What to Do If Someone Else Claims Your Google Business Profile

14 September 2026·6 min read

Quick answer: Don't create a second listing — that usually makes things worse. Instead, use Google's official "request access" process on the existing profile, have your proof documents ready (business registration, proof of address, phone number), and escalate through Google's support channels if the current holder doesn't respond. It can take anywhere from days to several weeks, depending on the situation, so start the process as soon as you notice. 🚀

Finding out someone else has the keys to your Google Business Profile is one of those problems that feels small right up until it isn't — until you notice your hours are wrong, your reviews are going unanswered, or worse, someone unrelated to your business is quietly editing your listing. The instinct is to panic and start fresh with a new listing. Don't. That almost always makes the mess bigger, not smaller — the fix is a proper, methodical recovery process, and the sooner you start it, the sooner it's sorted 💖.

What most businesses get wrong

The single biggest mistake is creating a brand new listing to "start over." Google's systems are built to detect duplicate listings for the same business, and once flagged, you can end up with both listings suspended while it gets sorted out — the original problem, plus a new one. The second mistake is waiting too long to act. Every week the wrong person controls your listing is another week they can (deliberately or not) alter your hours, categories, photos or respond to reviews as if they were you.

The GBP Ownership Recovery Checklist

Find the listing and request access. Search your business on Google Maps, open the profile, and look for the option to request ownership or access — this notifies the current account holder directly.
Wait out the response period — Google typically gives the current owner a short window to respond before you can escalate.
Gather your proof documents now, not later: business registration/ABN details, a utility bill or lease showing your business address, a photo of signage, and a phone number matching your business.
If there's no response, escalate through Google's official Business Profile support channels, using the request-access route rather than trying to create a new listing.
If it's a former staff member or manager who set the listing up under a personal account, be ready to show current authority over the business — Google's process focuses on verification, not on adjudicating employment history.
If the listing was auto-generated and never claimed by anyone, claim it directly through standard verification (postcard, phone or video call, depending on what's offered).
If it looks like a deliberate hijack or scam, use Google's suspicious activity reporting alongside your access request.
While it's unresolved, make sure your website and socials clearly state your correct contact details so customers aren't misled by the compromised listing.
Once you regain access, audit everything — categories, hours, description, photos and the Q&A section may have been changed while you were locked out.

A new owner discovering the previous owner still controls the listing: After buying an existing business, the new owner assumed the Google listing came with the sale automatically. It didn't — the seller's personal Google account was still the primary owner, and they'd moved on and stopped checking messages. Proof of the business sale documents, alongside the standard access request, was enough to eventually resolve it, but it took longer than expected because there was no urgency on the seller's side to respond.

A franchise location with an ex-employee holding admin access: A former manager had set up the listing years earlier using their own personal Google account, as many people do without thinking twice. After they left the business, they didn't respond to access requests at all. The franchise had to go through the formal escalation and verification route, since the ex-employee's cooperation simply wasn't available.

A business that never claimed its auto-generated listing: Google had auto-created a basic listing from public directory data years earlier, and nobody at the business had ever actually claimed it. Because no one held primary ownership, this was actually the simplest scenario to resolve — straightforward verification, rather than a dispute with another account holder.

How Google Business Profile ownership actually works

It helps to understand that a Google Business Profile isn't owned by "your business" in a legal sense — it's tied to whichever Google account was used to create or claim it, with that account holding the "primary owner" role. That's exactly why staff turnover, business sales and old personal accounts cause so many of these problems: ownership sits with a person's login, not with your ABN.

Verification methods vary — postcard by mail, phone call, video verification or instant verification, depending on your business type and history with Google.
Have your proof documents ready before you start the request, not scrambling for them once you're mid-dispute.
Keep records of every step and date in the process — if it does take weeks, you'll want a clear timeline if you need to escalate further.

💡 Fix your access hygiene once you get the listing back. Add ownership through a shared business Google Workspace account rather than any one person's personal Gmail — it's the single biggest reason this problem happens in the first place, and the easiest one to prevent going forward.

Mistakes to avoid

Creating a second listing instead of recovering the original one.
Waiting weeks or months before starting the recovery process.
Getting into public arguments in review responses on the compromised listing while a dispute is ongoing.
Starting the process without your proof documents ready, which slows everything down.
Assuming this will be resolved in a day or two — it usually isn't.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get a hijacked listing back?

Honestly, it varies a lot — anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on how responsive the current holder is and how much verification is required. There's no guaranteed timeline, and Google's exact process can change, so it's worth checking Google's current official guidance directly rather than relying on any fixed number.

Can I just create a new listing while I wait?

It's tempting, but generally not a good idea. Google's systems are designed to catch duplicate listings for the same business and address, and this can lead to both listings being suspended, adding a second problem on top of the first.

What if the person who controls it won't respond at all?

This is exactly what the escalation process through Google's official support channels is for. Have your proof documents ready and be persistent — non-response from the current holder doesn't mean you're stuck, it just means the standard request-access step won't be enough on its own.

Does this only happen with malicious hijacking?

No — in our experience, it's more often an innocent mix-up: an old personal account, a staff member who left, or a business sale where the listing was simply never transferred. Assuming malice from the outset can make an already stressful process more adversarial than it needs to be.

Keep reading 🤍

Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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