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The postcard reaches your house; the map doesn't show it
You verify your listing with your real address without it showing on the map, and you know what to do with whatever method Google offers you.
By Yodai · Published on September 6, 2026 · Updated on October 12, 2026
You work at the client's home, so on your Google listing you've hidden your address so it won't show on the map, and you've listed the towns you cover. All set. Then comes the step that stops you cold: Google asks you to verify your listing, and offers to mail you a letter... to your house. The same house you just hid from the map.
The doubt makes sense: if you give your address so they can mail you a code, aren't you also handing it to the first person who searches for your trade on the map? No. These are two different things, and mixing them up is what leads people to use a fake address, a P.O. box, or a relative's house. That's where the real trouble starts: Google's guidelines require an accurate, correct address, and they don't accept P.O. boxes.
Verifying isn't publishing
Google doesn't ask for your address to show it off. It asks to confirm that you exist: that behind the listing there's a real business, in a real place, not a made-up ad. According to Google's help on verifying a business, that check happens by phone or text, email, video, or letter, and the methods it offers you are decided by Google based on your business type, your region, or your hours. If your address is hidden, the one you give for verification is for Google, not for the map the customer sees.
What decides whether your house shows up on the map is something else: the "Show business address to customers" setting. Google's help on business addresses makes it clear: to verify, you have to enter an address Google can locate, and if you hide the address, your listing will only show your service area. These are two separate layers: one is do you really exist? (verification), the other is what do we show about you? (display). You can tell the truth on the first without showing anything on the second.
- It arrives at your real address with a 5-digit code. Most codes arrive within 14 days
- Google doesn't offer this to every business: whether you get it depends on your case
- While you wait, don't change the name, address, or category on your listing, or the code won't work. It expires after 30 days
- No waiting on the mail carrier: you show it live on a video call, or in a video you record in one take with your phone right from the listing itself (no pre-recorded or edited videos allowed), and Google reviews it within 5 business days
- For a business that works out of homes, Google asks you to show where you work (if it's from home, the street signs and landmarks in your neighborhood), your tools or branded clothing, and proof the business is yours: your branded van or an invoice in the business's name
- Google doesn't offer this to every business, and the video call only happens during your business hours
Which one to pick: If the video option shows up, take it: it's the one Google recommends and you don't have to depend on the mail carrier. If only the letter shows up, request it without worry: your house stays hidden from the map as long as the "Show business address to customers" setting stays off.
- 1Check the address setting before you verify
Go to Edit profile, Location, and confirm that "Show business address to customers" is turned off. Check this before: once you've requested the letter, Google warns that if you change the name, address, or category, the code won't work. - 2Request whichever method you're offered, with your real address
Google decides the methods, and you can't change them. If the video option shows up, take it. If only the letter shows up, accept it, and don't make up another address to dodge it. - 3If it's by letter, write down the code the same day it arrives
The letter's code expires after 30 days. And don't request another one while you wait: a new one cancels the one already on its way and drags out the process. - 4Check the map after you verify
When you get the email from Google confirming the verification, search for your business the way a customer would. If a pin shows up on your street, go back to the "Show business address to customers" setting and check whether it got turned on. If you turn it off, the change usually shows up within about 10 minutes, but it can take up to 30 days.
- You know that verifying (real address) and showing (the map) are two separate steps, and you already handled the second one earlier
- You picked the method from whatever Google offered you: video if it was available, and if not, whatever came up, letter included
- You verified with your real address, without making one up to hide behind
- You confirmed the map still isn't showing your street
- In the next lesson: which photo matters more than the one of your front door
Sources
- Verify your business on Google. Google Business Profile Help, accessed October 2026.
- Verify a business with a video recording. Google Business Profile Help, accessed October 2026.
- Manage your business address. Google Business Profile Help, accessed October 2026.
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google. Google Business Profile Help, accessed October 2026.
- Troubleshoot suspended or disabled profiles. Google Business Profile Help, accessed October 2026.