verification
How do I verify my Google Business Profile?
A Google Business Profile can be verified through 4 method categories: phone or text, email, live video call, and mail, with Google deciding which options each profile receives. Most mailed codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. Verification reviews take up to 5 business days, and a mailed code has 5 numeric characters.
How many verification methods can Google offer for a Business Profile?
Maps Agent cites Google Business Profile Help for current verification guidance. The guidance, checked September 12, 2026, names 4 method categories: phone or text, email, live video call, and mail. Google automatically determines which options a profile receives based on the business type, public information, region, or business hours. The 4 categories are the complete list in the guidance, while the available set is profile-specific.
How do I start the Google Business Profile verification process?
To start, find the business profile on Google, or add or claim it when it is not yet connected to you. Google Business Profile Help says the verification flow then presents the options available for that profile. Choose one of the displayed methods and follow its instructions; the next step depends on whether Google offers phone or text, email, live video call, or mail.
What does phone or text verification require?
Phone or text verification requires access to the business phone number. Google's verification guidance says the recipient must be able to answer the business phone or receive text messages, then enter the code Google sends. The same guidance specifies a mail code with 5 numeric characters, not for phone or text. Check the displayed method before preparing access to a number.
What does live video verification require?
Live video verification requires a supported device and a live call in which the business shows its location and evidence of management. Google includes live video call among its 4 verification method categories, but Google decides whether that option appears for a profile. Prepare the location and management evidence when the displayed verification flow offers live video rather than mail or another method.
How does postcard verification work?
Postcard verification uses a mailed code when Google offers mail as the available method. Google's verification guidance, checked September 12, 2026, says most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. While waiting, do not change the business name, address, or category: Google says those edits make the mailed code unusable. Requesting a code does not set a fixed arrival date.
How long does Google take to review verification?
Google says verification reviews take up to 5 business days after the verification steps are completed. Google Business Profile Help also notes that rare reviews may take longer. Treat the 5-business-day period as the stated review window after completion, not as an exact completion date. The review timing begins after the verification steps, not when the profile search starts.
What should I do if someone else controls the profile?
If another person controls the verified profile, request ownership through Google's ownership flow. Google's ownership guidance, checked September 12, 2026, gives the current profile owner 3 days to respond and documents approval, denial, or no response as separate outcomes. After no response for 3 days, the requester may be able to claim the profile under the documented flow.
Does Google charge to verify a Business Profile?
Google Business Profile Help says eligible businesses can add or claim a Business Profile at $0 cost. That is the documented Google cost for the add-or-claim process. The GBP verification method is then selected from the options Google makes available, so the practical next step is to follow the displayed verification flow. This page quotes Google's add-or-claim cost, not any third-party service price.
See where your profile stands
Everything on this page describes what to change. The audit tells you which of it applies to you: it reads a verified Google Business Profile and scores it the same way every month.
Visibility Score
0 to 100
20 scored factors across profile completeness, performance, competitive position. Free, no signup, on any verified Google Business Profile.
No signup, no card. You get the score and the factors behind it.
Sources
Common questions
- Can I choose a verification method that Google did not show me?
- Google's verification guidance says Google automatically determines which options a profile receives based on business type, public information, region, or business hours. A profile starts with the methods Google displays; select an available method in the verification flow. The guidance lists 4 categories, but that list is not an instruction to select an unavailable method.
- Do all businesses qualify for live video verification?
- Google's verification guidance includes live video call among 4 categories and says Google determines which options a profile receives. A business sees live video when Google offers it in the verification flow. Check the displayed options and prepare a supported device, the business location, and management evidence if live video appears.
- Should I request another postcard code if the first one is late?
- Google says most mailed codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. Check the verification flow and the code's age against those windows. Keep the business name, address, and category unchanged while waiting, because Google says those edits make the mailed code unusable. Use the displayed mail-verification steps when revisiting the request.
- Can I change my business name, address, or category while waiting for a postcard?
- Google says changing the business name, address, or category makes the mailed verification code unusable. Keep those details unchanged while waiting for a postcard. Most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. Those are the documented timing and profile-edit constraints for the mail method when Google offers it.
- What happens if the current profile owner denies an ownership request?
- Google's ownership guidance, checked September 12, 2026, gives the current profile owner 3 days to respond and names denial as one documented outcome. A denial is handled as the denial outcome in that flow; requesting ownership does not itself produce approval. Follow Google's next displayed ownership steps rather than treating the request as resolved by the 3-day window.
- Does Google charge for the verification code or review?
- Google says eligible businesses can add or claim a Business Profile at $0 cost. That is the published Google cost statement relevant to starting verification. The verification flow then uses whichever method Google offers, including phone or text, email, live video call, or mail. Follow Google's current displayed instructions for that method and its review steps.
More on this subject in the answers library, and on the Maps Agent blog.