Your Business Profile carries your reviews, your place on the map and the calls that come from both. If a previous agency, web designer or former employee still controls it, you can be locked out of your own listing, and some companies ask for money to hand it back. Google's rules are clearer here than on most agency disputes: the business is supposed to keep control. Here's how to use them, in order. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Google says customers must keep ownership or co-ownership of their profile at all times, and agencies must release it within 7 business days of notice.
- Check your access first. If you're already an owner, you can remove the company yourself.
- If you aren't, ask in writing, then use Request Access at business.google.com/add. The current owner has 3 days to respond.
- No response, and you may be able to claim the profile. A denial can be appealed, and an agency can be reported.
- Don't create a second profile. Duplicates won't show, and you'd be starting without your reviews.
What Google requires of agencies
This is the part most owners don't know about. Google's Business Profile third-party policies apply to any agency or representative managing a profile for a client, and they're specific:
| Google's rule | What it means for you | Google's wording |
|---|---|---|
| You keep ownership | An agency shouldn't be the only owner of your profile | All end customers "must retain ownership or co-ownership of their Business Profile at all times" |
| You choose their role | You can make them a manager, or remove them entirely | "Co-Owner, Manager, or no access at all" |
| They must let go | Written notice starts a 7 business day clock | "Within 7 business days of notice from an end customer" |
| No ransom | Asking for money to return it breaks the policy | "Keeps a profile hostage in exchange for money" |
| They need your consent | In a dispute, they must show written or digital proof | "Verbal consent isn't sufficient" |
Source: Google Business Profile third-party policies, read November 2026.
Google also says agencies must tell you that a Business Profile is a service provided at no extra cost if they charge a fee for managing it. These rules bind the agency, so they give you something to quote and something to report. They don't make Google step in by itself.
Step 1: check what access you have
Sign in with every Google account your business might have used, including old staff addresses, and search your inbox for messages about your Business Profile. If the profile opens, go to More Business Profile settings, then People and access. An owner has full control and can add or remove users. A manager can do nearly everything else, but can't add or remove people. Google says if you can't select a user, you probably only have manager access.
If you're already an owner, you're nearly done: select the company and choose Remove person. There's one catch. Google makes new owners and managers wait 7 days before they can remove others, transfer primary ownership or delete the profile.
Step 2: ask in writing
Before you go to Google, send a short email to the company. It may settle the matter, and if it doesn't, you've started the 7 business day clock and created the evidence you'll need.
- Our Google Business Profile for [business name, address] is currently controlled by your account.
- We're ending that arrangement. Please make [company email address] the primary owner and remove your access.
- Google's third-party policy says customers must keep ownership or co-ownership, and that this must happen within 7 business days of notice. That date is [date].
- If this isn't done by then, we'll request ownership through Google and report it under that policy.
Ask for this as a separate request from any fee dispute. If you owe the company money under your contract, that's a matter for the contract, and Google's policy doesn't let them hold your profile against it. If you're ending the whole relationship, read how to get out of a marketing agency contract first.
Step 3: request ownership through Google
Go to business.google.com/add
Sign in with a Google account your business controls, not a personal one you might lose.
Find your business
Enter the name and address, then choose your business from the list. You'll see "Someone else may manage this Business Profile."
Select Request Access
Fill out the form and select Submit. You'll get a confirmation email, and the current owner is notified by email.
Wait 3 days
Google gives the owner 3 days to respond. You can check the status by signing in, or from the link in your confirmation email.
If it's approved
You'll get an approval email and can manage the profile.
If it's denied
You'll get a rejection email. You can still suggest edits, and you can try to appeal the decision.
If there's no response
Open your confirmation email and select View request, then Verify, or sign in and look for a Claim or Verify button. Google says this option isn't always available.
Service-area businesses, with no shop or office customers visit, follow a different route. Google asks you to contact it and enter "Transfer ownership of listing" as the issue. Older guides and forum posts often say the owner has 7 days to respond; Google's current page says 3.
Step 4: report it if they still refuse
If an agency refuses, ignores you or asks for money, use Google's third-party policy complaint form. Attach your written request, their replies and anything that shows you're the business. Google says it may not respond personally but will investigate and act if it needs to. Report only what you can back up, because Google says repeated unfounded submissions can lead to all further complaints being rejected without assessment.
If you still can't get anywhere and the profile matters to your income, a lawyer's letter that quotes the policy and your contract is the usual next step.
Don't create a new profile
It's tempting, and it usually makes things worse. Google says a duplicate profile won't show on Search or Maps, and a new profile starts without the reviews on your existing one. If the company has also put its own tracking phone number or a website it controls on your listing, those can get in the way of verifying too, so check who controls them. If it's the website, see what to do when an agency owns your website.
Once you're back in
Add a second owner
Use a company email address, so losing one login can't lock you out. Google says each user needs their own Google Account, so no shared passwords.
Remove the old company
After the 7-day wait, go to People and access and remove them. They get an email, and their past replies to reviews stay on the profile.
Check every detail
Phone number, website, categories and services. Replace any tracking number or landing page you don't control.
Check for changes
Our guide to wrong business information on Google explains why details change and how to accept or reject updates.
Check linked accounts
If the same company ran your ads, get your Google Ads account back too.
If you hire someone again, keep yourself as owner and invite them as a manager. Google tells agencies to work that way, and it's how we work on local SEO: you own your profile and your reviews.
Questions people ask
Can a marketing company own my Google Business Profile?
Google says no agency should be the only owner. Its third-party policy says all end customers must retain ownership or co-ownership of their Business Profile at all times. If a company set the profile up for you, it should have made you the owner and itself the manager.
How long does an agency have to hand over my Business Profile?
Google's third-party policy says that within 7 business days of notice from a client, the agency must let that client regain exclusive control and must remove its own permissions. Send the notice in writing, so the date is clear.
How long does the current owner have to respond to my request?
Google's help page says 3 days. If you hear nothing after that, you may have the option to claim the profile, though Google says that option isn't always available. Some older guides and forum posts still say 7 days.
What if my ownership request is denied?
You'll get a rejection email and can try to appeal the decision. If the person who denied it is a marketing company, you can also report it through Google's third-party policy complaint form, with your written request attached.
My old agency wants money to hand back my profile. Is that allowed?
Google's third-party policy lists keeping a profile hostage in exchange for money as an example of untrustworthy behavior. Report it through the complaint form, attach the messages, and keep paying only what your contract actually requires.
Should I create a new Business Profile instead?
No. Google says duplicate profiles won't show on Search or Maps, and a new profile starts without the reviews on your existing one. Getting control of the profile you already have is nearly always the better route.
Why can't I remove the old company right after I get access?
Google makes new owners and managers wait 7 days before they can remove other owners or managers, transfer primary ownership or delete the profile. Check the People and access page again after a week.
What if the person holding it isn't an agency?
The third-party policy is written for agencies and other representatives, so it may not apply to a former employee. The Request Access route still works for any verified profile, as long as you're authorized to manage the business.
Still locked out, or not sure who controls what? Book a strategy call and we'll work through your profile, your website and the order to recover them in.
