Google Business Profile

How to get your Google profile back from someone else

Start at business.google.com/add, find your business, select Request Access and submit the form. Google emails the current owner, who has 3 days to respond. Service-area businesses without a storefront contact Google support instead.

6 steps

  1. Step 1: Sign in with the Google Account you want to own the profile and go to business.google.com/add.
    1 min
  2. Step 2: Enter your business name and address, then pick your business from the list. Look for the message Someone else may manage this Business Profile.
    2 min
  3. Step 3: Select Request Access, fill out the form honestly with your role and contact details, and select Submit.
    5 min
  4. Step 4: Watch your inbox. Google notifies the current owner by email, and they have 3 days to approve or deny.
    3 days
  5. Step 5: Check progress any time by signing in at business.google.com or selecting the link in your confirmation email.
    1 min
  6. Step 6: Service-area business with no storefront? Contact Google support, type Transfer ownership of listing and select it as your issue.
    10 min
  7. Arrived: If the owner approves, you get an approval email and can manage the profile. Some features stay locked for your first 7 days as a new owner.

Checked 13 Nov 2026 · source: support.google.com

Why your own listing can belong to someone else

There are plenty of ways this happens. A web designer set up the profile years ago on their account. A former manager verified it with a personal Gmail and then left. You bought the business and the old owner still holds the keys. Or a competitor or stranger verified a listing they had no right to. In every case Google sees a verified owner and won’t hand the profile to you just because you ask nicely.

The ownership request is Google’s way of making that handoff without either side needing support. You ask, Google relays the request to the current owner, and they decide. It covers ownership only: it won’t merge a duplicate listing or restore a suspended profile, so if you’ve found two listings for one business, deal with the duplicate first.

If you can reach the owner, skip the form

When the person holding the profile is friendly, the cleanest route is for them to invite you as an owner from their own People and access settings and then pass primary ownership to you. That avoids waiting on a form and avoids any question about whether the claim option will appear later. Be aware the 7-day rule still applies: a new owner can’t become primary owner, or be made primary owner, during their first week.

What to write in the form

The help page doesn’t describe the form fields in detail, but it’s your one chance to explain yourself. Say plainly who you are, what your role at the business is, and why you’re asking. The owner reads this, and so might Google if it ends up on appeal. Use an email address that matches the business where you can.

The 3-day clock and what follows

Google gives the current owner 3 days. One of three things happens:

  • Approved. You get an email and can start managing the profile.
  • Denied. You get a rejection email. You can appeal, and you can still suggest edits to fix wrong details on the listing.
  • Silence. After 3 days you may be able to claim the profile through the View request link in your confirmation email, or a Claim or Verify button in your account. Google is clear this isn’t always available.

Service-area businesses use a different path

If you don’t have a storefront or office customers visit, the Request Access flow isn’t for you. Google tells service-area businesses to contact support and choose Transfer ownership of listing as the issue. The page doesn’t list what support will ask for, so keep anything that ties you to the business close at hand.

If it doesn't work

  • Nobody answers within 3 days: you may be able to claim the profile from the confirmation email. That option isn't always offered.
  • The request is denied: Google sends a rejection email. You can appeal the decision and still suggest edits to the listing.
  • You don't see a Request Access option: check that you picked the right listing. If there's no claim button anywhere, you may already own it on another account.
  • The current owner is a former employee or agency you can reach: ask them to add you as an owner directly. It's faster than the request form.

Questions owners ask

Will the current owner know who asked?

Google notifies the current owner by email about the request. The help page doesn't spell out exactly what details that email shows, so assume your request and what you wrote in the form may be seen by them.

Can I request ownership if I'm not the owner, just the manager?

Google's guidance is aimed at people authorized to manage the business. If you're the store manager and the owner approves, fine. If you're a marketer or agency, get the business owner's written go-ahead first so the request holds up.

What can't I do right after I get access?

For the first 7 days, a new owner or manager can't delete or undelete the profile, remove other owners or managers, or transfer primary ownership. Everything else, like editing hours or replying to reviews, isn't on that restricted list.

Can I request ownership of several locations at once?

Accounts that are bulk verified can request ownership of existing profiles through the bulk upload spreadsheet method. For a single location, use the Request Access form described above.

Sources

Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.

Related fixes

Written by Ellis Marr (a pen name) · Checked 13 Nov 2026 · How we check