Without verification your listing exists but performs far worse, and you cannot edit the things that matter. Google picks the method based on your business type and history — you do not usually get to choose.
The methods
| Method | How long | When you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or SMS | Minutes | Simple businesses with premises |
| Minutes | Rare, on custom domains | |
| Recorded video | 1 – 7 days | The default since 2023 |
| Live video call | By appointment | When the video is rejected |
| Postcard | 1 – 3 weeks | Mostly retired, still appears |
If you get asked for a video when you expected an SMS, nothing has gone wrong. It is now the default for most new listings in Spain.
The video: what they actually check
One continuous shot, no cuts and no editing, proving three things in sequence. Almost everyone fails because they did not know this before they started filming.
- The place exists at that address: start outside, film the sign, the street, and a door number or neighbouring business.
- You are inside it: walk in without stopping the recording and show the interior — the bar, the counter, your tools.
- You run it: show something only the person in charge would have — the open till, the stock room, the key cabinet, an invoice with the business name.
Do not stop recording at any point. A video assembled from clips is rejected automatically, however clearly everything is shown.
If you work from home or from a van
This is the hardest case and where most people give up. Film the sign-written van, the tools, materials with your logo, and business paperwork in your name. You hide the address afterwards in the settings and declare a service area instead.
If it is rejected
- You can retry. There is no hard limit, but each rejection makes it harder.
- Work out which of the three things was missing. It is almost always the third: you did not prove you run it.
- After two rejections, request a live video call from Business Profile support. Someone guides you through it and it resolves a lot of stuck cases.