Google Business Profile verification is how you prove to Google that your business is real and that you manage it. To verify Google Business Profile ownership, sign in at business.google.com (or open your profile in the Google Maps app), select Get verified and complete the method Google offers you: a phone or text code, an email, a video recording, a live video call or a postcard. Google chooses the methods and you can't change them. Its help center says reviews take up to 5 business days, and longer on rare occasions.
Start from the situation you are in:
- No profile yet: go to business.google.com/add, add the business and select a verification option.
- A profile exists but nobody manages it: find it on Google Search or Maps, select Claim this business, then Manage now.
- Someone else already verified it: request ownership. Google emails the current owner, who has 3 days to respond.
- "Get verified" showed up again: Google couldn't completely verify the business. Re-verify, and try another method if your profile lists more than one.
A disclosure: we make GLocal, a Google Business Profile management tool, and it cannot verify a profile for you. Only the owner or an authorized representative of the business can, inside Google. The Google rules and wait times below come from Google's Business Profile Help pages, checked on November 9, 2026.
How Google Business Profile verification works
Google's Verify your business on Google page puts it in one line: "To edit your business info on Google, such as business name or business hours, and interact with customers, you need to verify your business." Google also says "Only verified businesses can show their business info on Maps and Search" (Find your business on Google), and until you verify you can't reply to reviews (Manage customer reviews). An unverified listing for your business may already exist, but you can't control what it shows. You can edit some details first, but Google warns those edits may not appear.
Three Google rules apply to every method:
- Google picks the method. "Verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can't be changed." The options depend on "your business type, public info, region, or business hours", and some businesses need more than one method. If you are eligible for video, Google recommends it.
- It costs nothing. Google says "You can add or claim your business at no charge" (Add or claim your Business Profile).
- Your code is private. "Google will never ask for your verification code." Google also tells you not to share it with anyone, "even with those who manage your Business Profile."
How to verify my business on Google, step by step
Google My Business is the old name of Google Business Profile, so guides on how to verify Google My Business describe the same flow. If you searched "how to verify my business on Google", these four steps are how to verify Google Business Profile listings one at a time. Chains with 10 or more locations can use bulk verification instead.
1. Sign in with the right Google Account
You need a Google Account, and to find your profile you must sign in to the account associated with it. If you create a new account, Google suggests signing up with your business email domain. To open a profile you already manage, search Google for "my business" or your business name and city.
2. Add or claim the profile
For a new business, go to business.google.com/add, enter your details, then select a verification option. If Google already shows an unverified profile for your business, open it and select Claim this business, then Manage now (in the Google Maps app, start from About). Our guide to setting up your Google Business Profile walks through creating the profile field by field.
If another account already owns the verified profile, use Google's request ownership flow, covered in the FAQ below.
3. Select "Get verified" and read the options
Right after setup, Google shows a red banner with Verify now. You can also pick Verify later and come back to Get verified on your profile. The screen lists only the methods Google offers your business. When it shows several, you can try another one if the first fails.
4. Complete the method and wait for the review
Finish the method, then leave the profile alone while Google reviews it. If a postcard is on the way, don't edit your business name, address or category, or the code won't work. When Google approves the profile, you get a confirmation email.
Google business verification methods compared
For Google business verification, Google has five methods it can offer you on the verification screen, plus two other routes: instant verification and bulk verification. You will see only some of them.
| Method | What you need ready | The trap |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or text (SMS) | A business phone you can answer, or one that receives texts | Phone menus (IVR systems) can't receive the code |
| Access to the address shown on the verification screen | Works only if you can use the address Google shows | |
| Video recording | A phone, your Business Profile and at least 30 seconds of continuous footage | Recorded live, no edits or breaks; no other people's faces and no ID, bank or tax numbers |
| Live video call | You, at the business, able to show the location and that you run it | Only within your location's business hours; not offered to every business |
| Postcard (mail) | Mail access at the listed address | A new request cancels the card in the mail; codes expire after 30 days |
| Instant | Your website verified in Google Search Console | Google says it happens only "in some cases" |
| Bulk | 10 or more profiles of the same business in Business Profile Manager | Not for service-area businesses without customer-facing locations, or agencies with several businesses in one account |
Phone, text and email codes
For Google business verification by phone, select Get verified, then Phone or SMS, answer the call or open the text, and enter the code on your profile. Google warns that "Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems won't get the code", so if your line opens with a phone menu, make sure a person can pick up on that number first. Email works through Get verified, then Email: you follow the steps in the message, which goes to the address shown on the screen.
Video recording
Google's video verification page asks for "An unedited, unique, and complete recording with no breaks", at least 30 seconds long, recorded and uploaded from a mobile device through your Business Profile. You capture it live; pre-recorded clips aren't allowed. Our checklist on how to pass Google Business Profile video verification covers the shot list for storefront, hybrid and service-area businesses.
Live video call
Select Get verified, Live video call, Next, choose your language and select Start call. A text chat with a Google support representative opens first, and the representative helps you join the video call. Calls run "only within the business hours of your location." Be ready to show outside signs or a street sign, your products or branded equipment, and proof you manage the place, such as employee-only areas or your keys opening the door.
Instant verification through Search Console
Google says it sometimes verifies a profile instantly when you have verified your website in Google Search Console, or when you use bulk verification. Treat Google My Business instant verification as a possibility: Google's wording is "In some cases", with no list of conditions.
Google My Business bulk verification for 10 or more locations
Per Google's bulk verification page, your spreadsheet must hold 10 or more profiles from the same business (duplicates, suspended and disabled profiles don't count) and every profile you manage. Pure service-area businesses can't use it (Google allows it only when the locations are also customer-facing during regular hours), and neither can agencies with several businesses in one account. In Business Profile Manager, select Verifications, Chain, Start, fill in the form and submit; uploading the spreadsheet alone sends no request. Google may still ask for a video from the location. It publishes no time frame, but it lists causes of delays, such as contact emails outside the business's own domain and redirecting phone numbers or URLs.
What to have ready for your business type
Google doesn't say which method each business type gets. It does say what each type must prove and which setups are not eligible at all.
| Business type | Google's rule | Have ready |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront | Serves customers at its address | Signage with the same business name as your profile, a view of the street or nearby businesses, access to staff-only areas |
| Hybrid | Serves customers at its address and also visits them; without permanent on-site signage it should be listed as a service-area business | Everything a storefront needs, plus your service areas |
| Service-area | Visits or delivers to customers and doesn't serve them at its address; the address must be hidden | Street signs or landmarks near the business address (your neighborhood if you work from home), branded vehicles or tools, a permit, invoice or utility bill in the profile's name |
| Online-only | No in-person service: not eligible for a Business Profile | Nothing to verify |
Service-area businesses can add up to 20 service areas, and Google recommends keeping the overall area within about 2 hours' driving time of your base (Sign up for Business Profile). Our guide to service-area business SEO covers the rest of the setup.
Google My Business postcard: the code, the wait and the 30-day expiry
Some guides say Google stopped sending postcards. As of November 2026, Google's help page still lists mail as a method and says only that it "isn't available for all businesses." When you get the Google My Business postcard, the card carries a 5-digit code that confirms your business is at the listed address.
- Arrival: "Most codes arrive within 14 days."
- Expiry: "Verification codes expire after 30 days."
- Don't edit: leave your business name, address and category untouched until you enter the code. If you change them, the code won't work. Planning a category change? Make it after verification.
- Don't re-request early: a new request invalidates the Google business verification postcard already in the mail and starts a fresh wait.
To use the Google My Business verification code, open your profile, select Get verified and type the 5 digits into the "Code" field. Google never asks for it, and it tells you not to share it even with people who manage your profile.
Google business verification code not received? Most codes arrive within 14 days, so wait that long, then check whether your profile lists another method you can try. A second Google My Business verification postcard cancels the first one.
Google business verification without postcard mail
No setting lets you opt out of the postcard. You get Google business verification without postcard mail only when Google offers you another method, and it decides that from your business type, public info, region and business hours. What you can do:
- Check the verification screen again. If it lists several methods, pick one that suits you, such as video, which Google recommends when you are eligible.
- Verify your website in Search Console, which in some cases leads to instant verification.
- Run a chain of 10 or more locations? Apply for bulk verification instead of verifying each one.
- Tried every option shown? Contact Google support (sign in with the account that manages the profile). Google says trying the available methods first makes it easier for support to help.
Google names the factors (business type, public info, region, business hours) but not how they map to a particular method. Treat any service that promises to "unlock" video or phone verification as guessing.
How long does Google business verification take?
The answer to "how long does Google business verification take" depends on the stage. Google publishes separate clocks, collected here with the source page for each.
| Stage | What Google says |
|---|---|
| Verification review | Up to 5 business days; longer on rare occasions (7107242) |
| Video recording review | Up to 5 business days (14271705) |
| Postcard delivery | Most codes arrive within 14 days (7107242) |
| Postcard code life | 30 days (7107242) |
| Bulk verification | No time frame published |
| Ownership request | The current owner has 3 days to respond (4566671) |
| New owner or manager | 7 days before some features, such as removing users, unlock (3403100) |
| Edits after verification | Usually up to 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 days (3038311) |
| Rankings for a new business | Up to a month to appear in search results (145585) |
Google publishes no separate wait for phone, text or email codes. Plan for the general review window of up to 5 business days after you enter the code.
Check your Google Business Profile verification status
Open your profile from the Google Account that manages it. A Get verified button means the job isn't done. In Business Profile Manager, each location carries a Google business verification status from Google's status list. The table reads your Google Business Profile verification status from both places. The status names and meanings are Google's; the next steps are our summary of its help pages.
| Status or signal | What it means | Your next step |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation email | Your business is verified | Add managers and finish the profile |
| Verified | The location passed quality checks and shows on Google | Nothing |
| Pending verification | Verification has begun but isn't finished | Enter the code Google sent you (Google's page says a PIN sent by email); with a postcard, don't edit name, address or category |
| Pending review | Google is reviewing the location, an update or a suggested edit | Google says no action is needed; wait |
| Unverified | Google must verify the profile before you can edit it; some edits may not appear | Select Verify now in Business Profile Manager, or Get verified on the profile |
| "Get verified" appears again | Google couldn't completely verify your business | Re-verify; try another listed method |
| "Review issues" (video) | Google didn't accept your video | Record a new one with everything from the first plus what was missing |
| Asked for more info | Some business details were recently updated | Send the details or update your info |
| Access needed | Another verified owner holds the location; each location has only one | Request ownership |
| Suspended | The profile or account violated policies and the public can't see it | Owners and managers can still edit and appeal |
| Disabled | Google disabled the location for quality violations | Check it against Google's guidelines |
If a guide or a third-party tool shows a label such as "Under review" or "Needs reverification", match it to the closest Google status above.
Why Google My Business verification fails or keeps coming back
Most Google My Business verification problems trace back to causes Google names itself.
- The video missed something. Google's examples of rejected videos: "Business name not visible on storefront", "No nearby area shown" and "Missing proof of authorization to operate the business." Google tells you the reason, so your next video can add what was missing.
- Your profile doesn't match the real world. Google's guidelines ask you to represent the business "as it's consistently represented and recognized in the real world across signage, stationery, and other branding." If the name on your profile differs from the sign over your door, fix that first.
- The address isn't eligible. Virtual offices and P.O. boxes don't qualify (see the FAQ).
- You edited during the wait. A changed name, address or category breaks a pending postcard code.
Verification can also come back after it succeeded. Google says "changes to your business info may require re-verification", and when it asks for more info, "it's likely because some of your business details were recently updated." A minor name change may qualify as a rebrand without a new profile, if the proper nouns, the services in the name and the category stay the same.
As of November 2026, Google's verification help pages state no limit on attempts. When you are stuck, it says to try the options available to you, then contact support. A profile that was verified and later suspended needs a different fix: see our guide to fixing a suspended Google Business Profile.
After verification: protect the profile and check where it shows
Google Business Profile verification ends with an email. Do these next.
Keep ownership with the business. A profile can have several owners but only one primary owner. Managers can do almost everything owners can, except add or remove users and remove the profile. Google says a third party who helps manage your profile can be added "after verification" (Verify your business on Google), and each user needs their own Google Account, so nobody shares a password (Manage owners and managers). If an agency verified the profile on its own account, it first adds the business's account as an owner or manager, then transfers primary ownership to it and stays on as a manager. Google blocks some actions, including a primary ownership transfer, during a new owner's or manager's first 7 days.
Check what you verified. Name, address, phone, hours and categories should match your signage and website. Our Google Business Profile audit guide lists the sections to check first.
Manage it day to day. GLocal works only on profiles you already manage: you connect it through the Google account that manages the business and grant the "See, edit, create and delete your Google business listings" permission. Its GBP Audit lists the name, address, phone, website, coordinates and Google Maps URL on the profile, so you can compare them with your signage. It also imports your existing Google reviews, notifies you of new ones, alerts you when a review disappears from the profile, drafts AI replies you edit before publishing, and schedules posts. See review management for details.
See where you show up. Verification puts your info on Maps; your rank for a given search is a separate matter. GTrack, our Google Maps rank tracker, shows where your business ranks on Google Maps for a keyword across a grid of points around you. Google says rankings for a new business can take up to a month to appear, so wait a few weeks before you judge the first scan.
Google Business Profile verification FAQ
How does Google verify my business?
Google offers one or more methods, picked from your business type, public info, region and business hours: a phone or text code, an email, a video recording, a live video call, a postcard, or instant verification in some cases. You complete one from your profile's Get verified button, and Google's review takes up to 5 business days.
Why does Google keep making me verify my business?
When Get verified appears again, Google couldn't completely verify the business, so you need to re-verify. Google also says changes to your business info may require re-verification, and a "Review issues" notice means it didn't accept your video. Try another listed method if one keeps failing, then contact support.
What if I don't have a physical address for my business for Google?
If you visit or deliver to customers, set the profile up as a service-area business and hide your address. Google says you must hide it when you don't receive customers there. A business with no in-person service at all, such as an online-only shop, isn't eligible for a Business Profile. Our service-area business guide covers the setup.
How do you verify a business address?
A postcard proves you receive mail at the listed address: you enter its 5-digit code on your profile. A video recording or live video call proves it on camera, with outside signs, nearby businesses, street signs or landmarks. Service-area businesses run from home can film landmarks and signs in their immediate neighborhood.
Can I use a virtual office address to verify my business?
Not for most businesses. Google's guidelines say a rented mailing address you don't operate from, a virtual office, isn't eligible for a Business Profile, and P.O. boxes or remote mailboxes aren't acceptable. The one exception: a service-area business can list a virtual office that is staffed during business hours.
What if someone else already verified my business?
Request ownership from the current owner through Google. Google emails them, and they have 3 days to respond. If they don't, you may get the option to claim the profile and verify it yourself, though Google says that option isn't always available. Service-area businesses without a shop or office contact Google instead.
Can two businesses have the same address on Google?
Yes, when they are separate businesses. Google's guidelines say some co-located businesses, such as a pharmacy inside a supermarket or a restaurant inside a hotel, should each have their own profile, with a different name for the second business. Departments that operate as distinct entities, typically with their own customer entrance, may have their own profile too, with a name and main category that differ from the main business. If you need a suite or mailbox number, Google says to enter it as "Address Line 2."
