Help from Summit Dynamics in Cape Town
Lost access to your Google Business Profile? How to get it back
It happens more often than you'd think: the profile was set up by a past employee, a web designer or an old agency, and now nobody can get in. The profile is still your business's, and in most cases you can get it back.
- Your reviews
- Stay with the profile
- Ownership
- On your Google account
- Old agency
- Google can hand it over
- Help
- Quoted after we look
Checked on 1 November 2026. Google changes its screens often, so some buttons may look slightly different.
Which account
First, check which Google account you're in
Many people are signed in to the wrong Google account. Sign out, then try every Gmail and work address the business has used. If one of them has access, you'll see the profile straight away.
Someone else owns it
If someone else owns it
- Ask them. If you know who set it up, ask them to make you the owner. It takes them a minute.
- Request access through Google. Search for your business on Google Business Profile and request access. Google contacts the current owner and gives them a set time to answer.
- If they don't answer. Google may let you verify the business yourself and take over.
Prevent it
Stop it happening again
- Keep ownership on a Google account the business controls, not a person's.
- Add staff and agencies as managers, never as the only owner.
- Keep a note of who has access, and check it once a year.
We can help
Want us to sort it out?
We find out who controls the profile, request access properly and help you verify if needed. Once you're back in, we set the ownership up so it can't happen again. We'll quote once we've looked at it.
Questions
Lost access: questions
An old agency won't give it back. What can I do?
Request access through Google. If they don't respond in Google's time limit, you can usually take it over by verifying.
Can I just make a new profile?
It's better not to. You'd lose your reviews and risk a duplicate, which can lead to a suspension.
Will my reviews stay?
Yes. Reviews belong to the profile, not to the person who manages it.
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