What Is the TikTok Events API? Server-Side Tracking for TikTok Ads

The TikTok Events API is TikTok’s server-side tracking interface for sending conversion events directly from your server to TikTok Ads. It’s the TikTok equivalent of Meta’s Conversions API (CAPI) — enabling offline conversion tracking, bypassing ad blockers, and providing reliable data in privacy-restricted environments.

For The Upload Offline Conversions App (TUOCA), the TikTok Events API is the mechanism for uploading offline conversions — phone calls that turned into booked jobs, CRM leads that became customers — back to TikTok Ads for campaign optimization.

How the Events API Works

Your Server → HTTPS POST → TikTok Events API → TikTok Ads
                                                    ↓
                                            Conversion attributed
                                            to the ad that drove it

API Endpoint

POST https://business-api.tiktok.com/open_api/v1.3/event/track/

Event Payload

{
  "event_source": "web",
  "event_source_id": "PIXEL_ID",
  "data": [{
    "event": "CompletePayment",
    "event_time": 1714502400,
    "event_id": "job-2026-001",
    "user": {
      "ttclid": "E.C.P.AbCdEf123...",
      "email": "a8b14f04b2be6c5f...",
      "phone": "d4f5c3b1e72a9f8d...",
      "ip": "192.168.1.1",
      "user_agent": "Mozilla/5.0..."
    },
    "properties": {
      "value": 4500.00,
      "currency": "USD",
      "content_type": "product"
    }
  }]
}

Supported Event Types

Event	Use Case	Offline Relevance
ViewContent	Page view	Low
AddToCart	Product interest	Low
InitiateCheckout	Beginning purchase	Low
AddPaymentInfo	Payment step	Low
PlaceAnOrder	Job/service booked	★★★★★
CompletePayment	Job completed, invoice paid	★★★★★
Contact	Phone call, inquiry	★★★★
SubmitForm	Lead form submitted	★★★★
Subscribe	Service agreement signed	★★★
Download	Resource downloaded	★★

For offline conversion tracking, PlaceAnOrder (booked job) and CompletePayment (completed/invoiced) are the most relevant events.

User Data Matching

The Events API uses the TTCLID and hashed PII for matching:

Field	Required	Format	Match Priority
ttclid	Recommended	Raw TTCLID string	★★★★★
email	Recommended	SHA-256 hashed, lowercase	★★★★
phone	Recommended	SHA-256 hashed, E.164	★★★★
ip	Optional	Raw IP address	★★★
user_agent	Optional	Raw user agent string	★★
external_id	Optional	SHA-256 hashed CRM ID	★★

Best practice: Send the TTCLID plus hashed email and phone for maximum match rates.

Events API vs. Meta CAPI Comparison

Feature	TikTok Events API	Meta Conversions API
Event window	Keep the click ID at least 28 days	7 days after the event
Click identifier	TTCLID	FBCLID/fbc
Deduplication key	event_id	event_id
User data hashing	SHA-256	SHA-256
Batch upload	Up to 1,000 events/request	Up to 1,000 events/request
Rate limit	1,000 events per request	1,000 events per request
Action source field	Not required	Required

Setting Up the Events API

Step 1: Create a Pixel

1. Go to TikTok Ads Manager → Assets → Events → Web Events
2. Click Create Pixel
3. Name your pixel and select Manual Setup
4. Note the Pixel ID — you’ll need it for API calls

Step 2: Generate Access Token

1. In Events settings, click Generate Access Token
2. Copy and securely store the token
3. The token is included in the Access-Token request header

Step 3: Test Your Integration

TikTok provides a Test Events tool in Ads Manager:

1. Go to Assets → Events → Web Events → your pixel → Test Events
2. Send test events via the API
3. Verify they appear in the test console

How TUOCA Uses the Events API

TUOCA’s TikTok integration handles the full Events API pipeline:

1. Authentication — Securely stores your Pixel ID and access token
2. Data extraction — Pulls conversions from your data sources
3. Event mapping — Maps your conversion types to TikTok event names (e.g., “Booked Job” → PlaceAnOrder)
4. User data processing — Normalizes and SHA-256 hashes email and phone
5. TTCLID inclusion — Includes the TTCLID when available from call tracking
6. Batch upload — Sends events in batches to the Events API
7. Deduplication — Generates consistent event_id values for safe retries
8. Error handling — Catches and logs API errors

Next Steps

1. Create a TikTok Pixel and generate an access token
2. Enable TTCLID auto-tracking in your pixel settings
3. Configure TUOCA with your TikTok pixel as a destination
4. Read the full guide — TikTok Offline Conversions Guide