How to Verify Your Google Business Profile

To verify your Google Business Profile, sign in to the Google account that manages it, open the profile, and select Get verified. Google then offers a method (usually a recorded video, a live video call, phone, text, email, or a mailed postcard) and you follow the prompts it gives for your business.

The short version

• Verifying your profile is how Google confirms you really run the business, so your listing can show in Search and Maps.
• You verify from the Google account that owns the profile. Start at google.com/business or by searching your own business name while signed in.
• The method Google offers you (video, phone, text, email, or postcard) is decided by Google, not by you, and it varies by business type and location.
• Video verification is now the most common method: you record a short, continuous video proving the location and that you manage it.
• Verification typically takes from a few minutes to about five business days, depending on the method.

What does verifying a Google Business Profile actually mean?

Verifying a Google Business Profile is the step where Google confirms you’re genuinely connected to the business you claimed. Until you pass it, your edits may not appear publicly and your profile usually won’t show in the local map results, so verification is the gate between “claimed” and “actually visible.”

Your Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your name, hours, phone, reviews, and map pin when someone searches for you. Anyone can claim a listing, so Google needs proof before it trusts the changes you make. That proof is verification. It’s a one-time hurdle for most businesses, though Google can ask you to re-verify if it changes something important like your address or category.

What you need before you start

Before you begin, have three things ready: the correct Google account, your exact business details, and whatever the chosen method needs (a phone that can receive a text, or a way to record a short video on-site). Getting these right first saves the most common re-dos.

• The right Google account. Use the account you want to own this profile long-term, ideally a business email rather than a personal one you might lose access to. Whoever holds this account controls the listing.
• Your real, consistent business details. The name, address, and phone number on your profile should match what’s on your website, signage, and other listings. Mismatches are the top reason verification stalls.
• Access to the location or its proof. Video verification asks you to show the place, so being on-site (or having recent footage of signage and equipment) matters.

The steps to verify your profile

Here’s the full process from start to finish. The exact wording on your screen may differ slightly, but the sequence is the same.

1. Sign in to the right Google account. Go to google.com/business and sign in with the account you want to manage the business from. If you’re already signed into a personal account you don’t want tied to the business, switch accounts first.
2. Find or add your business. Search for your business name. If the profile already exists, select it to claim it. If nothing comes up, choose to add your business and fill in the name, category, address or service area, and phone number exactly as they should appear.
3. Start verification. Once the profile is selected, look for the Get verified button (you may see it in the profile dashboard, in Search, or in the Maps app under your business). Select it to begin.
4. See which methods Google offers you. Google shows the options available for your specific business: this is commonly a recorded video, a live video call, phone call, text message, email, or a mailed postcard. You can only pick from what Google presents; not every method is offered to every business.
5. Complete the method you chose.
   • Recorded video: follow the prompts to film one continuous video, with no cuts, showing the outside of your location and signage, the area or equipment you work with, and something proving you manage it (like keys, a till, or back-office access). Upload it when done.
   • Live video call: join a scheduled call and show the same kinds of proof to a Google reviewer in real time.
   • Phone or text: enter the code Google reads out or texts to your business number.
   • Email: click the code or link Google sends to your business email.
   • Postcard: wait for a postcard with a code to arrive by mail, then enter that code back in your profile.
6. Wait for the result and check back. Some methods confirm in minutes; video and postcard can take up to about five business days while Google reviews them. Watch for an email, and check your profile: it will show as verified, ask for more, or explain a rejection.
7. If it’s rejected, fix and retry. A failed attempt isn’t the end. Usually it means the footage didn’t clearly show the location, the details didn’t match, or the category looked off. Correct the issue and request verification again. You can appeal or resubmit.

Why video verification is now so common

If Google asks you to record a video, that’s normal. It has become Google’s default method for many businesses because it’s harder to fake than a postcard or phone code. The video proves the location physically exists and that the person filming has real access to it.

Nobody ever explains this part, so it catches owners off guard: a service-area business run from home, or a brand-new listing, is especially likely to be pushed toward video. If that’s you, film in daylight, keep the camera steady, and show your signage and business name clearly. A vague or dark clip is the usual reason a video gets bounced. Keep the recording rather than deleting it, in case you need to resubmit.

How long verification takes

Verification can take anywhere from a few minutes to roughly five business days. Phone, text, and email codes are usually instant. A recorded video or live call is typically reviewed within a few days. A mailed postcard depends on your postal service, often five business days or more.

If the standard window passes with no answer, don’t keep starting fresh attempts, as that can slow things further. Instead, check the profile status and, if needed, contact Google Business Profile support through the help option inside your profile.

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Verifying is just the first step. Getting your profile to actually bring in calls is the wider job, and that lives in our guide to getting found in local search and on Google Maps, the pillar this guide sits under.