Can't verify your Google Business Profile: video verification step by step

You do not pick the method

The verification page says: “Verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can’t be changed.” https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en

Phone, email, video, a live call, or a postcard show up only if Google offers them for that profile. Asking for a different method in a form does not change it. If none appears, the same guide says to try again when Get verified returns and, if it stays empty, to contact support.

An online-only business, with no in-person contact, is not eligible for a profile and cannot be verified. Rescate does not write a script for that case.

Verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can’t be changed.

Verify your business on Google

Government ID test, 20 October 2026

On 20 October 2026 Search Engine Roundtable reported an option the help page still does not list: “Submit an Identity Verification”, upload a photo of a government ID. The screen says the ID is only used for verification and won’t be shown publicly. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-verification-government-id-42329.html

It is a test. It may not appear. You cannot request it or change the method. If it appears, upload the photo only inside the Business Profile flow, on the business’s Google account. The screen does not name which document to use.

Do not send it by email, WhatsApp, or to a third party. Never send us your ID. The video still must not include ID numbers or private information: the ID photo does not go in the video. The separate guide describes what to do if you see the option and what to do if you do not. We do not promise that Google will verify the profile.

Submit an Identity Verification. Upload a photo of your government ID. Your ID is only used for verification and won't be shown publicly.

Screen reported by Search Engine Roundtable on 20 October 2026. It is not in Google’s help.

Video rules, for every type

The video guide is at https://support.google.com/business/answer/14271705?hl=en. The video is captured live. A clip recorded earlier, or uploaded from a computer, does not count.

It has to be one take, with no cuts and no editing, at least 30 seconds, recorded and submitted from the phone on the profile. Do not show bank accounts, tax numbers, IDs, private information, or other people’s faces.

After you upload it, Google says the review can take up to 5 business days. Sometimes it takes longer. It is not an automatic approval.

You must capture the footage live as pre-recorded videos aren't allowed, and you can't record it offline and upload it later.

Verify your business with a video recording, Google

Storefront, service area, or hybrid

Storefront or hybrid: the guide asks for the street sign, the building number, and a landmark; the business name on a permanent sign (wall, window, or board), the same name as the profile; and something only a worker can open, such as the register, the kitchen, storage, or the point of sale. If there is no permanent sign, Google says to list it as a service-area business. https://support.google.com/business/answer/14271705?hl=en

Service area: do not publish the address if customers do not visit you there. Start with signs and landmarks where you operate. If you work from home, neighborhood landmarks count. Do not film empty land. Show tools, equipment, cards, clothing with the name, or a vehicle with the name. https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038163?hl=en

Hybrid is both: you serve customers at the location and you also go to them. The video follows the storefront rules, because there is a place with a sign.

From the phone to the result

On the phone, open the profile and follow the steps the video guide lists.

1. Open Get verified. On the phone, open the profile, tap Get verified, and choose Business video.
2. Read, then record. Read the on-screen requirements, allow the camera and microphone if asked, and record one take.
3. Review and upload. Watch the video on that phone. If something is missing, record again. Upload it from the same phone.
4. If it is rejected. Open Review issues, record another video with what was missing and with everything you already showed, and upload it again.

When the file helps

It helps if the profile does offer video, or if a video was rejected, and you want a written script for your business type before you record. The Kit sends that script and a support letter. Guided rescue adds the human review. You record it and you submit it. We do not promise that Google will verify it.