Open your listing and select the option to request access. Google sends your request to the current owner. The owner has a limited time to answer. If the owner refuses or does not answer, you can appeal and give proof of your business. Collect your license, your utility bill and photos of your sign before you start.
Find out who has it
Open your listing on Google and select the option to claim it or to request access. Google shows a part of the email address of the current owner, for example j****@gmail.com.
That fragment usually identifies the person. It is often an old employee, a past marketing company or the person who built your first website.
Before you send a request, contact that person directly. A direct request takes one day. The Google process takes weeks.
Send the request
- Sign in with the Google account that your business will keep.
- Open your listing and select the request access option.
- Give your name, your role and your contact details.
- Send the request.
Google emails the current owner. The owner has a limited number of days to answer. Three results are possible.
- The owner transfers the listing. You get control, usually within a few days.
- The owner refuses. Google tells you, and you can appeal.
- The owner does not answer. Google then gives you a way to claim the listing, after more checks.
If the request is refused
Prepare proof before you appeal. Google asks for evidence that you operate the business.
- Your business license or registration.
- A utility bill with the business name and the address.
- Photos of your sign, your vehicle and your location.
- An email address at your business domain.
Answer each Google question with one document. Do not send many documents in one message.
What not to do while you wait
- Do not make a second listing. It creates a duplicate, and both listings can be suspended.
- Do not change your business name to make a new listing possible.
- Do not pay the old company for access before you try the Google process.
You can still answer reviews and correct information after you get access. The reviews stay with the listing.
After you get it back
- Make the business the primary owner, with an account that the business controls.
- Add employees and agencies as managers only.
- Record which account is the owner, and store the password in your business password manager.
- Remove the access of any person who leaves the company.
This is a standard part of our work. Your listing stays in your name, and we operate as a manager.