How do I set and check a new Google Business Profile opening date before launch?

Before launch, create the Google Business Profile at the address where the business will open, select Edit profile, edit Opening date, enter the opening month and year, and save. Google allows a date up to one year in the future. After the date is entered and the business is verified, Google says the profile shows on Google 90 days before opening. Keep the opening date separate from Hours: main hours describe the normal week, More hours describe recurring service schedules, and Special hours describe brief whole-business changes. Use Temporarily closed for a closure, not as a substitute for a planned opening date.¹²³⁴⁵

What should I enter for the opening date?

Use the Opening date field for the month and year when the business first opened, or the planned month and year when a new business will open at its address. Google says only the year and month are required, a future date can be up to one year away, and an already-open business can add the date it opened.¹

Business situation	What to enter	What Google says
The business has not opened yet	The planned opening month and year at the given address	A business that has not opened can create a profile and set a future opening date. After the date is entered and the business is verified, the profile shows on Google 90 days before opening.¹
The business is already open	The month and year when it opened	Google separately says an already-open business can add the date it opened.¹
The opening day is not known	The best-supported month and year	Google requires only the month and year, so an exact day is not required.¹

Open the Google Business Profile hub for the wider profile context before you make the edit.

How do I add or change the opening date?

Use Google's Opening date field, not the Hours section:

Go to the Business Profile.
Select Edit profile.
Next to Opening date, select Edit.
Enter the required month and year.
Select Save.¹

The profile editor requires access to the Google Account linked to the Business Profile. Google documents this edit path separately from the paths for main hours, More hours, and Special hours.⁶²³⁴

How do I prepare the normal weekly hours for launch?

Set the schedule customers should expect in a normal week under Business hours. The opening date says when the business first opens or plans to open; main hours say when the business is normally available.¹²

Go to the Business Profile.
Select Edit profile, then Hours.
In Business hours, next to Hours, select Edit, then Open with main hours.
Select each day the business is open and set its times.
Select Save.²

Google also provides Open with no main hours when a business does not want business hours to show. If the business has a known customer schedule, use Open with main hours and enter that real schedule instead of putting the opening date into an hours field.²

Which hours field should I use around launch?

Choose the field by what is changing. The opening date is a one-time business fact. The other fields describe a normal schedule, a recurring service schedule, a short exception, or a closure.²³⁴⁵

What customers need to know	Google field	Exact path or rule
When the business first opened or will open	Opening date	Business Profile → Edit profile → Opening date → Edit. Enter the month and year, then select Save.¹
When the business normally operates each week	Main hours	Business Profile → Edit profile → Hours → Business hours → Hours → Edit → Open with main hours. Select the open days and times, then select Save.²
When one service has its own recurring schedule	More hours	Business Profile → Edit profile → Hours → Add more hours. Choose the service type, set its days and hours, and select Save. Set regular hours first because More hours do not display until regular hours are set. Google generally says More hours should be a subset of the primary hours.³
When the whole business has a brief holiday, event, or other temporary change	Special hours	Business Profile → Edit profile → Hours → Business hours → Special hours → Edit. Select the date, update the hours, and select Save. Special hours display only when business hours are set to Open with main hours.⁴
When the whole business is closed for a longer, seasonal, indefinite, or unknown period	Temporarily closed	Business Profile → Edit profile → Hours → Business hours → Hours → Edit → Temporarily closed → Save.⁴⁵

For the broader distinction between recurring service schedules and whole-business exceptions, see what More hours and holiday hours mean on a Google Business Profile. The More hours glossary entry and Special hours glossary entry define those fields in plain language.

How should I handle a seven-day closure near launch?

Do not present one definitive rule for exactly seven consecutive days. Google's current help pages, read on October 9, 2026, give different boundaries for Special hours and Temporarily closed.⁴⁵

Google page	Boundary it states
How to set Special hours	Special hours cover a temporary adjustment or closure of up to 6 consecutive days. The page directs a business closed for 7 or more consecutive days to Temporarily closed.⁴
Mark your business as closed	Use Special hours for a closure of 7 days or less. Use Temporarily closed for more than 7 days, the off-season, or an indefinite closure.⁵

The unambiguous branches are Special hours for up to 6 consecutive days and Temporarily closed for more than 7 days, an off-season, an indefinite closure, or an unknown period. At exactly 7 days, check the live options and do not describe either Google boundary as a single settled rule. A planned opening date is separate from both settings.¹⁴⁵

How do I check that Google kept the opening date before launch?

Use this sequence after saving:

Reopen Business Profile → Edit profile → Opening date and confirm the saved month and year.
Reopen Edit profile → Hours and confirm that main hours describe the normal customer schedule. If a recurring service schedule is needed, check that regular hours were set before its More hours entry.²³
If the date is in the future, confirm that the business is verified. Google says the profile shows on Google 90 days before the opening date only after the date is entered and the business is verified.¹
Check the profile editor for Google-applied updates. Google says blue text identifies information changed by Google, black or white text means there is no Google update, and a notification appears at the top when updates exist.⁷
Inspect the customer-facing profile on Google after the relevant date and verification conditions are met. If Google changed a field, review the update in the editor before treating the saved value as the customer-facing value.⁷

Do not use Temporarily closed to represent a business that has not opened yet. Google documents that status under Hours for a business or location that has closed, while the opening-date page provides the separate pre-opening field and display rule.¹⁵

Google Business Profile Help, “Add a business opening date”: Google's opening-date guide (read 2026-10-09)
Google Business Profile Help, “Edit your business hours”: Google's main-hours guide (read 2026-10-09)
Google Business Profile Help, “How to set More hours”: Google's More-hours guide (read 2026-10-09)
Google Business Profile Help, “How to set Special hours”: Google's Special-hours guide (read 2026-10-09)
Google Business Profile Help, “Mark your business as closed”: Google's closure guide (read 2026-10-09)
Google Business Profile Help, “Edit your Business Profile”: Google's profile-editing guide (read 2026-10-09)
Google Business Profile Help, “Understand Google updates on your Business Profile”: Google's updates guide (read 2026-10-09)