How to verify your Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile can't appear in the map pack until it's verified. Verification is how Google confirms that your business is real, that it's where you say it is, and that you're the person who runs it. This post covers the methods Google offers, what to have ready, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Before you start

Verification goes faster when the profile is filled out first. Make sure the business name matches your license and your signage, the address or service area is right, and the phone number is one you can answer. Google says not to change the name, address or category once you've requested a code, because the code is tied to those details.

For a service area business, such as a plumber or a pressure washer who travels to customers, you can hide the address and list the towns you serve instead. You still verify against a real address, but customers won't see it.

The verification methods

Google decides which methods to offer based on the business, its category and how much it can already confirm. You'll see the options that apply to you when you click Get verified in the profile. As of 2026 these are the methods Google lists:

• Video recording. This is the one most home service businesses get now. You record a short video on your phone that shows where the business is, the tools or vehicles you work with, and proof that you manage it, such as unlocking the shop or showing the truck lettering and the business license. Google reviews the video and says reviews take up to five business days.
• Live video call. Same idea, but with a Google support person on the call in real time. Google says it's only available during your business hours and may not be offered to every business.
• Phone or text. Google calls or texts a code to your business number. It has to be a number a person can answer, because an automated phone menu can't receive the code.
• Email. A code goes to the email address shown on the verification screen.
• Mail. A postcard with a code goes to the business address. Google says most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30.

What to show in a verification video

The video method is where most people get stuck, usually because they show too little. In one continuous recording, walk from the street to your door so the address or a street sign is visible, show the inside of the shop or the truck with your business name on it, and show something that proves you run the business, like the license on the wall or logging into your business email. For a home based business, film the exterior with the house number, then your work van and equipment. Keep it to a couple of minutes and don't edit it.

How long it takes

Phone, text and email codes are instant. Video reviews take up to five business days. Postcards take up to two weeks to arrive. After verification, it can take a little longer for the profile to show fully in Search and Maps.

When verification fails

A few things cause most failures:

• The video didn't show the location, the equipment and proof of management all together. Record it again with all three.
• The business name on the profile doesn't match what's on the license or the truck.
• The address is a mailbox store or a virtual office, which Google doesn't allow.
• There's already a profile for the same business at the same address. Claim that one instead of creating another.

If the profile gets suspended after verification, that's a separate problem with its own process. We wrote it up in what to do when your Google Business Profile is suspended.

After you're verified

Verification gets you on the map. It doesn't get you into the top three. That depends on your primary category, your services, your reviews and the pages on your website. Start with our five Google Business Profile fixes, and if you'd like someone else to run the profile, that's part of every local SEO plan we offer. You'll need to add us as a manager, and here's how to do that without sharing your password.