Short answer: Open your Business Profile with an owner account and select More, Business Profile settings and People and access. Select Add, enter the person’s email, choose Owner or Manager under “Access” and select Invite. To hand the profile over, make that person the Primary owner from People and access.
A manager can run the profile day to day without the power to remove you. If someone else controls your profile and you can’t get in, go straight to how to request access.
Owner or manager
Google gives a Business Profile two roles, owner and manager. One of the owners is the primary owner. Each person signs in with their own Google Account, so nobody has to share a password.
- Primary owner. There’s only one per profile. Only the primary owner can transfer that role, and they can’t leave the profile until they do.
- Owner. Full control: owners add and remove users, manage the profile info and can even delete the profile. A profile can have several owners.
- Manager. Almost the same access as owners, except that managers can’t add or remove users or remove the profile. Google used to call them “site managers”.
For daily work the two roles are the same. Google’s help compares them:
- Owners and managers: edit the name, category, hours, address, phone number, services and links. They also publish posts, add photos, logos and products, respond to reviews and questions, use messaging, download insights and manage Google Ads links.
- Owners only: add and remove users, change another user’s role and remove the profile.
You can’t add a Google Group as an owner or manager, and everyone on the profile can see the names and email addresses of its owners and managers.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Manage your Business Profile owners & managers”. “Transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile”. Read October 22, 2026.
How to add a manager or owner
Only owners can invite people.
- Open your profile. Sign in with the Google Account that owns it. On Google Search, search for my business, or for your business name and city. In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right.
- Open the user list. Select More, then Business Profile settings and People and access.
- Add the person. At the top left, select Add and enter their email address.
- Choose the role. Under “Access”, select Owner or Manager.
- Send the invite. Select Invite.
The invited person can accept and become a user right away, and you get an email when they do. Until then, the invite waits under “PENDING” on People and access, where Cancel invitation withdraws it.
To change a role later, select the person on People and access, select Edit next to “Access”, choose the new role and select Save.
Make someone an owner only if they need to manage users. An employee who answers reviews or publishes updates can do it as a manager. Our guide to Google Business Profile posts shows what a manager can publish.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Manage your Business Profile owners & managers”. “Find your business on Google”. Read October 22, 2026.
Adding an agency without giving up ownership
Google has separate rules for third parties: digital marketing agencies, SEO companies and booking providers that manage a profile for a business they don’t own. Under those rules, the business decides whether a partner gets co-owner access, manager access or none, and the business must keep ownership or co-ownership of its profile “at all times”.
Google also tells agencies how to set up access:
- If the client already has a profile, the agency asks to be invited “as a manager, not as an owner”.
- If the agency creates the profile, it makes the business owner the owner and itself the manager.
- The agency doesn’t share passwords with its clients.
So invite the agency’s email as Manager, the same way you would add an employee. Some agencies work from a Business Profile organization account and may give you a business group ID to invite instead of an email address. An organization account can’t directly own an individual profile.
Comparing agencies? Our article on local SEO pricing lists what to ask before you sign, including who will own the profile.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Business Profile third-party policies”. “Manage agency invites”. “Overview for agencies”. Read October 22, 2026.
How to transfer primary ownership
Transfer primary ownership when the business changes hands or when the person who holds the profile is leaving. A sale is the case Google singles out: moving primary ownership to the new owner keeps the business info, reviews included, on the profile.
Only the primary owner can make the change, and the new primary owner must already be on the profile as an owner or manager. If you’re the only user, add them first.
- Open People and access. In your Business Profile, select More, Business Profile settings and People and access.
- Select the person who will be the new primary owner.
- Edit the access. Next to “Access”, select Edit.
- Save. Select Primary owner, then Save.
Google makes every new owner wait 7 days before some changes. Until then they can’t delete or undelete the profile, remove other owners or managers, or make anyone the primary owner. Trying earlier gives an error.
Once someone else is primary owner, you’re free to remove yourself from the profile with Stop managing.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile”. “Manage your Business Profile owners & managers”. Read October 22, 2026.
Profiles in a business group
If you’re new to Business Profile and manage several locations, Google recommends a business group in Business Profile Manager. It describes a group as “a shared folder for your profiles”. When you add someone to a group as owner or manager, they can access every profile in it, the current ones and any added later. Group managers can add, edit and delete all the profiles in the group, but they can’t add or remove users.
Roles in a group change under Group settings and Manage users, and the primary ownership of a group can go to one of its owners or managers. You can still add owners and managers to a single profile inside a group.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Create & manage business groups”. “Manage business group owners & managers”. Read October 22, 2026.
How to remove someone
- Open People and access. In your Business Profile, select More, Business Profile settings and People and access.
- Select the person you want to remove.
- Remove them. Select Remove person.
Only owners can remove owners and managers. If you can’t select the person, you may only have manager access. The person you remove gets an email. They can no longer change business info or do admin tasks, but their replies to reviews, posts and comments stay on the profile.
To leave a profile yourself, select your own name in the list, then Stop managing and Confirm. A primary owner has to transfer that role first.
If a former employee or agency still has access
Google’s advice is to remove ex-employees’ profile access once they no longer work at your business. What you can do depends on who holds which role:
- You’re an owner, they’re an owner or manager. Remove them with the steps above. If you became an owner less than 7 days ago, wait for the week to pass: until then, Google won’t let you remove other owners or managers.
- They’re the primary owner. Ask them to make you primary owner. Google’s rules say that an agency, or anyone else who manages a profile they don’t own, must transfer ownership to the business owner “immediately upon request”. Google’s third-party policy also requires an agency to let a client regain exclusive control within 7 business days of the client’s notice.
- An agency refuses. Google’s third-party policy bans keeping “a profile hostage in exchange for money”. Report it with Google’s third-party violation form.
- You have no access at all. Request ownership through Google.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Manage your Business Profile owners & managers”. “Help protect your Google Business Profile”. “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”. “Business Profile third-party policies”. Read October 22, 2026.
If someone else controls your profile
If someone else owns the verified profile of your business, you can request ownership from them. If customers come to your business address (a storefront, or a hybrid business that also visits or delivers to customers), follow these steps:
- Find the profile. Go to business.google.com/add and enter your business name and address.
- Choose it from the list. You’ll see “Someone else may manage this Business Profile.”
- Request access. Select Request Access, fill out the form and select Submit.
Google emails you a confirmation and then notifies the current owner by email. The owner has 3 days to respond. To check the status, sign in to your Business Profile or use the link in the confirmation email.
- Approved. You get an approval email and can manage the profile. The 7-day limits for new owners apply to you too.
- Denied. You get a rejection email. You can still suggest an edit to the profile, and you can try to appeal the decision.
- No answer in 3 days. You may be able to claim the profile: open the confirmation email, select View request, then Verify, and follow the steps on screen. This option isn’t always available. Our guide on how to verify your Google Business Profile covers each verification method.
A service-area business, one that serves customers at their location and has no shop or office, goes through Google’s support team instead: contact Google from its help center, signed in, and enter “Transfer ownership of listing” as the issue.
If nobody ever claimed the profile, there’s nobody to ask. When Google Maps shows “Claim this business” on the profile’s “About” tab, claim it and verify it yourself.
If you’re the owner and a request like this reaches you, Google’s advice is not to approve it unless you know the person asking.
RememberDon’t open a second profile to get around an owner who won’t answer. Google allows one profile per business, and a profile it treats as a duplicate doesn’t show on Search or Maps.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Request ownership of a Business Profile”. “Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses”. “Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issues”. “Add or claim your Business Profile”. “Help protect your Google Business Profile”. Read October 22, 2026.
Keep your profile safe
Google’s security page for Business Profiles says that the fewer people who have access, the less likely the profile is to be compromised. Its advice:
- Only the people you need. The owners and managers who are essential, and nobody who has left.
- Owners added with care. They can edit the profile and transfer ownership.
- Your own owner access. If a third party manages the profile, make sure you still have access as an owner.
- No approvals for strangers. Approve an owner or manager request only if you know who sent it.
- A protected Google Account. A strong password, secure devices and 2‑Step Verification turned on.
- Every location claimed. Unclaimed locations make your business more vulnerable to hijacks.
Watch for impersonators too. Google warns about calls, emails and texts from people who offer help with your profile for money, some of them claiming to be Google. Google never asks for a one-time password or a PIN. It never tries to get you to pay to keep your Business Profile, to have it verified or to have it reinstated. Adding or claiming a profile is free.
If Google suspended the profile, the fix is different: see what to do when your Google Business Profile is suspended.
Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Help protect your Google Business Profile”. “Add or claim your Business Profile”. Read October 22, 2026.
Quick answers about access
What’s the difference between an owner and a manager?
Owners have full control: they add and remove users, edit everything and can delete the profile. Managers do the same daily work, such as updating hours, publishing posts or replying to reviews. Adding or removing users and removing the profile stay with owners. One owner is the primary owner, the only one who can pass that role on.
Why did I lose access to my Business Profile?
Google lists five reasons it may revoke ownership. You haven’t signed in recently. The business confirmed you or your agency are no longer authorized. Google couldn’t reach you by email after several tries. You or another owner deleted the profile. You created it through another Google product whose profile was suspended. To get it back, verify again or request ownership.
Will I lose my reviews if the business changes hands?
Not if the new owner takes over the same profile. Google’s advice for a sale is to transfer primary ownership of the Business Profile to the new owner, which keeps business info such as reviews. Opening a new profile doesn’t help: Google allows one per business and hides duplicates from Search and Maps.
What happens to replies and posts when I remove someone?
Nothing is deleted. Replies to reviews, posts, comments and other actions by a removed owner or manager stay on the profile. The person can no longer change business info or do admin tasks, and they get an email about it. Their work also stays if they leave the profile on their own.
Can someone take over my profile without my approval?
Google gives the current owner 3 days to answer an ownership request. If nobody answers, the person asking may get the option to claim the profile by verifying the business, although Google says that option isn’t always available. So answer every request you receive, and don’t approve anyone you don’t know.
Want us to look after your profile?
Our local SEO service answers your reviews, publishes 4 posts a month on your profile and keeps your name, address and phone the same on every listing. If your business is in Miami, see local SEO in Miami.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help, “Manage your Business Profile owners & managers”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Request ownership of a Business Profile”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issues”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Add or claim your Business Profile”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Find your business on Google”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Help protect your Google Business Profile”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Business Profile third-party policies”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Manage agency invites”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Overview for agencies”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Create & manage business groups”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Manage business group owners & managers”, read October 22, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Business Profile third party complaint: Report a violation”, read October 22, 2026.