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

To verify your Google Business Profile, sign in at business.google.com, open the profile, select Get verified and follow the method Google shows you. You don’t get to choose the method. Google picks it for you: usually a video recording, a phone or text code, an email or a live video call, and some businesses still get a postcard. Most “verify my Google Business” trouble starts after that step, so most of this guide covers what to do when it fails.

Until you verify, Google won’t let you edit your hours or name, or reply to customers. It’s also the first tip on Google’s own list for ranking in local results. Any seo company for small business will check it on day one. You can do it yourself.

How to verify my Google Business Profile, step by step

There are 6 steps, and most of the waiting comes at the end: Google’s review takes up to 5 business days.

1. Sign in to the right Google Account. Use one the business will own long term, not a staff member’s personal Gmail.

1. Find your profile. Search Google for your business name and city while signed in. If there’s no profile yet, add one at business.google.com/add.

1. Select Get verified. It appears on the profile until verification is complete.

1. Read the method Google shows you. If you see more than one, choose video: Google recommends it when you’re eligible.

1. Complete the method. Record the video, enter the code, follow the email, join the call or request the postcard.

1. Wait for the review. Google sends a confirmation email when you’re verified. Don’t edit your name, address or category while you wait.

The verification methods Google uses, and which one you’ll get

Google chooses your method from your business type, public info, region and business hours, and you can’t change it. Sometimes it asks for more than one. There are 5 methods on Google’s help pages as of 30 September 2026:

1. Video recording: one continuous, unedited clip of at least 30 seconds, recorded and uploaded from your phone.
2. Phone or text: a code by call or SMS to the business number. A phone menu (IVR) can’t receive it.
3. Email: steps sent to the address shown on the verification screen.
4. Live video call: a Google support rep watches while you show the business, only during your business hours.
5. Postcard: a 5-digit code by mail, and not every business gets this option.

Google sometimes verifies a profile instantly if you’ve already verified your website in Search Console. You can’t trigger a different method, so don’t try.

What to film for video verification

Google wants to see 3 things in the video: where the business is, proof it exists, and proof you manage it:

1. Location: street signs, building numbers, or neighboring businesses that match the pin on Google Maps.
2. The business: a permanent sign with the name exactly as it reads on your profile, or, with no storefront, your tools, equipment or branded clothing.
3. Management: something only staff can do, like opening the register, the storage room or a branded van, or showing a permit, invoice or utility bill in the business name.

The video must be recorded live in the app, with no breaks and no editing. Leave out other people’s faces and any bank, tax or ID numbers. Film it in one continuous take. Start outside with the street and your sign, then show your tools or equipment, then something only the owner can do, such as opening the door with your key or signing in to the business account.

The Google Business verification code and letter

Your Google Business code arrives by phone call or text to the business number, or on a postcard (the verification letter) sent to your mailing address. There are 5 postcard rules to know:

• Most postcards arrive within 14 days.
• The code expires after 30 days.
• Requesting a new code cancels the one already in the mail.
• Editing your business name, address or category while you wait breaks the code.
• Google will never ask you for the code. Don’t share it with anyone, even a manager on the profile.

No postcard after 14 days? Check the mailing address, look for another method on the profile, then contact support.

Why verification fails, and the fix for each

Most failures come from 5 causes, and each one has a specific next step:

What you see	Likely cause	What to try
“Review issues” after a video	The video missed a requirement, such as no visible business name or no nearby area	Select Review issues, then re-record everything from the first video plus what was missing
Stuck on “under review”	Reviews take up to 5 business days, sometimes longer	Wait. Don’t edit the profile or create a second one
“Get verified” appears again	Google couldn’t fully verify the business	Re-verify, trying any other method offered
No verification option at all	The business may not be eligible	Check eligibility (online-only businesses can’t have a profile), then contact support
Address rejected	A virtual office, P.O. box or unstaffed co-working desk	Use the real location, or switch to a service-area business

If the sign on your door uses a different business name from your profile, make the two match before you film again.

Service-area businesses with no storefront

You can verify a business without a storefront: list it as a service-area business, hide the address, and verify using the address you actually work from. To hide it, go to Edit profile, then Location, select Edit next to “Business location” and turn off “Show business address to customers”. Then add up to 20 service areas by city or ZIP code, kept within about 2 hours’ drive of your base.

Hiding the address doesn’t skip verification. For a home-based business, the video can show street signs and landmarks in your neighborhood, plus your tools and paperwork.

Suspended after verifying

If your Google Business Profile is suspended, file an appeal in the Business Profile appeals tool and don’t create a new profile while it’s under review. The appeal takes 4 steps:

1. Open the appeals tool at support.google.com/business/?p=manage_appeals and pick the profile.
2. Read the reason Google gives and the policy it links to.
3. Select Submit Appeal.
4. Add evidence when prompted: a business registration, license, tax certificate or utility bill with the same name and address as the profile. The evidence form closes after 60 minutes.

Google emails the decision. If it’s denied, you can request one more review with new evidence. Google’s written rule is only about new profiles, but we’d also leave the name, address and category alone until you hear back, so your evidence still matches. Nobody, us included, can make Google reinstate a profile. A clean appeal with matching documents is the best you can do.

Keep copies of everything you send, in case you need that second review.

What to do the day after you’re verified

There are 4 settings to finish the day after you’re verified, because complete profiles are more likely to show in local results:

1. Hours: regular hours, plus special hours for holidays.
2. Categories: as few as possible, and as specific as possible. Pick the one that completes “this business IS a”, not “HAS a”.
3. Services: each job you do, in the words customers use.
4. Photos: your storefront, your team at work and finished jobs.

Verification gets you on the map. Getting picked over the business down the street is the next job, and it’s what our google business profile optimization services cover. Reviews and citations after that are the daily work of a local seo agency.

FAQ

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