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Google Business Profile

How Do I Gain Access to a Google Business Profile?

Go to business.google.com/add, find your business, and choose Request Access. The current owner has three days to respond. If they do not, you may be able to claim the profile yourself. Service-area businesses without a shop use a different route: contact Google support and ask for a transfer of ownership.
By Eric Walker · Last updated October 2026

Step by step

This follows Google’s page on how to request ownership of a Business Profile:

  • Go to business.google.com/add.
  • Enter your business name and address.
  • Choose your business from the list. You will see a notice that someone else may manage it.
  • Select Request Access and fill out the form.
  • Submit the request.

What happens next

You get an email confirming the request, and the current owner is notified. The owner has three days to respond. You can check the status in your profile or from the link in your confirmation email.

If the owner approves, you get an approval email and can manage the profile. If they deny it, you will get a rejection email, and you can still suggest an edit to the profile or appeal the decision. If nobody responds within three days, you may be able to claim the profile through the confirmation email or by looking for a Claim or Verify button. Google notes that this option is not always available.

If you have no storefront

Google’s page says service-area businesses without a physical shop or office should contact Google support and select the transfer ownership option instead of using the request form. Have your business details ready, because they will want to confirm you are who you say you are.

Before you request anything

Search for your business name first and make sure a profile exists. If there is none, create one rather than hunting for something that is not there. Be careful not to create a second profile for a business that already has one, which leads to duplicates. If that has already happened, see my guide to a duplicate Google listing.

If a former agency or employee owns it

This is one of the most common cases I see. The simplest route is to ask the current owner to add you as an owner from the people and access settings in the profile. If they are unreachable, use the request process above and keep records showing the business is yours, such as your registration, invoices, and signage photos.

Protect yourself next time

  • Create the profile under a Google account you control, not a contractor’s personal address.
  • Add a second owner, such as a partner or a trusted employee, so one lost password does not lock you out.
  • Keep a note of who has access and review it a couple of times a year.
  • If you hire help, have them added as a manager while you remain an owner.

If the request goes nowhere

If the owner denies the request, Google says you can suggest an edit to the profile or appeal the decision. If the profile belongs to a business that has closed or never existed at that address, you can also suggest edits to correct the information while you sort out ownership. Keep records of every step and every email.

Be patient with the three-day window. It starts when the owner is notified, and a quick follow-up with the owner by phone or text, if you know them, often speeds things up more than resubmitting.

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