Can I verify my business on Google by phone?

When phone or text verification is offered, Google sends a short code by automated call or SMS to the phone number listed on your profile. You enter that code in your profile and the verification goes through. It is often the fastest option when it is available.

The catch is that you do not get to choose. Google decides which verification methods each business sees, based on things like the type of business, the information already public about it and the region. In practice, many businesses, particularly those without a shopfront, are now offered video verification rather than phone.

If phone is offered, check the number on the profile first. It has to be a line you can answer directly. Automated menus that ask callers to press a button cannot receive the code, and a number that diverts to a call centre may cause problems too.

Phone verification is not the same as ringing Google. Nobody from Google will verify you on a call you make to them, and nobody genuine will ring you asking for payment to verify. The code arrives through the method you selected in your profile and nowhere else.