Local Services Ads
Local Services Ads stuck in verification: what Google checks for UK businesses, and how long it takes
Local Services Ads put a tradesperson or a firm above the ordinary Google ads, with a badge and a call button, and you pay per lead rather than per click. Before an ad can run, Google screens and verifies the business, and that is where most UK owners stall: a VAT or company number that does not match the trading name, an insurance certificate Google will not accept, a Business Profile someone else controls. This guide follows Google's own help pages for the United Kingdom.
Messages this guide covers: Google Verified
, Business check
, Public liability insurance
, Professional indemnity insurance
, Business licence on a country level
.
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Is your trade covered in the UK?
Google's UK requirements page lists the categories it supports. Home services: appliance repair, carpenter, carpet and upholstery cleaning, worktop services, electrician, fencing, flooring, foundations, garage door, general contractor, handyman, home inspector, house cleaning, HVAC, rubbish removal, landscaping, lawn care, pest control, plumber, pool cleaner, pool contractors, removals, roofing, snow removal, tree service, water damage, window cleaning and window repair.
Professional services are a pilot: "Professional services verticals are currently being piloted and are only available in Greater London. Note that your ads will not trigger outside of Greater London." The pilot covers solicitors and barristers across contract, corporate, criminal, employment, family, immigration, insolvency, IP, litigation, malpractice, personal injury, probate, property, road traffic and tax work, plus estate agents.
What Google checks
Google's screening and verification page says the process varies by business category and location, and your dashboard shows which checks apply to you. For the UK, Google's pages list:
| Check | What Google asks for | Where owners get stuck |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | "a public and verified Google Business profile", and the person completing the checks must own or manage it | A former agency or employee owns the profile. Google says this step can take up to 24 hours to show as done. |
| Business registration | For the UK, Google lists a VAT number or a Company Registration Number (CRN) from Companies House | The trading name on the ad differs from the registered name. Google's pages do not say which identifier a sole trader without a VAT number should use, so follow the dashboard and ask support if it is unclear. |
| Licences | "Business licence on a country level", marked "Where applicable by local law" | A trade that needs a registration by law has to show it. Google's UK page does not name individual schemes, so use the dashboard's prompt for your category. |
| Insurance | Home services: public liability insurance. Professional services: professional indemnity insurance. | Employer's liability is uploaded instead, the amount or name does not match, or a policy with no end date has no proof of payment. |
| Solicitors and barristers (London pilot) | "Active membership with the Solicitors or Barrister regulation authorities for each member in the firm" | One member of the firm is missing from the list. |
Background checks: Google's help page describes criminal background checks for "selected users in the US and Canada", and its UK requirements page lists none for UK categories. If your dashboard asks for one, follow it, but do not expect the US process described in American guides.
Insurance documents that pass
From Google's guidelines for Europe: "Provide your public or general liability or professional indemnity insurance document stating the coverage amount, company or owner name and address. Note that employer liability insurance isn't accepted. If your insurance is ongoing and doesn't expire, you'll be required to provide proof of payment for the last year to confirm the insurance is still valid."
Google also says "The minimum insurance amount required depends on the category and location". The dashboard shows the amount for your trade. Check it before you upload, because a certificate below the minimum will not pass.
How long it takes, and the badge
Google's UK page: "On average, this process takes 3–4 weeks to complete after submitting your documents." Google recommends starting "as soon as possible after you've created your Local Services Ads account".
Google has replaced the old Google Guaranteed and Google Screened badges with a single Google Verified badge. Its badge page says it is "simplifying our advertiser badging by launching a single badge for all advertisers", issued "once you've met all of the verification requirements". The page does not name countries and the UK requirements page does not mention the badge, so check your own dashboard for what your profile will show. The same page says the money-back guarantee that came with the Google Guarantee badge has been discontinued, for services booked from 7 December 2025.
Verified, but no leads?
Google's list of reasons Local Services Ads don't run applies in the UK too: the ad is switched off or outside your opening hours, there is an account or billing issue, the budget is too small for the leads you expect, the service area or job types are too narrow, or reviews are poor. In the London pilot for professional services, ads "will not trigger outside of Greater London".
What to do today
- List the open checks. Open the Local Services dashboard and note each check that is not done.
- Make the business name identical everywhere. Business Profile, VAT or Companies House record, insurance certificate and the name you advertise with.
- Check the insurance. The right type (public liability or professional indemnity, not employer's liability), the coverage amount the dashboard asks for, and the dates.
- Have registrations ready. If your trade needs one by law, keep the number and the certificate to hand.
- Put renewal dates in the diary. So the profile does not lapse later.
- Once live, answer every lead the same day. And ask for reviews. For searches Local Services Ads does not cover, an ordinary Search campaign still matters: see PPC management.
Official sources used in this guide
More guides for when something breaks
Questions people ask before hiring
Is Local Services Ads the same as Google Ads?
No. It is a separate product with its own dashboard, paid per lead rather than per click. Many trades run both, because ordinary Search ads cover searches and services Local Services Ads does not.
How long does Local Services Ads verification take in the UK?
Three to four weeks on average after you submit your documents, according to Google's UK requirements page.
Can a solicitor outside London use Local Services Ads?
Not yet. Google says professional services are a pilot available only in Greater London, and ads will not trigger outside it.
Does Google accept employer's liability insurance?
No. Google's guidelines say employer liability insurance isn't accepted. Upload public liability or professional indemnity cover, showing the coverage amount, the name and the address.
Do UK businesses need a background check for Local Services Ads?
Google's help page describes background checks for selected users in the US and Canada, and its UK requirements page lists none for UK categories. If your dashboard asks for one, follow it.
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