How to claim and verify your Google Business Profile

Who is this guide for?

Owners and managers of a business with a storefront or a service area who have not yet claimed their Google listing, or who think someone else controls it. By the end, you will have a verified Google Business Profile that you control, and anyone helping you will be added as a manager with their own sign in.

What do you need before you start?

1. Get a Google Account ready. You need a Google Account to sign up for a Business Profile. You can create a new one with a Gmail address or with your preferred email address, or use an existing Google Account with any email address. If you have a company email address, you can link it to your Google Account. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

How do you find your business on Google?

Not sure whether your listing is already claimed? See how to check if your Google business listing is claimed.

2. Sign in to that Google Account, then find your business. Search for your business's name and city, or search "my business". You must be signed in to the Google Account associated with the profile to find it. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

What if your business is not on Google yet?

3. If your business is not on Google yet, add it. Go to business.google.com/add. Click Add your business to Google. Follow the on-screen instructions to add details about your business. Select a verification option and follow the on-screen steps. Make sure your business address is correct and meets Google's address guidelines. Source: Add or claim your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

How do you claim a profile that is not verified yet?

4. If an unverified profile for your business already exists, claim it on a computer. Open Google Maps. Search for your business's name and city. Select Claim this business, then Manage now. To choose a different business, select I own or manage another business. Select a verification option and follow the on-screen instructions. Source: Add or claim your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
5. To claim an unverified profile on a phone instead, open the Google Maps app. Enter the business name, select the correct business, tap About, then tap Claim this business and Manage now. Select a verification option and follow the on-screen instructions. Source: Add or claim your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

What if someone else already owns the profile?

6. If a verified profile exists and someone else owns it, request ownership. For a storefront or hybrid business, go to business.google.com/add. Enter the name and address of your business and choose it from the list. When you see the message "Someone else may manage this Business Profile.", select Request Access. Fill out the form and select Submit. The current owner is notified by email and has 3 days to respond. If there is no response after 3 days, you may have the option to claim the profile, but Google notes this option is not always available. Source: Request ownership of a Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
7. If you run a service-area business with no shop or office, step 6 works differently. Google says to contact them, enter "Transfer ownership of listing" in the "Tell us what we can help with" field, and select Transfer ownership of listing as the issue description. Source: Request ownership of a Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

How do you verify your Business Profile?

8. Choose a verification method from the options Google offers you. Google decides which methods you see, and they cannot be changed. The options depend on your business type, public info, region or business hours, and you may need more than one. If video verification is available to you, Google recommends it. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
9. If you use phone or text: make sure you can answer your business phone number or receive text messages (an Interactive Voice Response system will not get the code). Go to your Business Profile, select Get verified, then Phone or SMS. Answer the call or open the text, and enter the code on your profile. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
10. If you use email: make sure you can use the email address shown on the verification screen. Go to your Business Profile, select Get verified, then Email, and follow the steps in the email. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
11. If you use a live video call: use a device that supports live video calls, be at your business, and be ready to show your location and that you manage the business. Go to your Business Profile, select Get verified, then Live video call and Next. Choose your language. To start a text chat with a support representative, select Start call. When a support representative is ready, they help you join a video call, where you use your device camera to show your business location and ownership. Live video calls are only available within the business hours of your location, and this option may not be available for every business. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
12. If you use a postcard: go to your Business Profile, select Get verified, then Postcard, make sure your mailing address is correct, and request the code. Most codes arrive within 14 days. While you wait, do not edit your business name, address or category, and do not request a new code. Google says editing those details makes the code you were sent stop working, and requesting a new code invalidates the code in the mail and can make the process longer. Codes expire after 30 days. When it arrives, go to your Business Profile, enter the 5-digit code in the "Code" field, and select Submit. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
13. Keep the code private. Google will never ask for your verification code. Do not share it with anyone, even with people who manage your Business Profile. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

What happens after you verify?

14. Wait for the review. After you finish the steps, Google reviews the info you provided. Verification reviews take up to 5 business days, and on rare occasions longer. In some cases Google verifies instantly, for example when you verify your website with Google Search Console. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.
15. Look for the confirmation email. When your business is verified, you get a confirmation email. Source: Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

How do you let someone else help manage the profile?

16. If someone helps you manage the profile, add them from your own profile instead of sharing a sign in. Go to your Business Profile and select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access. At the top left select Add, enter their email address, and under "Access" select Owner or Manager. Select Invite. Each person needs their own Google Account, so nobody has to share a password. Managers have mostly the same access as owners, but they cannot add or remove users or remove the profile. Source: Manage your Business Profile owners and managers, Google Business Profile Help. Checked October 24, 2026.

Related guide: How to set holiday and special hours on your Google Business Profile

How we checked this guide

Each step on this page comes from the Google Business Profile Help page linked beside it. We opened each page and compared our wording, and every button and menu name, against that page on October 24, 2026. The check date sits beside each step. These pages change from time to time, so if a screen looks different from these steps, follow the official page.

What if you want someone else to do it?

If you would rather have someone else handle the claiming, Pastel Brands offers Local Listings Claim and Cleanup, a one-time project that claims or recovers your business listings on Google, Apple and Bing and cleans them up so they match.

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