Short answer: You add your business to Apple Maps through Apple Business, Apple’s free platform at business.apple.com. Sign up, add your location under Brands > Locations, and verify your organization with two methods. Apple’s review can take up to five business days, and your place card then shows in Maps, Siri, Wallet and other Apple apps.
The tool used to be called Apple Business Connect. Apple’s own guide now says: “Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business.” Older tutorials that use the former name describe screens that have since changed.
What Apple Business is
Apple calls a business listing a place card. It’s what people see when they select your location in Maps, and Apple says it also appears in Siri, Calendar, Messages and Spotlight searches. Your brand can show in Apple Wallet too.
Apple Business brings together the features of three older products: Apple Business Manager, Apple Business Essentials and Apple Business Connect. That’s why the same portal manages devices, work email and storage alongside your Maps presence. You can ignore those parts if you only want the listing.
On Apple Business’s own FAQ page, Apple says the platform is free to get started and that place card customization on Apple Maps is included. You don’t need any Apple devices to manage your presence on Maps, and Apple says it works for businesses with physical locations as well as those that operate online.
Apple names two kinds of user:
- Organization. The business itself, managing its own brands and locations.
- Third-party partner or agency. A company that manages how other businesses appear to customers.
Already on Apple Business Connect? Sign in to Apple Business with the personal Apple Account you used there. Apple then offers two paths. Create an Apple Account for Work makes a Managed Apple Account with every feature. Continue using your personal account keeps only the brand and location features, which is enough for Maps.
Sources: Apple Business User Guide (intro, sign up, configure location attributes); Apple Business Connect User Guide; Apple Business support page. Read October 26, 2026.
Sign up for Apple Business
Have your work email, your phone and your business website at hand.
- Open the portal. Go to business.apple.com and select Sign up now.
- Describe the organization. Enter its name, your website and its address. Apple marks the website as optional but says it can speed up verification.
- Leave the agency box empty. That checkbox is for partners who manage brands for other organizations, not for a business signing up for itself.
- Add the account holder. Use the legal name of a real person. Apple returns names like “IT Coordinator” for correction.
- Secure the account. Create a password, add a phone number and choose whether codes arrive by text or by call. Enter the codes Apple sends to your email and your phone.
- Accept the terms. Review the Apple Business Terms and Conditions and select Agree.
The email for this first account can come from a public email provider. It can’t already be an Apple Account for another Apple service, and it can’t belong to a domain that a different Apple Business organization has verified.
Sources: Apple Business User Guide (sign up and verify your organization, requirements). Read October 26, 2026.
Add your location
Every location belongs to a brand. The brand carries the name, logo and cover photo that your locations share, and each location can still have its own cover photo.
- Start. Choose Brands > Locations, select Add Location, then Add single location.
- Name it. If Maps already shows your business, search for it and select it. If not, select Add a new location with this name.
- Place the pin. Enter the address. If the marker sits on the wrong building, drag the map or enter coordinates. Hybrid or Satellite view makes the building easier to see.
- Fill in the basics. The default language, the display name, one primary category, the status (Open or Opening Soon), the phone number with its country code and your website.
- Set the hours, then choose your brand or create one.
If you choose Opening Soon, the opening date can be up to six months away. For the website field, Apple also accepts a Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page, but not a website that belongs to someone else. The pin goes on top of the building, centered over your location, not on the sidewalk, the street or the parking entrance.
If the location is already claimed by someone else, you’ll see This location is already managed. Apple says to continue, add it, and then select Request Transfer with a reason and a supporting document such as a business license or a utility bill. That review can take up to five business days.
Several locations? Since October 2026 Apple Business lets you add and edit multiple locations at once.
Sources: Apple Business User Guide (about locations, add a single location, configure location attributes, release notes). Read October 26, 2026.
Verify your organization
Verification is what unlocks the listing. For a new location, Apple’s route is to verify your organization and send it for review. Until Apple approves your organization, you can’t add photos, and Actions and showcases come only after the location is verified.
- Open the settings. Choose Settings > Organization and select Verify Now.
- Choose two different methods from the list below. Apple requires two.
- Submit. Select Send for Review.
The methods Apple accepts:
- Business ID. A D-U-N-S Number or an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
- Domain Validation. A TXT record added to your domain’s DNS.
- App Store Connect. The app linked to your organization, if you publish one. Not open to partners or agencies.
- An official document. A business license, a sales tax permit, a food, health or alcohol permit, a lease or property agreement, or a utility bill.
Verification can take up to five business days, longer in busy periods. Don’t let it slide: you have 60 days after sign-up, and an organization that isn’t approved in that window is deleted with its data.
If your business already appears on Maps, Apple may offer a quicker route for that location: a phone call to the number it has on record, with a four-digit code to enter. If you don’t recognize that number, Apple says to contact Apple Business support.
Apple also asks you to set your mail filters to accept mail from all apple.com domains, so its messages about the review reach you.
Sources: Apple Business User Guide (sign up and verify your organization, add a single location, add photos, use insights). Read October 26, 2026.
What to put on the place card
Apple reviews most of what you upload before it goes live, so the rules below save you rejections.
- Display name. It has to match the name on your storefront or website. No descriptions, no symbols such as ® or ™, and no city unless the city is part of the brand name.
- About. A short description of the location: who runs it, what it’s known for, its specialties or its history.
- Category. Exactly one primary category, as specific as possible, plus up to 19 optional ones. Apple recently added many more categories, so check yours.
- Hours. Normal hours, plus optional special hours for a service (a happy hour, for example) and temporary hours for holidays or closures. They should match your website.
- Phone and website. A phone number with the country code (extensions aren’t supported yet) and your own site, ideally the page for that location.
- Good to Know. Facts such as contactless payments, parking, accessible parking or EV charging. They show as a list with icons.
- Logo and cover photo. Together Apple calls them the place card header. The cover photo needs at least 1600 by 1040 pixels. Maps crops it from the center to a wide 2.5:1 strip, so keep the subject in the middle.
- Photos. HEIF, JPEG or PNG, at least 720 by 960 pixels, up to 100 per location. They appear in an album called From the Business.
Apple’s photo review can take up to three business days. It rejects stock photos, clip art, added text or borders, watermarks, QR codes, collages and any AI-generated content. Use real photos you own of your storefront, products and space.
Actions and showcases
Actions are buttons at the top of the place card, with names like “Order” or “Tickets”, that link to your website or booking platform. A restaurant might add Menu, Reserve or Delivery. Apple approves each one, which can take up to three business days, and customers need iOS 17.4 or later to see them.
A showcase highlights an offer, a new item or an event, with a photo, a headline of up to 38 characters, a 100-character body and a button. It runs up to 365 days (90 by default). Apple reviews each one, so send it at least three days before you want it live.
Branded Mail and Tap to Pay
Apple Business also lists two brand features beyond Maps. Branded Mail puts your logo and name next to your emails in Apple Mail. It needs your own email domain (Gmail or iCloud addresses don’t qualify) and DKIM authentication, and its review can take up to seven business days.
Tap to Pay on iPhone lets you take contactless payments on an iPhone, and Apple Business lets you show your verified brand during payment.
Sources: Apple Business User Guide (configure location attributes, add photos, about the cover photo, photo and text standards, about Actions, create your first showcase, Branded Mail, Tap to Pay on iPhone). Read October 26, 2026.
Keep the listing accurate
Customers can report problems straight from your place card. On iPhone, anyone can open Maps, touch and hold the map and tap Report Something Missing, or go to Reports > Report a New Issue from their profile. That’s also the route if you only want to suggest a business, without managing it.
When Apple acts on a report and changes your location’s name, status or hours, it emails your administrators. In Apple Business the location shows Updates Available:
- Apple got it right. Select Looks Good.
- Apple got it wrong. Select View Details, then Edit, and enter the correct value. A disputed name goes back to Apple for review, which can take up to five business days.
Apple’s advice is to update the location often: showcases, seasonal photos, normal and special hours, Actions and Good to Know. If a location closes for good, remove it with the reason This location is permanently closed, and Apple marks it closed on Maps.
To see what the listing brings in, open Insights. Apple shows how many times people tapped your location in search results and whether they searched for your name, a category or something else. It also counts place card views and how many people asked for directions, called or tapped your website. You can download the data as a CSV file.
Sources: Apple Business User Guide (maintain location information accuracy, edit or remove a single location, use insights); iPhone User Guide, “Report an issue with Maps on iPhone”. Read October 26, 2026.
How Apple decides who shows up
Apple doesn’t explain in its Apple Business guide how Maps orders local search results. It says less than that:
- Claiming helps. Apple says claimed businesses get 30 percent more views.
- Categories decide where you appear. They help customers discover your business, so the primary category matters.
- Insights show how you’re found. You can see whether people reach you by searching your name or a category.
Paid placement is separate. Ads on Apple Maps run from the same Apple Business account, in the United States and Canada. Apple says eligible organizations may get a one-time $150.00 credit. You don’t need ads to have a place card.
Apple Maps is one of several maps your customers use. Our guides cover the other two: adding your business to Google Maps and Bing Places for Business. Keep the name, address, phone and hours identical on all three.
RememberApple Maps listings live in Apple Business, the new name of Apple Business Connect. Sign up at business.apple.com, add your location under Brands > Locations, and verify your organization with two methods within 60 days. Then fill in the place card with real photos and current hours.
Before you call the listing done, check:
- A real person holds the account, with an email the business controls.
- Your organization shows as verified in Apple Business.
- The pin sits on top of your building.
- The display name matches your storefront, with one specific primary category.
- The hours and phone match your website.
- A logo, a cover photo and real photos of the business are approved.
Sources: Apple Business site, “Grow your business”; Apple Business User Guide (configure location attributes, use insights, promote your business on Apple Maps). Read October 26, 2026.
Quick answers
Is it free to put my business on Apple Maps?
Yes. Apple says Apple Business is free to get started, and place card customization on Apple Maps is included. You pay only for extras you choose, such as more iCloud storage, AppleCare+ for Business or ads on Apple Maps. A listing, photos, hours and showcases don’t require any of those paid options.
Do I need an iPhone or a Mac to manage my listing?
No. Apple says you can manage your presence on Apple Maps without any Apple devices. The Apple Business portal works in a web browser, and Apple lists Chrome, Edge and Firefox on Windows among the supported ones. Your customers are the ones who need Apple devices: that’s where they see your place card.
What happened to Apple Business Connect?
Apple folded it into Apple Business, together with Apple Business Manager and Apple Business Essentials. Sign in at business.apple.com with the personal Apple Account you used before and pick your organization. Then either keep that account for brand and location work only, or create a work account to get every feature.
How do I give my marketing agency access to Apple Business?
Apple calls agencies third-party partners, and each one needs its own Apple Business account, verified by Apple. You then share access with it, through OAuth or its Partner Organization ID, and choose which brands and features it manages. Its work follows the same Apple policies as if you had made the changes yourself.
Can I use Apple Business if I don’t have a storefront?
Yes. Apple says Apple Business serves online businesses and businesses without physical locations, and lets them build a brand across Apple apps. A place card on Maps, though, belongs to a physical location where you serve customers, at the address listed on your website. Without one, you have a brand but no pin.
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Sources
- “Intro to Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Sign up for Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Requirements for Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “About locations in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Add a single location in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Configure location attributes in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Add, edit, or delete photos in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Photo and text standards and guidelines for Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “About Actions in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Create your first showcase in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Maintain location information accuracy with Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Use insights for a single location in Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Share your Apple Business access with a third-party partner”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Promote your business on Apple Maps with Apple Business”, Apple Business User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- “Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business”, Apple Business Connect User Guide, read October 26, 2026.
- Apple Business support and FAQ, read October 26, 2026.
- “Grow your business”, Apple Business, read October 26, 2026.
- “Report an issue with Maps on iPhone”, iPhone User Guide, read October 26, 2026.