Guide
How do I prepare for Google Business Profile video verification before I record?
Open your Business Profile on a mobile device and confirm that Google offers Business video. Match your storefront, hybrid, or service-area evidence to a shot list, remove sensitive and private information, then record one live, unedited, complete take with no breaks that lasts at least 30 seconds. If Google offers Live video call instead, prepare for that separate call path rather than a file upload.1,2
By Sergey Sulimko, Founder · · 2 Google help pages, read Oct 17, 2026
How do I know which verification method to prepare for?
Google automatically determines the verification methods for each Business Profile, and the owner cannot change them manually. Open the profile, select Get verified, and use the option Google shows. The available methods can depend on the business type, public information, region, or business hours, and Google may require more than one method. If Business video appears, continue with the recording preparation below.2 Record the offered method and the upload result in the verification attempt log.
If the profile shows Live video call, use the separate call preparation in the section below. Do not assume that a missing option can be enabled or replaced with a preferred method.2
What should a storefront or hybrid business show in the video?
A storefront serves customers in person during business hours at a physical location with permanent on-site signage. A hybrid business serves customers at its location and also visits or delivers to them. Both use the same three evidence groups for a Business video: location, business existence, and management.1
If the business does not have permanent on-site signage, Google says to list it as a service-area business instead of a storefront.1
| Shot-list item | What to show | Check before recording |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Street signs, building numbers, nearby businesses, or familiar places around the business. | The surroundings identify the location shown on Google Maps. |
| Business existence | The storefront, showroom, or business signage with the business name clearly printed on a permanent signboard, wall, or window. | The name visible in the video matches the name on the Business Profile. |
| Management | Something only an employee can access, such as a cash register, kitchen, storage room, or point-of-sale system. | The item shows that the person recording manages or represents the business. |
Choose the visible, non-sensitive item that you can show for each row. A hybrid business does not get a separate evidence shortcut: it follows the storefront requirements even though its work also travels to customers.1
What should a service-area business show in the video?
A service-area business goes to customers or offers services but does not serve customers at its business address. If customers are not served at that location, do not add the business address to the Business Profile just to make the video easier.1
If the business provides in-person services but has no physical location, Google says it can show the place where it provides services, the tools it uses, and documents associated with the business.1
| Shot-list item | What to show | Check before recording |
|---|---|---|
| Where the business operates | Street signs, nearby landmarks, or another clear identifier at the business address. A home-based business can show signs or landmarks in its immediate neighborhood. | Do not film empty land or a location without clear markers. |
| Business existence | Professional tools, equipment, products, specialized machinery, the workspace, business cards, or branded apparel. | Choose an item that demonstrates the real work without exposing private information. |
| Management | Perform a service, access a business-only asset such as unlocking a branded van, or show a permit, invoice, or utility bill that matches the Business Profile name. | The evidence connects the person recording with management of the business. |
Read the full section
For the profile setup and address rules, see can a service-area business have a Google Business Profile. Match the location evidence to the setup Google describes: a clear marker at the business address when the business has one, or the place where services are provided when it does not.1
How should I plan the shot list before I open the camera?
Plan the evidence first, then open the recording flow. Use this order:
- Choose the business-model row that matches how customers meet the business: storefront, hybrid, or service-area.
- Select one visible item for each required group: location or operating area, business existence, and management.
- Put those items in the order you will show them. The actual recording must be one live, uninterrupted take, so do not rely on editing clips together later.
- Check every frame for bank-account, tax, or ID numbers; private information about you or other people; and other people's faces.
- Keep the Business Profile name visible where Google's requirements call for a matching sign or document, without exposing information Google's privacy exclusions prohibit.1
Read the full section
The shot list is preparation only. Google requires the submitted footage to be captured live, not recorded offline for later upload, and to be unedited, unique, complete, and without breaks.1
How do I record and submit a Business video?
Use Google's mobile path and review the take before uploading it:
- On your mobile device, go to your Business Profile.
- Tap Get verified.
Google may ask you to enter your phone number and tap Next before the verification method appears. - Tap Business video, then Next.
- Read the video requirements. Follow any on-screen request for location, camera, or microphone access.
- Tap Next, then Start recording.
- Record the location or operating area, business-existence evidence, and management evidence in one continuous take.
- Tap Stop recording and review the video.
- Tap Try again if the take does not show all the required information.
- When the take is complete, tap Upload video.1
Read the full section
Google requires the video to be recorded and uploaded from a mobile device through the Business Profile. The recording must be unique, unedited, complete, and without breaks, and it must last at least 30 seconds. The 30-second rule is a minimum, not a maximum: the important preparation check is that one complete take shows every required item without a break.1
What must I keep out of the recording?
Before tapping Start recording, run this privacy check:
0 of 4 done
- No bank-account, tax, or ID numbers are visible.
- No private information about the recorder or other people is visible.
- No other people's faces are visible.
- Any permit, invoice, utility bill, sign, or business document shown as evidence avoids those exclusions.
If an otherwise useful item exposes excluded information, choose a different item from the same evidence group. A service-area business can use tools, equipment, products, a workspace, branded apparel, a service, a branded van, or another supported management signal instead of exposing a sensitive document.1
What should I do if Google offers Live video call instead?
Live video call is a separate verification method, and Google may not offer it for every business. When it appears, use a device that supports live video, be at the business during the location's business hours, and be ready to show the current location, the business or its equipment, and proof of management. Google describes the path as Get verified → Live video call → Next, followed by a language selection and Start call.2
If Live video call does not appear, use the verification options shown for that Business Profile.2
What if Google already rejected my video?
If the profile shows Review issues, the next recording should keep everything shown in the first video and add every item Google identifies as missing. Google says the review after upload can take up to 5 business days. Use the Google Business Profile video verification rejection guide for that post-upload diagnosis instead of changing the pre-recording checklist into a guess about why the first take failed.1
For the broader verification process, see how to verify your Google Business Profile. For the term and its boundaries, see Google Business Profile video verification.
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