Google Guaranteed Is Now Google Verified: What Changed

What is Google Guaranteed?

Google Guaranteed was a badge Google gave home-service businesses in Local Services Ads after they passed background and license checks. It came with a promise to the homeowner: book the job through the ad, and if the work disappointed you, Google could refund up to the cost of that first service. Starting in October 2025, Google replaced the badge with Google Verified, and the refund promise ended.

The old guarantee had firm limits. According to Google's archived Google Guarantee terms:

• Google could reimburse up to the cost of the initial service, at its sole discretion.
• The lifetime limit per person was $2,000 in the US, $2,000 CAD in Canada and £1,500 in the UK.
• Requests had to be filed within 30 days of the job being finished, with a receipt.
• The job had to be booked through the Local Services ad. Calling the business's own number or using its website did not count.
• Add-on work, property damage, trip charges, diagnostic fees, cancellations and complaints about price or response time were never covered.

Google Guaranteed providers in the US and Canada could also be listed as local providers on Google Assistant. All of that is history now. If a page still tells you that Google Guaranteed protects homeowners with a $2,000 refund, it was written before late 2025.

What happened to Google Guaranteed?

Google retired it. On August 20, 2025, Google announced that starting in October it would merge every Local Services Ads badge into one: Google Guaranteed, Google Screened, License Verified by Google and the Money Back Guarantee all gave way to a single Google Verified badge. JumpFly, a Google Ads agency, reported October 20, 2025 as the start date.

Aug 20, 2025Google announces one Google Verified badge

Oct 2025Google Verified replaces Guaranteed, Screened and License Verified

Nov 7, 2025Google Guarantee and Money Back Guarantee discontinued

Dec 7, 2025Jobs booked from this date on have no refund coverage

Aug 2026Local Services Ads start moving into Google Ads; the badge carries over

Three details matter if you advertise:

• Existing advertisers did nothing. Google's help page on the Google Verified badge says every eligible advertiser who had completed verification earned the new badge automatically, and ads kept running.
• Ranking did not change. The same page says Local Services Ads ranking would not be affected by the switch.
• The refund window is closed for new jobs. Google accepted reimbursement requests only for services booked through Local Services Ads before December 7, 2025, filed within 30 days of the service being completed.

People still search for the old names. In August 2026, "google guaranteed" got 2,900 US searches, down from 6,600 in September 2025, while "google verified badge" got 210:

google guaranteed, Sep 20256,600

google guaranteed, Aug 20262,900

google screened, Aug 20263,600

google verified badge, Aug 2026210

Google Guaranteed vs Google Screened vs Google Verified: what is the difference?

Google Guaranteed was for home services, Google Screened was for professional services, and License Verified by Google was for health care. Google Verified replaced all three and works the same way for every category that offers it.

Google's getting started page from April 2025 described the three old badges this way:

Before October 2025

• Three badges, chosen by industry
• Home services carried a refund promise up to $2,000
• Badge name told you the program, not the checks
• Guaranteed providers could appear on Google Assistant

Since October 2025

• One Google Verified badge for every eligible category
• No Google refund promise
• Profile lists the checks passed, such as background, license and insurance
• Badge may show dynamically on ads when Google predicts it helps

The practical change is on the profile. Google now lists the checks each business passed next to the badge. A homeowner comparing three plumbers reads those lines, not a refund promise.

Who can get the Google Verified badge in 2026?

Any business in a supported Local Services Ads category that passes Google's screening for its category and location can get the badge. In the US that covers home services, professional services, health care, learning, care and wellness businesses, but not every category in every state.

Google's Local Services Ads site lists the categories eligible for the badge. Home services is the largest group: appliance repair, electricians, garage door, general contractors, handymen, house cleaning, HVAC, junk removal, landscaping, lawn care, locksmiths, moving, painters, pest control, plumbers, roofing, tree services, water damage restoration and window repair, among others. Professional services include lawyers in many practice areas, financial planners, real estate agents and tax specialists. Health care includes dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and primary care physicians.

Check three limits before you plan around the badge:

• Some categories have no badge yet. Google's getting started page says the badge is currently unavailable for auto, beauty and dining categories, even though those businesses can run Local Services Ads.
• Some categories are limited by state. Architects, drain experts, home insulation, interior designers, insurance agencies, tire shops and beauty services are listed for California and Florida only.
• Eligibility depends on your ZIP code. Google's eligibility checker tells you whether your category is live where you work.

For trade businesses, our pages on Google Ads for plumbers and Google Ads for HVAC companies show how the badge and pay-per-lead ads fit next to Search campaigns.

What are the Google Verified requirements?

You need a verified Google Business Profile, and you must pass the checks Google sets for your category and location: background checks, business registration, insurance, licenses and, in some categories, a minimum number of reviews. Google says screening takes 3 to 4 weeks on average after you submit documents.

Here is what each check involves, from Google's screening and verification process and the US requirements by category:

Urgent trades get extra screening. Google treats electricians, garage door, HVAC, locksmiths and plumbers as urgent categories, so the service professionals who work in people's homes go through background checks too. Office managers, clerical workers and phone staff are exempt.

If a background check fails and the decision is final, the business waits 30 days to reapply, and a second denial means 180 days. Google also re-checks advertisers over time. Ignore a follow-up review request and you can lose the badge, have ads paused or have the account suspended.

How do you get Google Guaranteed now?

You get Google Verified, the badge that replaced Google Guaranteed, by signing up for Local Services Ads and passing its screening. There is no separate badge application. New advertisers still start in the Local Services sign-up flow, because Google says pay-per-lead campaigns can't be created directly inside Google Ads yet.

1. Check eligibility. Enter your category and ZIP code in Google's eligibility checker. If your trade or area is not supported, the badge is not available to you yet.
2. Claim and verify your Business Profile. It must be public and verified, and the person completing the checks must be an owner or manager. Google says this step can take up to 24 hours to show as done.
3. Sign up for Local Services Ads. Add your categories, the job types you want to pay for, your service area and the hours you answer the phone.
4. Gather your documents. Use the checklist below before you open the verification dashboard, so one missing paper doesn't stall the rest.
5. Complete every check. Background checks run through Google's partners. Each owner, and in urgent trades each field worker, must read the partner's disclosures and agree to the check.
6. Collect reviews. Some categories need a minimum number before ads show. Ask recent clients through the review link in your dashboard.
7. Set your budget and billing. Choose an average weekly budget you can sustain and add a payment method. You are billed only for charged leads.
8. Go live with pre-badge ads if offered. Many categories can get leads after preliminary checks, ranked below fully verified providers. Pre-badge ads are not available for garage door, health care or locksmith businesses.
9. Receive the badge. Google issues Google Verified once you meet every requirement. Some US advertisers get accelerated verification: the badge comes quickly, then they have 14 days to finish the remaining steps.

Have these ready before you start:

• A D-U-N-S number, or your Secretary of State registration or IRS EIN document
• A signed certificate of insurance with a policy number, in the exact name you advertise under (or a DBA document)
• State license numbers for the business and its owners
• An unexpired government photo ID for the business representative
• Names and emails for every owner and, in urgent trades, every technician who enters homes
• Your legal business name, spelled the same way on every document

Bidding, budgets and lead disputes are covered in our full guide to Google Local Services Ads.

How much does Google Guaranteed cost?

The badge has no fee. Google issues it when you pass screening, does not charge for the background checks, and bills Local Services Ads only for leads: each valid call, message or booking that comes through your ad, not clicks or views.

Lead prices vary by location, job type, lead type and bidding mode, according to Google's page on how leads work. You set a budget, and each charged lead counts against it.

Some older guides say Google Guaranteed costs $50 a month. That number comes from a 2020 Google experiment that sold the badge as an upgrade to Business Profiles outside Local Services Ads, reported by Search Engine Land. It is not how the badge works today.

So the useful question is how much you can afford to pay per lead:

For example, a pest control company earns $160 gross profit on a first treatment and books 45% of its Local Services leads. It can pay up to $72 per lead ($160 × 0.45) before the first visit stops paying. If its leads average $55, each booked job costs about $122 in ad spend ($55 ÷ 0.45), leaving $38 on the first visit before any repeat service plan. These numbers are illustrative; use your own job records.

$160Gross profit on a first treatment

45%Leads that become booked jobs

$72Most this company can pay per lead

Recurring work changes the math, which is why we plan pest control Google Ads around the value of a service plan, not one visit.

What does the Google Verified badge do in search results?

The badge tells people that Google screened your business, and your profile lists the checks you passed. It shows on your Local Services Ads profile and, Google says, may also appear dynamically on ads and other Google surfaces when it is predicted to help someone decide.

The badge does not buy you a higher position on its own. Google says the switch to Google Verified did not affect ranking. Local Services Ads rank through an auction of your bid and how likely you are to get a lead, and Google's ad rankings page counts "the verification checks you have completed" as part of profile quality, next to your rating, review count, response time and photos. Finishing every check helps through profile quality.

The badge also decides who gets seen first. Pre-badge ads appear below every provider who has finished onboarding, so in a busy market a business without the badge sits at the bottom of the list.

Google's Local Services Ads site adds that the badge can show on your Google Business Profile. There is no way to get it without Local Services Ads: a verified Business Profile alone does not earn it.

What happens to the badge when Local Services Ads move into Performance Max?

Your badge moves with you. Google is migrating Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, and its migration notice says your verified status and Google Verified badge transfer automatically.

Google started with select US home-service advertisers in August 2026: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control and moving. Broader groups follow in late 2026, and the remaining categories and non-US accounts move in 2027. Google's pay-per-lead goals page and migration notice add that in the new campaign type, businesses in select categories show the badge after passing business registration and representative checks, on the profile page and, in some categories, on the ads.

Budgets, bidding and lead reports change in the move too. Our Local Services Ads guide covers those changes, and our guide to Performance Max campaigns explains how the standard version differs from the pay-per-lead one.

What happened to Google Screened for lawyers, realtors and financial planners?

Professional firms that were Google Screened now carry the same Google Verified badge as home-service businesses. They earn it through the same Local Services Ads screening, with checks built around their professional licenses.

• Lawyers: identity verification for the owner and fieldworkers, business and owner background checks for select firms, professional liability insurance and a state bar license check for each lawyer. That applies across practice areas from bankruptcy and family law to immigration and personal injury.
• Real estate agents and brokers: a license check for each agent and professional liability insurance. In states where a real estate license already requires a background check, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, Local Services does not run a separate one.
• Financial planners: a license check for each planner in the firm and professional liability insurance.
• Tax specialists and tax lawyers are on Google's eligible list too.

Two practical notes. Pre-badge ads for professional firms need headshots, as well as a license or business registration and reviews. And professional services are not in the first Performance Max migration wave, so you keep managing ads in the Local Services dashboard until Google moves your account.

Old names linger on Google's own pages. The US requirements page still says some real estate agents "received the Google Screened badge" based on their state licensing. The badge people see on profiles today says Google Verified.

Is Google Guaranteed worth it?

For most eligible home-service businesses, yes. The badge is free, it comes with a lead channel that appears at the top of the results page, and you pay only for leads. It stops being worth it when you can't answer the phone, can't clear checks for your crew, or pay more per booked job than the job earns.

Worth it when

• Your trade is eligible in the ZIP codes you serve
• Owners and technicians can pass background checks
• Someone answers calls and messages in your listed hours
• Cost per booked job stays below profit per job

Hold off when

• Calls go unanswered in business hours (missed calls can be charged)
• Your crew changes faster than checks clear
• Your category has no badge yet, such as auto, beauty or dining
• Jobs are too small to cover a lead fee

The money-back guarantee was never what made the badge work for contractors. Homeowners now see the checks instead: background checked, licensed, insured. Those are true statements you can repeat in your own ads and on your site.

Run Local Services Ads next to a Search campaign. The badge wins the "call someone now" searches, and Search ads let you chase the high-value jobs. Our guide to Google Ads for contractors shows how to build the Search side, and our Google Ads for locksmiths page covers one of the trades that faces Advanced Verification. If you would rather have both run for you, see how Logical Gecko manages Google Ads for home-service businesses.