Here’s the part people don’t expect. You can’t truly delete a Google Business Profile.
You can remove it from your account, close it, or mark it as moved. But the listing itself belongs to Google Maps, not to you, and the customer reviews on it stay put. Pick the wrong route and the business you’ve closed keeps showing up, or the one you’ve moved loses years of reviews.
So before you press anything, work out what you’re actually trying to do. Here’s how to delete a Google Business Profile, close it, move it, or step away from it, and what happens after each.
Which do you actually need?
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| The business has closed for good | Mark it permanently closed |
| Closed for a season, a refurb or longer than a week | Mark it temporarily closed |
| You’ve moved premises | Change the address on the same profile. Don’t make a new one |
| You no longer want to manage it | Remove the profile from your account |
| You’re a manager or ex-employee leaving | Remove yourself from its People and access |
| It’s a duplicate, or the business never existed | Ask Google Maps to remove it |
How do I delete my Google Business Profile?
Google calls it removing, and only a primary owner can do it.
- Open your Business Profile and select More, then Business Profile settings.
- Select Remove Business Profile.
- Choose Remove profile content and managers. You can also switch on “Mark your business as permanently closed” here.
- Select Continue, then Remove, then Done.
If you’ve only just become an owner or manager, you’ll have to wait seven days before Google lets you do this.
What happens when you remove it
It’s permanent. Your posts, photos, videos and replies to reviews are deleted, and every manager loses access.
What doesn’t go: the listing itself, and everything customers added to it, reviews included. The business can still appear on Google Search and Maps. Anyone who wants to manage it later, including you, would have to claim and verify it again.
That’s why, if the business has closed, you should mark it closed as well, or instead.
How to mark a business as permanently closed on Google
- Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Hours.
- Next to Hours, select Edit.
- Choose Permanently closed and Save.
Google may still show a permanently closed business to people who search for it by name, clearly marked as closed. It saves people turning up at a locked door. New reviews stop once it’s marked permanently closed.
Closing for a while instead? Choose Temporarily closed. Google says to use that for closures of more than seven days, seasonal or open-ended ones. For a week or less, set special hours. A temporarily closed business can sink below open ones for broad searches while it’s shut, and it can still get reviews. When you reopen, choose Open with main hours.
How do I remove a permanently closed business on Google?
Usually, you don’t. A closed business that really existed stays on Maps, marked closed, and fades from broad searches over time.
Google only removes a listing entirely if the place never existed at that address or isn’t eligible to be on Maps. To ask, open the business on Google Maps, choose Suggest an edit, then Place is closed or not here, then Doesn’t exist here. You need to be signed in.
Moving? Don’t delete your profile
This is where businesses lose the most. Delete the old profile and start fresh at the new address, and every review you’ve earned stays behind.
Google’s advice is to update the address on the profile you have. If the name stays the same, the reviews move with you, except for some categories, such as hotels, golf courses and scenic attractions, where the reviews stay with the place.
If your old profile was already marked permanently closed because of a move, Google says to create and verify a new one and ask it to move your reviews across, using its business move form.
Anyone can also mark a business as moved on Maps: Suggest an edit, then Place closed or not here, then Moved to a new location.
How can I remove myself from a Google Business Profile?
If you’re a manager, or you’ve left a business and still have access, remove yourself rather than the profile. Go to People and access in the Business Profile settings and remove your own account. The profile carries on without you.
If you’re the primary owner and someone else is taking over, add them as an owner first and make them primary, then remove yourself. Don’t remove the profile: that deletes their photos and posts too.
Can you delete a Google Business Profile and start over?
You can remove it and verify it again, but you won’t get a clean slate. The reviews stay on the listing, and a new, duplicate profile for the same business breaks Google’s rules. Google hides duplicates, and they can get the real one into trouble.
If the profile’s in a mess, fix it instead: change the category, rewrite the description, replace the photos. Our Google Business Profile guide covers each part. And if it’s been suspended, follow the appeal in our suspended profile guide; don’t start a new one while an appeal is open.
Other questions people ask about deleting a Google Business Profile
Can you permanently delete a Google Business Profile?
Not the listing itself. You can remove it from your account, which permanently deletes your posts, photos and replies, but the business and its customer reviews can still appear on Google.
How long does it take to delete a Google business account?
Removing a profile takes effect when you confirm it. If you’ve just been added as an owner or manager, you have to wait seven days first. Closed businesses fade from broad searches over time.
Will deleting my Google Account delete my Business Profile?
It won’t remove the business from Google Maps. The listing and its reviews exist independently of any one account, so the business stays on Maps without anyone managing it. Remove the profile, or hand it to someone else, before you delete the account.
What happens to Google reviews when a business closes?
They stay. A permanently closed business keeps its reviews but can’t get new ones. A temporarily closed one can still be reviewed.
How do I delete my Google Business Profile on my phone?
Search for your business in Google while signed in, open your profile, then use More, Business Profile settings and Remove Business Profile, the same as on a computer.
