Moving or renaming your business? How to update your Google Business Profile

The short answer: if you're moving to a new address and keeping the same name, edit the address on your existing profile. Don't create a new one. Google says it transfers reviews automatically when a business relocates under the same name, with some category exceptions. An eligible minor name change also keeps your reviews; check the rebranding criteria below. A complete rebrand that Google doesn't treat as a minor change is different: Google considers it a new business, so the old profile is marked closed and the reviews don't carry over (Google Business Profile Help: Move your reviews across Business Profiles).

The rest of this guide covers which situation you're in, the steps, and the mistakes that cause the most trouble.

Which situation are you in?

(Source for every row: Move your reviews across Business Profiles and the business name rules in Guidelines for representing your business on Google.)

Two caveats from Google's own wording:

• Google lists hotels, golf courses and scenic attractions as examples of categories where "reviews might not be automatically moved" after a relocation.
• Google's rebranding criteria require the name's proper nouns and described services to stay the same, along with the business category. Eligible multi-location name changes may also qualify. If you are unsure, ask Google support before closing or duplicating a profile. (Google: Rebranding criteria)

Before you change anything

1. Check you can access the profile as an owner or manager. Both can edit the business name and address. Coordinate any verification with the business owner; owner access is needed for managing other users. (Google: Owners and managers; Google: Business eligibility and ownership) Our guide to who controls your Google Business Profile explains how to check and add managers.
2. If a postcard code is on the way, avoid invalidating it. If you’re waiting for a postcard, Google says: "Do not edit your business name, address, or category on your Business Profile". Doing so can stop the mailed code working (Google Business Profile Help: Verify your business).
3. Have proof ready. Google may ask for more details after you change key information (Verify your business). Have photos of your new signage, and documents showing the new name or address (such as invoices or business cards), to hand. Google’s guidelines require businesses showing an address publicly to maintain permanent fixed signage of their business name there (Guidelines).
4. Time it with the real move. Our recommendation: change the address on Google when you actually start operating from the new premises, not weeks in advance. Customers will rely on what Google shows.

How to change your address after a move

On a computer:

1. Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile > Location.
2. Next to "Business location", select Edit.
3. Enter the new address. If Google can't find it, re-enter the parts highlighted in red, or select Adjust to place the pin on the map.
4. Select Save.

If an already verified business moves to a new address, Google requires verification again. Complete the verification options offered for the new location. A name change may also trigger re-verification. Saving an address and having the edit reviewed are separate from completing verification. (Google: Edit your Business Profile)

On a phone, open the Google Maps app, tap Business, then follow the same Edit profile > Location path.

(Steps from Google Business Profile Help: Edit your business address.)

How long it takes

Google says edits "usually take up to 10 minutes to review, but sometimes it can take up to 30 days". You'll see one of three statuses: Accepted, Pending (still under review) or Not approved. You may be able to appeal an edit that isn't approved (Google Business Profile Help: Understand what happens to your Business Profile edits).

Situations that need extra care

• Moving into a shared or virtual office. Google's guidelines say a location where you rent a mailing address but don't operate "isn't eligible for a Business Profile". A co-working office can qualify when it has clear signage, receives customers and is staffed by your business during stated hours. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes aren’t acceptable either (Guidelines).
• Moving from a shop to working from home or on the road. If you visit or deliver to customers and they do not visit your premises, hide your address and set your service area. An online-only business is not made eligible simply by hiding its address. Turn off Show business address to customers under Business location (Edit your business address).
• Moving into a mall or another business's premises. Google says you can ask, through its contact page, for this to be shown on your profile (Edit your business address).

How to handle a name change

Your profile name must reflect your "real-world name", the one on your signage, website and paperwork. It can't include marketing taglines, phone numbers, website addresses or opening-hours information (Guidelines). A rebrand is a common moment for people to slip keywords into the name. Don't. It's one of the guideline areas covered in our guide to suspended profiles.

If your change meets Google's rebranding criteria, open the managed profile, choose Edit profile, update the business name and save. The proper nouns and described services in the name, and the category, must stay the same for a minor name change; eligible multi-location name changes may also qualify. Ask Google support if you are unsure. (Google: Rebranding; Edit your profile)

If your change is a new identity, Google's guidelines say "it's considered a new business" and "You must mark the existing Business Profile as closed" (Guidelines). You then create and verify a new profile for the new name. Your old reviews stay on the closed profile and don't move across (Move your reviews).

To mark a profile closed: Edit profile > Hours > Edit next to Business hours > choose Permanently closed > Save. Google notes that a permanently closed profile "may still appear on Search and Maps for users who search for it" (Google Business Profile Help: Mark your business as closed).

For closures longer than seven days, use Temporarily closed. Google's help pages disagree about exactly seven days: the special-hours page says seven or more, while the closed-business page says more than seven. See our holiday-hours guide for that boundary.

If you've already created a second profile

A duplicate profile can create problems. Google's position is clear: "Do not create a new Business Profile because of a change in a physical location or ownership". Its guidelines add, "There should only be one profile per business" (Move your reviews; Guidelines).

If you've created and verified a new profile by mistake after a move or ownership change, Google says you can ask it to move the reviews from the old profile to the new one using the contact form linked from its Move your reviews page. Google doesn't publish a timescale for this.

After the change: a short checklist

1. Check your profile on Google Maps a few days later to confirm the new details show correctly and the pin is in the right place.
2. Update the same details everywhere else, including your website, Apple Maps, social profiles and directories, so customers see one consistent name and address.
3. Reply to recent reviews if it helps to explain the change. Google notes that after an ownership change you can reply to older reviews to explain what's different (Move your reviews).
4. If you created a new profile after a rebrand, copy a fresh review link from the active profile and test it before replacing QR codes and links on receipts, emails and signage. Our guide to getting your review link and QR code shows how.
5. Watch your performance report for the next couple of months. Compare calls, direction requests and website clicks before and after the change, and investigate unexpected differences. Our guide to reading your performance report explains what each number means.

Before your move or rebrand