations concerned with non-broadcast advertising. Its purpose is to finance the advertising self-regulatory system, fronted by the independent Advertising Standards Authority. Asbof does this by operating the ‘asbof levy', which is a small voluntary levy of 0.1% on advertising expenditure paid by advertisers that want to support self-regulation. You can find more information about the work of asbof on their website, advertisinglevy.co.uk/asbof.

Google and asbof are separate entities and Google does not benefit financially or otherwise from the asbof levy. Google has worked closely with asbof in developing this site because we recognise the importance of asbof's role in funding online advertising self-regulation. The self-regulatory system keeps standards high and helps maintain consumer trust in digital advertising.

Asbof has set the levy for online advertisers at 0.1% of ad spend, which is the same as the levy for advertisers on TV, press, outdoor and cinema. This website calculates the levy specifically for an advertiser's UK direct Google Search spend. Note that any money an advertiser spends on Google Search that is billed through an advertising agency will not be included in our levy calculation. You can find more information about the asbof levy on asbof's website, advertisinglevy.co.uk/asbof.

Asbof uses the levy to fund the UK advertising self-regulatory system. The primary beneficiary of the levy is the regulatory enforcement body, the Advertising Standards Authority. You can find out more about the work of the Advertising Standards Authority on their website, www.asa.org.uk.

The asbof levy collected from online advertisers goes towards funding the advertising self-regulatory system, fronted by the independent Advertising Standards Authority. There are real benefits for business of supporting online self-regulation. If the public doesn't trust online advertising then it will cease to be effective. The work of the self-regulatory system online ensures standards remain high and gives the public a form of redress when an advertiser gets it wrong. The self-regulatory system also allows the industry to set its own rules and the system can respond quickly and sympathetically to developments in online ad technology and techniques. The sanctions process is effective without the need for fines, or expensive drawn out litigation procedures associated with some regulators.

The asbof levy is voluntary, so there is no obligation for advertisers to pay. However, if asbof cannot collect sufficient levy to support online advertising self-regulation then there is a danger to the sustainability of the system in the long term. It is worth noting that all advertisers in the UK have to comply with the advertising rules and ASA adjudications even if they don't pay the levy.

1. Permission from your company to register
2. The name of your parent company and the name(s) of the company division(s) that you want to register
3. Your own name, job title and contact details
4. The name and email address of your main Google contact
5. A Google account, registered with your corporate email address. If you don't have one already, you can set up a Google account for free here, using your corporate email address

Google needs to match the details you provide in the registration form with the official details we have on your company. Some of our advertiser partners are brands that operate under a larger parent company. In this case the parent would be listed under ‘Company Name’ and the brand under ‘Division’. Other companies might be regional affiliates of a parent company (such as Google UK Limited being an affiliate of Google Inc.) In this example, Google Inc. would be the ‘Company name’ and Google UK the ‘Division’. If your company is a single entity, on the registration form simply put the same text in both boxes.

Unfortunately Google cannot register your company on this site without all the required information. However, if you want to participate but don't have the required information, please get in touch with us at asbof-support@google.com and we will do our best to help.

Once you're registered, Google will start tracking your levy data from the start of the quarter in which you signed-up. For example, if you sign-up on 21 November 2016, we will track your data from 1 October 2016. However, we won't show you or asbof a running tally every day. Instead, we'll send you and asbof separate emails at the end of every quarter to let you know know that you can log-in to the site to see your full quarter levy figure. You and asbof will also be able to view your previous levy data from the last four quarters. If you've been signed-up to the system for less than four quarters, we will show your data from the start of the first quarter you signed-up.

That's fine. Google has made it really easy for advertisers to leave at any time. If you choose to opt out Google will stop tracking your levy data and will delete all previous levy information relating to your company from the site. You can opt out easily by hitting the ‘remove division’ button on the website dashboard once you log-in.