Google My Business Transfer Ownership: How To Change Your Google Business Profile Owner

Key Takeaways

• Google My Business is now called Google Business Profile. Both names refer to the same listing, and the transfer process applies to all profiles.
• Only the primary owner can transfer ownership of a Google business listing. You must add the new person as an owner before you can transfer it.
• Reviews, photos, posts, and ranking history stay with the business profile after a transfer. Nothing gets deleted or reset, so it’s crucial to understand how online reviews affect your brand.
• Google may enforce a seven-day holding period after you add a new owner before you can take sensitive actions like removing other owners or transferring primary ownership again.
• If someone else controls your profile and will not hand it over, you can request ownership directly through Google, which gives the current owner a few days to respond.

Introduction: Google My Business vs Google Business Profile

Google My Business was rebranded to Google Business Profile in 2021. You will still see “Google My Business” everywhere, from old bookmarks to forum threads to agency contracts. Both names refer to the same thing: the free listing that shows your business in Google Search and Maps, including your hours, address, phone number, and reviews.

Correct business ownership and access matter more than most people realize. The person who controls the profile can edit your storefront hours, respond to reviews, change your phone number, or even delete the listing. If the wrong person has control, your visibility and overall online reputation are at risk.

This guide covers every transfer ownership situation you are likely to face: handing a profile to a new owner, switching agencies, changing Google accounts, selling a business, and reclaiming a profile from someone else. Instructions reflect how the process works as of late 2026, but Google may adjust labels, waiting periods, and interface details over time.

Understanding Business Ownership Roles (Primary Owner, Owner, Manager)

Every Google Business Profile has roles that control what each user can do. Before you transfer anything, understand what these roles allow.

There are two main roles: owners and managers. Within the owner category, one person holds the primary owner role. A business profile can have multiple owners but only one primary owner at any time.

The primary owner sits at the top. Only they can transfer ownership of the listing to someone else. Owners share most of the same permissions but cannot transfer the primary owner role. Managers handle day-to-day tasks like editing hours, posting updates, and responding to reviews, but managers cannot add or remove users from the profile.

Here is a quick comparison:

Capability	Primary Owner	Owner	Manager
Edit business info, hours, photos	Yes	Yes	Yes
Respond to reviews	Yes	Yes	Yes
Add or remove other users	Yes	Yes	No
Transfer primary ownership	Yes	No	No
Delete or undelete the profile	Yes	No	No
Remove the primary owner	N/A	No	No

Only the primary owner can initiate a primary ownership transfer. If you are an owner but not the primary owner, the primary owner must handle that step.

How To Find And Open Your Google Business Profile

All transfer actions start from inside your business profile in Google Search or Google Maps. You must log in to business.google.com or use one of the methods below to start the transfer.

Method 1: Google Search. Sign in to the Google account that owns or manages the profile. Search for your exact business name. You should see a panel with your listing details and a link that says “View profile” or a similar option. Click it to open your profile controls.

Method 2: Google Maps. Sign in to Maps with the same Google account. Click your profile avatar, choose “Your Business Profiles,” and select the correct location from the list.

If you do not see your business or any management controls on the screen, you might not be listed as an owner or manager yet. In that case, you will need to request access, which is covered further down in this article.

Step 1: Add A New Owner Or Manager Via People And Access

Adding the new person is always the first step, even when your end goal is to transfer primary ownership. You can add a new owner via the People and access menu inside your profile settings.

If you are the only user on the profile, you must invite a new user before transferring ownership. There is no way around this step.

Open your business profile in Google Search or Maps, then follow these steps:

1. Click “Business Profile settings” and select “People and access.”
2. Click the “Add” button or “Invite new user.”
3. Enter the person’s Google account email address.
4. Choose the role: “Owner” or “Manager.”
5. Click “Invite” or “Send invitation.”

The invited person receives an email with a link. The new owner must accept the invitation to complete the transfer. Until they accept, they will appear as a pending invitation in your People and access list.

If you entered the wrong email, cancel the pending invitation and resend to the correct address. Double-check the spelling before you submit.

Step 2: Transfer Primary Ownership To A New Owner

Only the current primary owner can initiate a primary ownership transfer. If you hold a different role, you cannot perform this step yourself.

To transfer primary ownership, invite the new owner and assign them the owner role first. Before you begin, confirm that the person you want to promote is already listed as an owner, not just a manager. Managers cannot be made primary owner directly. You would need to change their role to owner first, then proceed.

To transfer primary ownership, the current primary owner must sign in to their account and follow these steps:

1. Go to Business Profile settings and open People and access.
2. Find the new owner in the user list.
3. Click “Edit” next to their access level or role.
4. Choose “Primary owner” from the options.
5. Confirm the change.

To change the role to primary owner, you need to access People and access settings. Once confirmed, the former primary owner is automatically moved to a standard owner role.

Verify listing accuracy before transferring ownership. Check that your business name, address, phone number, hours, and categories are all up to date before you hand over control.

A seven-day holding period follows ownership transfer. During this time, new primary owners have limited capabilities. They cannot remove other owners, transfer primary ownership again, or delete the profile. Plan accordingly, especially if you are working against a closing date for a business sale, and review a complete guide to Google Business Profile ownership and transfers if you need more detail on timing and requirements.

Step 3: Remove Yourself Or A Previous Owner

After primary ownership has been transferred, the previous owner and any former staff or agency accounts should be removed for security. Keeping old accounts active is a common way businesses lose control of their listing later.

To remove another owner or manager:

1. Open People and Access from your Business Profile settings.
2. Select the user you want to remove.
3. Click the remove or trash icon next to their name.
4. Confirm removal.

To remove yourself from the profile:

1. If you are still the primary owner, assign a new primary owner first (you cannot remove yourself while holding that role).
2. Open People and Access, and find your own name.
3. Select “Remove access.”
4. Confirm.

Past replies to reviews and posts created by a removed user stay on the business profile. Removing someone does not delete their previous activity, which is important because online reviews and reputation signals can significantly influence how potential customers view your business.

Requesting Ownership When Someone Else Controls The Profile

Sometimes a previous owner, ex-employee, or former agency still controls the profile, and you have no access. This is common when buying a business, switching marketing agencies, or discovering that a former staff member set up the listing years ago.

If the previous owner is unavailable, you can request ownership directly through Google, and you may also want to consider broader online reputation management and branding while you stabilize access to the listing.

Start by searching for your business in Google Search or Maps. Look for an option like “Claim this business” or “Own this business” on the listing.

Follow this process:

1. Click the claim or request option on the listing.
2. Sign in with your Google account.
3. Confirm that you are the business owner or an authorized representative.
4. Enter your contact details and submit your request.

Google emails the current profile owner, who then has a fixed response window. Google allows the current owner three days to respond to an access request, which can feel long if negative content is already live and you are considering professional online reputation management services to help contain any damage.

If the current owner approves your request, you gain access. If they deny it, you receive an email with information about how to appeal. If no one responds within the response window, Google may allow you to verify and claim the profile yourself through standard verification methods such as a phone call, email code, or postcard.

Keep records of all confirmation emails from Google throughout this process.

Moving A Business Profile To Another Google Account

You cannot simply change the email on a business profile. Instead, you add the new Google account as an owner and transfer ownership to it. This process is the same whether you are moving from a personal email to a company email or between two company accounts, and you should coordinate it with any broader online reputation management services your business uses so credentials and responsibilities stay aligned.

1. Sign in with the current owner account.
2. Go to People and Access in your Business Profile settings.
3. Invite the new Google account as an owner.
4. Wait for the new account to accept the invitation.
5. Transfer primary ownership to the new account using the steps in Step 2 above.
6. Optionally remove the old account as owner once the transfer is complete.

A seven-day holding period follows ownership transfer, so the new primary owner may need to wait before performing sensitive actions like removing other users. If you are on a tight timeline, plan the invitation and acceptance well in advance.

Keep at least one backup owner on the profile during the transition. Removing every other user before the waiting period ends can lock you out.

What Happens When A Business Is Sold

When a business changes hands, the Google Business Profile is part of the deal. Reviews, photos, posts, and local ranking history stay with the profile, not the owner’s personal Google account.

Listing information remains intact after ownership transfer. That means the buyer inherits all the reviews and history the seller built.

Here is the recommended process:

1. The seller adds the buyer’s Google account as an owner.
2. Wait for the buyer to accept the invitation.
3. The seller transfers primary ownership to the buyer.
4. After the sale is final, the seller and any of their staff accounts remove themselves from the profile.

If the business changes its brand name or moves to a new address, the new owner should update the profile details rather than creating a brand new listing. Creating a new profile means losing all existing reviews. Reviews cannot be moved between separate profiles, even if both belong to the same brand, so you may want to consider dedicated business review management services to help preserve and leverage your existing reputation.

For businesses going through ownership and branding changes at the same time, services like InternetReputation.com and broader online reputation protection strategies can help protect reviews and local visibility so nothing falls through the cracks during the transition.

Common Problems With Google Business Profile Transfer Ownership

A few issues come up repeatedly when people try to transfer ownership of a Google My Business profile.

Transfer option not showing. The “Primary owner” option will not appear unless you are signed in as the current primary owner, the person you want to promote is already an owner (not a manager), and any applicable waiting period has passed. Check that you are using the correct Google account.

Cannot see People and access. If this option is missing, you may be signed in to an account that is only a manager or has no role on the profile. Managers can edit content but cannot manage users.

Re-verification triggered. Major changes, like a new primary owner, a new business name, or an address change, can sometimes trigger Google to re-verify the profile. Verification might come by email, phone, or postcard. Do not panic. Complete the verification promptly to avoid disruption.

Reviews after transfer. Reviews stay with the business profile. They do not disappear, reset, or move to a different listing after a transfer. If you create a separate new profile for the same business, the old reviews will not follow.

Document every access and ownership change internally. Keep a simple record of which Google account controls the profile, who has owner or manager access, and the date each person was added. This level of governance supports stronger corporate reputation management practices overall, and future teams will thank you.

FAQ

Below are answers to common questions not fully covered above.

Does transferring ownership change or delete my Google reviews?

No. Ownership transfer does not delete or reset reviews. They stay attached to the same business profile and remain visible in Google Search and Maps. You cannot move reviews from one profile to a different profile, even if both belong to the same brand or location.

How long does it take to transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile?

The click to transfer is instant. However, new owners must wait seven days for full access. During that window, they cannot remove other users, delete the profile, or transfer primary ownership again. When requesting ownership from someone else, timing depends on whether the current owner responds within the response window and on Google’s current verification process.

Can a manager become a primary owner without the current owner?

A manager cannot promote themselves to owner or primary owner. An existing owner must change their role first. If no owner is available or responsive, the manager must go through Google’s claim and verification process by searching for the business and selecting “Own this business” to request ownership.

What if I no longer have access to the email that owns my profile?

Start by trying to recover the Google account through Google’s account recovery page. If you cannot regain access to the password or email, search for your business on Google, use the “Own this business” or “Claim this business” option, and complete verification as the current business owner. This process can take several days depending on whether the old account holder responds.

Can I have more than one primary owner on a single Business Profile?

No. Only one primary owner can exist for a Google Business Profile at any time. You can have multiple owners and managers, but the primary owner role belongs to exactly one account. Add at least one backup owner in addition to the primary owner so your organization does not lose access if someone leaves or loses their login credentials, especially in sectors where reputation for technology companies and other fast-moving industries depends heavily on consistent profile management.