Someone Else Claimed My Google Business Profile. How Do I Get It Back?

If someone else controls your Google Business Profile, you can ask Google for access to the existing listing. You usually don't need to create another profile or pay someone to make the request.

The best next step depends on who has access: someone you know, someone you can't reach, or an account you don't recognize. Here's how to work through it.

First, check whether you already have access

Your Google Business Profile is the listing customers see in Google Search and Maps. It shows your hours, phone number, photos and reviews.

Before assuming someone took it over, sign in to the Google accounts you've used for your business. Check an old work email, too. Sometimes a former employee or marketing agency set up the profile years ago, and the owner simply wasn't added.

Search for your business on Google Maps and save the listing link. Check that the name, address (if shown) and phone number match your business.

Don't create a second listing yet. Google generally allows one profile for each business. A new one may be marked as a duplicate and hidden from Search or Maps. Google's duplicate-profile guidance explains why.

If you know who manages the profile

This is often the easiest route.

Ask the former employee, previous owner or agency to add a Google account that your business controls as an owner.

They can open the profile, choose Business Profile settings → People and access, and invite your email with the Owner role. Google's instructions for owners and managers show the steps.

Once you accept, ask the current primary owner to transfer primary ownership to you. Google restricts certain changes for newly added owners for seven days, so the transfer may need to wait.

If a former marketing agency is refusing to release the listing, keep your request in writing. Google's third-party policies require agencies managing profiles to let clients regain exclusive control within seven business days of notice. You can report a third-party policy concern through Google's guidance.

You should never need to give an agency your Google password.

If you don't know who owns it

For a shop or business that serves customers at a staffed location, follow Google's official ownership request:

1. Sign in with the Google account you want your business to use.
2. Visit Google's business setup page.
3. Search for your business name and address, then select the existing profile.
4. If Google says someone else may manage it, choose Request access.
5. Fill in the form and submit it.

Google emails the current owner, who has three days to respond.

If they approve, you'll receive access. If they refuse, Google may offer an appeal. If nobody replies, look for View request in your confirmation email or a Claim or Verify button in your Business Profile.

An unanswered request does not guarantee that Google will hand over the listing. The option to claim it isn't always available.

If the request gets stuck, use Google Business Profile support and explain what happened.

If you visit customers instead of running a shop

This matters for many Camarillo businesses, including cleaners, landscapers and mobile repair services.

If you travel to customers and don't have a shop or office where customers visit, Google treats you as a service-area business. Its ownership instructions say to contact support rather than rely on the usual storefront request form.

At Google Business Profile support, enter Transfer ownership of listing as the issue and follow the prompts.

If your home address is hidden on Maps, that alone doesn't mean the profile is broken. Our home-address privacy guide explains the difference.

What if Google says your profile is a duplicate?

A duplicate warning can appear when Google already has a verified profile for the same business.

It doesn't necessarily mean someone deliberately stole your listing. The original might be tied to an old account.

Keep the Google Maps link for the profile customers actually use, especially if it has your reviews. Follow the ownership request for that listing rather than creating more copies.

If Google has mistakenly combined two genuinely separate businesses, use its duplicate-profile support guidance. That's a different problem from recovering access to one business.

What to send Google if you need help

Gather what you have: your business registration or license, a matching website, the Maps listing link, and photos of your storefront or business signage if applicable. Google may ask for different proof depending on your situation.

You can keep your message simple:

If someone is using your business name to mislead customers, save screenshots of the incorrect details and report that separately to Google. Don't assume an unfamiliar account is a scam without evidence.

Once you have the profile back

Check People and access and remove people who no longer need access, when Google's waiting period allows it. Keep primary ownership with a business-controlled account and give helpers only the access they need.

Review your phone number, website, hours and address or service area. You can use our Google Business Profile guide to check the basics.

You don't need to solve every setting today. Getting control of the existing listing is the first priority.

If the process is confusing or Google keeps sending you in circles, you're welcome to ask us for help. We're based in Camarillo and can help you understand the next step.

Sources & methodology

This article combines 530 Ventures' practical experience with publicly available research. External sources are linked in the article where cited. Unlinked numerical benchmarks should be treated as directional until independently verified; they are not guarantees. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy →