How to Verify My Business on Google Maps: Every Method

To verify your business on Google Maps, sign in at business.google.com, find or add your business, then complete the verification method Google offers you. The options are phone or text, email, a live video call, a recorded video, a postcard, or instant verification through Search Console. You can't choose from every method. Google decides which ones you see based on your business, so the real work is getting ready for the one you get. Google's verification help page says "verification reviews take up to 5 business days."

This guide covers each method, which one usually comes up for which type of business, a shot list for video verification, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Already verified? Skip ahead to our Google Business Profile checklist. It covers every field to fill in so customers can find you.

Claim vs verify: what an unverified profile can't do

Claiming a profile means you put your Google account on it. Verifying means you prove to Google that you run the business at that address or in that area. Your profile isn't fully live until it's verified.

Google Business Profile is the current name of what used to be called Google My Business. If you search "how to verify Google My Business" or "how to verify on Google My Business", you're asking about the same process. The old name is gone. The steps are the same.

Verification is free. Birdeye notes that you need it to reply to reviews, post updates and see performance data. If anyone asks you to pay for "Google verification", it isn't Google.

How can I verify my business on Google? The steps

1. Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want to own the profile. Use an account the business controls, not a staff member's personal account.
2. Search for your business name. If it's already on Maps, select it. If not, choose to add it. Our guide on how to get a business on Google Maps shows the add-a-business steps in full.
3. Enter your details exactly as they are in real life: the name on your sign, your real address (or your service area), your main category, your phone number and your website.
4. Pick a verification method from the ones Google shows you.
5. Complete it, then wait. Google's verification help page says reviews take up to 5 business days.

Being verified doesn't mean you'll show up for every search. It means you're now eligible. The next step is filling in the profile properly, and our Google Business Profile checklist for service businesses gives you the fields and the order to work in.

Which method fits your type of business

Google doesn't publish exactly how it picks the methods. What follows is based on Google's guidelines for representing your business and on what owners commonly report. Treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.

Your business	What to expect	What to prepare
Storefront (shop, salon, restaurant, clinic)	Video or postcard are common. Phone, text or email sometimes appear.	Permanent signage, a clear street view, access to staff-only areas
Home-based, customers visit you	Video or postcard. You must show the business really runs there.	A sign or branded item at the entrance, your equipment or stock, your tools of the trade
Service-area business (plumber, cleaner, roofer, mobile mechanic)	Video is frequent.	A branded vehicle, tools, uniforms, paperwork that ties you to the business
Shared office or co-working space	Often hard to verify.	Proof of a staffed, signed office that receives customers
Virtual office or P.O. box	Not eligible, per Google's guidelines.	Nothing to prepare: use your real address instead

Google's Business Profile guidelines contain two rules that catch many owners out:

• Service-area businesses "should hide your business address from customers." You still enter the address so Google can verify you, then you show a service area instead.
• Virtual offices aren't eligible, and "P.O. boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations aren't acceptable." A co-working desk only counts if the office "maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during business hours by your business staff."

If your setup is on the "not eligible" side, no method will work until the address is real.

What each verification method needs

The details below come from Google's verification help page, unless another source is named.

• Phone or text: Google sends a code to the business number. Have that phone in your hand before you click. Podium recommends a local number, not a call centre line.
• Email: a code goes to an address Google lists. Check your spam folder.
• Live video call: you show the business to a Google support person in real time. Google says these calls are "only available within the business hours of your location", so start when you're open. If your recorded videos keep getting rejected and this option appears, it's worth trying, because you can answer questions as you go.
• Recorded video: you film the location and upload it. It's also the method people get stuck on most often.
• Postcard: a code is mailed to your address. Google says "most codes arrive within 14 days" and "verification codes expire after 30 days."
• Instant verification: possible if you "verify your website with Google Search Console", or if you use bulk verification for businesses with many locations.

The video verification shot list

Google's verification help page lists what to show on video: your location ("outside signs, nearby businesses, or a street sign"), your business ("your products, branded equipment, marketing materials") and proof that you manage it, such as access to items like "a cash register, kitchen, storage room." Here's how to turn that into one clean recording.

1. Plan the route first. Walk it once without filming.
2. Start outside. Film the street sign or the businesses next to you, then turn to your building.
3. Show your signage. Get the business name on screen. Service businesses: film your branded van, uniform or job sign.
4. Walk in. Show the inside where the work happens: chairs, counter, kitchen, workshop, tools.
5. Prove you're in charge. Unlock the door with your keys, or open a staff-only room, the storage room or the till.
6. Keep it to one continuous take. Don't stop and restart, don't edit, don't join clips together.

That last point matters. Owners on the Local Search Forum report profiles suspended soon after video verification, and say that stitched or edited videos can lead to suspension. That's owner reports, not a Google statement, but there's no reason to take the risk.

Verification only puts you on the map. Whether customers find you depends on what you put in the profile next. Our Google Business Profile checklist covers every field in order. One evening's work.

How to verify business on Google Maps when it goes wrong

Problem	What to do
Postcard never arrived	Check your address matches what's on the profile and wait the full 14 days. Google warns that requesting a new code invalidates the one in the mail, so only reorder once that window has passed, or try another method if one appears.
Code expired	Google says codes expire after 30 days. Request a new one. Don't create a second profile.
No phone, text or email option	Google picks the methods. Use video or postcard. Make sure the website and phone on the profile are real and work.
Video rejected	Google says a "Review issues" notification means your video wasn't accepted. Select it, follow the on-screen steps, re-film using the shot list above, or try another method such as a live call.
Someone else already claimed it	Request access (see below).
Profile suspended	Google's page on suspended profiles says: "Do not create a new Business Profile for the same business." Appeal through Google's appeals tool.
Business is a virtual office	Not eligible. Verify at the address where you actually work.

When someone else already has your profile. It may be a former employee, an old agency or a previous owner. Google's request access page gives the steps: find your business, select it, choose "Request access", then complete the form and submit it. "The current profile owner is then notified by email and has 3 days to respond." If they don't, you may be able to claim it yourself, though Google says "the option to claim a profile isn't always available."

What not to touch while you wait. Google's verification page is direct: "Do not edit your business name, address, or category on your Business Profile. If you do, the code we sent you won't work." It also says: "Do not request a new code. If you do, we invalidate the code in the mail and send a new one." Podium adds that changes can restart the process. Make your edits after you're verified.

If you're verified and still can't find yourself on Maps, that's a different problem. Our guide Google Business Profile not showing up goes through the checks in order.

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Right after you're verified

1. Set your hours, including holiday hours.
2. Add secondary categories, but only ones that match services you really offer.
3. Upload real photos of your work, your team and your premises.
4. Ask your last few happy customers for a review. Our guide on how many Google reviews you need explains what to aim for.
5. Reply to every review, now that you can.

FAQ

How long does Google business verification take? Google says verification reviews take up to 5 business days. A postcard adds delivery time: most codes arrive within 14 days.

Can I verify my business without a postcard? Often, yes. Google may offer phone, text, email, video, a live call or instant verification through Search Console. You can only use the methods Google shows you.

Can I verify a business that works from home or has no storefront? Yes. Service-area businesses verify with their real address and then hide it from customers, as Google's guidelines require. Video is common for these businesses, so film your vehicle, tools and branded equipment.

Can I edit my profile while I'm waiting to be verified? Leave your name, address and category alone. Google warns that if you edit them, the code it sent you won't work. Wait until you're verified, then make your changes.

What to do today

1. Sign in at business.google.com and check whether your business is already listed and who controls it.
2. Check your address against Google's guidelines: storefront, service area, or not eligible.
3. Start verification and note which methods Google gives you.
4. If you get video, walk the route, then film it in one take using the shot list.
5. Once you're verified, work through the Google Business Profile checklist. If you'd like a second opinion on your site at the same time, the free Claude connector includes a full page audit.