How to verify your Google Business Profile (and what to do if it fails)

Short answer: You verify a Google Business Profile from the profile itself: select Get verified and follow the method Google offers you. That can be a video recording, a phone call or text, an email, a live video call or a postcard. You don’t get to pick: Google decides which methods you see, and it says the review can take up to 5 business days.

The failures Google describes come from a profile that doesn’t match the real business: a name that isn’t on the sign, an address customers can’t visit, a video that skips part of what Google asks to see. If you’re stuck already, go to what to do when verification fails.

What verification changes on your profile

Google’s help says that to edit your business info and interact with customers, “you need to verify your business”. Verifying is also how you become the owner of the profile. Until then, a few things stay off:

• Your edits. In Business Profile Manager, an unverified location carries this warning: “If you make edits before your profile is verified, some edits may not appear.”
• Your replies to reviews. “Before you can reply to reviews, you must verify your business.”
• Your photos and videos. They “show up on Google only after you verify your Business Profile”. Until then they sit as pending, and customers on Search and Maps don’t see them.

Verification also counts for where you show up. In its tips on local ranking, Google says verifying tells it “you’re authorized to represent the business, so it’s more likely to show up in search results”.

Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Verify your business on Google”. “Understand your Business Profile status for bulk uploads”. “Manage customer reviews”. “Manage your Business Profile photos & videos”. “Tips to improve your local ranking on Google”. Read October 20, 2026.

Before you start

1. Sign in with the right Google Account. You need one to own a profile, with a Gmail address or any other email. Use the account your business will keep, not a personal one you might lose.
2. Find the profile, or create it. Search for your business name and city on Google Maps. If the profile exists and nobody has verified it, choose Claim this business and then Manage now. If it doesn’t exist, add it at business.google.com/add. Both are free.
3. Check that your business qualifies. Google only gives profiles to businesses that meet customers in person during their stated hours. An online-only shop “can’t be verified”.
4. Get the address right first. If customers come to you, use the real street address, and Google expects a permanent sign with your business name there. If you go to them, remove the address and set service areas instead. A rented mailing address where you don’t work, which Google calls a virtual office, “isn’t eligible for a Business Profile”.

If Google tells you someone else already verified the profile, you can request ownership from that owner. They get 3 days to answer. If they don’t, you may get the option to claim it yourself.

Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Get started with Google Business Profile”. “Add or claim your Business Profile”. “Verify your business with a video recording”. “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”. “Guidelines for representing your business on Google”. “Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses”. “Request ownership of a Business Profile”. Read October 20, 2026.

The verification methods Google offers

Google says verification methods “are automatically determined by Google and can’t be changed”. What you get depends on your business type, your public info, your region and your hours, and some businesses have to verify with more than one method. Nobody can promise you a specific method, us included.

Video recording

If your profile offers it, Google recommends this one. You record a short video of your business from your phone, through the profile, and Google reviews it.

Phone or text

Choose Get verified, then Phone or SMS, and enter the code you get on your profile. Make sure you can answer the business phone yourself: automated phone menus (IVR systems) “won’t get the code”.

Email

Choose Get verified, then Email, and follow the steps in the email. It only works if you can open the address that shows on the verification screen.

Live video call

A support representative joins you on a video call and you show the business with your camera. You start with Get verified, Live video call, Next, choose your language and select Start call, which opens a text chat first. Calls only run during your location’s business hours, and Google says the option “may not be available for all businesses”. Be at your business, ready to show:

• Where you are. Outside signs, nearby businesses or a street sign.
• Your business or equipment. Products, branded equipment, marketing materials or tools.
• That you manage it. An employee-only area, a cash register, a storage room or your keys opening the place.

Postcard

Google still mails codes, but “verification through postcard isn’t available for all businesses”. If you get the option, choose Get verified, then Postcard, check the mailing address and request the code. Google’s rules while you wait:

• Most codes arrive within 14 days, and every code expires after 30 days.
• Don’t edit the business name, address or category. If you do, “the code we sent you won’t work”.
• Don’t request a new code. Google cancels the one in the mail and sends another, which makes the wait longer.
• Don’t share the 5-digit code with anyone, including the people who manage your profile. Google says it “will never ask for your verification code”.

Instant verification

Sometimes Google verifies a profile on the spot. Its help names two cases: you’ve already verified your website in Google Search Console, or you verify in bulk. Google doesn’t promise it in any other case.

Bulk verification for 10 or more locations

Chains can verify every location at once from Business Profile Manager, under Verifications, then Chain and Start. Google’s conditions: 10 or more locations of the same business, every location you manage in the spreadsheet, no service-area businesses, and no account that already has errors. Duplicate, suspended or disabled profiles don’t count toward the 10. Agencies that keep several businesses in one account can’t use it. If the Verifications tab doesn’t show, verify each location on its own.

Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Verify your business on Google”. “Verify Business Profiles in bulk”. Read October 20, 2026.

RememberYou don’t get to pick: Google decides which methods you see, and it says the review can take up to 5 business days.

What Google asks to see in a verification video

Plan the video before you press record. Google’s requirements are strict:

• One unedited recording, “complete” and “with no breaks”. You can’t record it earlier and upload it later.
• At least 30 seconds long.
• Recorded and uploaded from your phone or another mobile device, through your Business Profile.
• No bank account, tax or ID numbers, no private info, and no other people’s faces.

What goes in the video depends on how you serve customers.

If customers come to your location

• Where the business is. Street signs, the building number, nearby businesses or places people know.
• That the business exists. The storefront, the showroom or the sign. Your name has to be printed on something permanent, such as a sign, a wall or a window, and it has to match the name on your profile.
• That you manage it. Something only an employee can open: the cash register, the kitchen, the storage room or the point-of-sale system.

No permanent sign at the door? Then Google says to list the business as a service-area business instead of a storefront.

If you go to your customers

A plumber, a locksmith or a cleaning service has no address on the profile, but the video still has to show where the business runs from:

• Where you operate. Street signs and landmarks near your business address. If you work from home, signs and landmarks in your neighborhood count. Avoid empty land and places with no clear markers.
• That the business exists. Your tools, equipment or products, your workspace, business cards or branded uniforms.
• That you manage it. Film yourself doing a job, or unlocking a van with your business branding. A business permit, an invoice or a utility bill also works, as long as it shows the same name as your profile.

How to record and send it

1. On your phone, open your Business Profile and tap Get verified. Google may ask for your phone number first.
2. Tap Business video, then Next, and read the requirements.
3. Allow access to your location, camera and microphone if asked.
4. Tap Next, then Start recording, and record the whole walk in one take.
5. Watch it back. If something is missing, tap Try again.
6. Tap Upload video.

You can delete the video whenever you like from your profile’s advanced settings, under Video uploads. If you don’t, Google deletes it later.

Source: Google Business Profile Help, “Verify your business with a video recording”. Read October 20, 2026.

How long it takes and how to check the status

Once you finish the steps, Google reviews what you sent. In its words, “verification reviews take up to 5 business days”, and “on rare occasions, reviews may take longer”. A postcard adds the mail: most arrive within 14 days. When the profile is verified, Google sends you a confirmation email.

To see where things stand, open your profile. A Get verified button means verification isn’t done. In Business Profile Manager, the Status column uses these labels:

• Pending verification. Google says “the verification process has begun, but isn’t finished”. The label comes from its help page about bulk uploads, where the fix is to enter the PIN Google sent you by email.
• Unverified. Google hasn’t verified the location yet, and edits you make now may not appear.
• Verified. The location passed Google’s checks and shows on Google.

You may also read “Verification required” on some screens or forums. The pages of Google’s help we read don’t use that label. On your profile, the sign that Google still needs something is the Get verified button.

Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Verify your business on Google”. “Understand your Business Profile status for bulk uploads”. Read October 20, 2026.

If verification fails

Google shows a failed or incomplete verification on the profile itself:

• The “Get verified” button comes back. Google “couldn’t completely verify your business”. Try again, and if the profile shows more than one method, try another one.
• A “Review issues” notice after a video. Your video wasn’t accepted. Tap Review issues to read why. Google’s own examples: the business name isn’t visible on the storefront, no nearby area is shown, or the proof that you’re authorized to run the business is missing.
• A request for more info. This usually follows a recent change to your business details. Select Get verified and go through it again.

What to fix before you try again

1. Match the name to the sign. The name on your profile has to be the one customers read on your door, and the one in your video.
2. Pick the right business type. No permanent sign means a service-area business. If customers don’t come to you, remove the address.
3. Drop addresses that don’t qualify. P.O. boxes, remote mailboxes and virtual offices can’t hold a profile. A desk in a co-working space only counts with clear signage, customers received there and your own staff during business hours.
4. Record a complete new video. Include everything from the first one plus what Google said was missing.

How to contact Google support

Google asks you to try every method your profile offers before you write in, because that makes it easier for its team to help. If none works, open any article in Google Business Profile Help, scroll to Need more help? and choose Contact us. Sign in with the Google Account that manages the profile, describe the problem and say which methods you already tried.

Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Verify your business on Google”. “Verify your business with a video recording”. “Guidelines for representing your business on Google”. “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”. Read October 20, 2026.

What not to do while you verify

• Don’t create a second profile. Google allows one profile per business, and a duplicate “won’t show on Google Search or Maps”. If the first one is stuck, keep working on it.
• Don’t use a virtual office or a mailbox. Google’s address rules exclude both, and its eligibility rules exclude any business whose address is “a P.O. box or mailbox in a remote location”.
• Don’t keep editing during the review. A new name, address or category kills a postcard code, and changes to your details can send the profile back through verification. Google says a business that moves after it’s verified “must verify your business again”.
• Don’t let a third party verify on its own. Only owners and authorized representatives may verify. Google’s rule for representatives, such as an SEO agency: “Always work directly with the business owner to complete verification.” If you work with one, add it as a manager once you’re verified.

If Google suspended the profile instead of leaving it unverified, verifying again won’t bring it back. Our guide on what to do when your Google Business Profile is suspended covers the fixes and the appeal.

Sources, all from Google Business Profile Help: “Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issues”. “Guidelines for representing your business on Google”. “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”. “Verify your business on Google”. “Edit your Business Profile”. Read October 20, 2026.

Once you’re verified

Read the profile once from top to bottom: name, address or service areas, hours, phone, website and categories. If someone helps you manage it, this is the moment to add them as a manager. Google’s help suggests doing it after verification.

Then work on where the profile shows. Our checklist on how to rank higher on Google Maps goes through the profile, the reviews and your website, one step at a time.

Source: Google Business Profile Help, “Verify your business on Google”. Read October 20, 2026.

Quick answers about verification

Can I verify my business without a postcard?

Often, yes, but it isn’t your choice. Google picks the methods each profile sees from its business type, public info, region and hours. Besides the postcard, its help lists a video recording, a phone call or text, an email and a live video call. If your profile shows several methods, you can try another when one fails.

Can I verify a business I run from home?

Yes, if you meet customers in person. If you go to them, set it up as a service-area business and hide your home address. For a video, Google lets you record the street signs and landmarks of your neighborhood. Add your tools and a document with the business name, such as an invoice or a permit.

Do I have to verify again if I change my name or move?

It can happen. Google says a business that moves after it’s verified must verify again, and changing the name of a verified profile might also require a new verification. Make one change at a time, with the new sign or address already in place, so a video or a call can show it.

What if someone else already verified my business?

Ask for ownership instead of creating a new profile. Go to business.google.com/add, find your business and select Request access. The current owner gets 3 days to answer. If you get no reply, you may get the option to claim the profile yourself, though Google says it isn’t always available.

Does Google charge to verify a Business Profile?

No. Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge, and verifying is part of that. Be wary of anyone who asks for money to get you a method or a faster review. Google never asks for your verification code, so don’t give it to anyone who calls you asking for it.

Verified and ready to grow?

Our local SEO service takes the profile from there, every month: the name and categories, 4 posts a month, a reply to every review and directory listings with the same name, address and phone. Book a 20-minute call and we’ll look at your profile with you.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help, “Verify your business on Google”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Verify your business with a video recording”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Verify Business Profiles in bulk”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Understand your Business Profile status for bulk uploads”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Get started with Google Business Profile”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Add or claim your Business Profile”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Request ownership of a Business Profile”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Guidelines for representing your business on Google”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issues”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Edit your Business Profile”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Manage customer reviews”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Manage your Business Profile photos & videos”, read October 20, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, “Tips to improve your local ranking on Google”, read October 20, 2026.