You want to add your business to Apple Maps or correct an existing listing? Then Apple Business is the right place, the portal that was called Apple Business Connect until April 2026. It is free and runs in the browser, you do not need an iPhone.
This guide shows you step by step how to sign up, verify your organization and location and which details you should maintain. You also learn what to do when Apple changes your listing after a user report, and why Apple and Google must say exactly the same.
- You add your business to Apple Maps via Apple Business, formerly Apple Business Connect.
- It is free and runs in the browser.
- First you verify the organization with two different methods, which Apple usually reviews within up to five business days.
- You also verify an existing location by call.
- If Apple changes your listing after a user report, you get an email and can object.
Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business
Many guides online still send you to Apple Maps Connect or talk about an Apple ID. That is outdated. Since 14 April 2026 the portal is called Apple Business and is available at business.apple.com. Apple merged Business Connect with two tools for company devices there. For your Apple Maps listing little changes: if you already managed locations, you will find them there.
Apple Business is free. According to Apple, brand and location management and branded mail with your logo are also available in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Ads in Apple Maps, however, are only available in the US and Canada according to Apple's list.
To sign up you need an Apple Account. With a separate business account, which you can create right during registration, you get all features. A personal account only covers brand and locations. You do not need an iPhone or Mac, the portal runs in the browser.
Why your Apple Maps listing matters
iPhone users ask Siri for the nearest restaurant, type an address into the Maps app or search in Spotlight. The answer comes from Apple Maps, not from Google. If it shows an old number or wrong opening hours, you hardly notice, but your customers do.
Many businesses are already in Apple Maps even without their own listing. And users can report errors that Apple then applies. If you do not claim the listing yourself, you have no say in what it shows.
Guide: add your business to Apple Maps
The process has two stages. First you sign up at business.apple.com with Sign up now, enter your business details and confirm email and phone. Then you verify the organization and after that each location. Pick where you are right now:
Before you can manage locations, Apple checks your business as a whole.
- In Apple Business go to Settings, Organization and click Verify now.
- Choose two different verification methods. Options are a D-U-N-S number, a DNS record for your domain, App Store Connect or official documents such as a business license, tax certificate, lease or utility bill. Two documents count as only one method.
- Click Submit for review.
According to Apple you have 60 days for this, and the review takes up to five business days. It can take longer when volume is high. If the organization is not verified, Apple deletes it including its data.
If your business does not exist in Apple Maps yet, create it.
- Go to Business, Locations and click Add.
- Choose Add a new location with this name, enter the address and place the pin on the entrance.
- Required are display name, default language, primary category, status and phone number. As status choose Open or Opening soon, at most six months ahead.
- Finish with Done. Once your organization is verified, a new location needs no further verification.
If your business is already in Apple Maps, for example because Apple has the data from other sources, claim that listing. Do not create a second one.
- In Locations click Add and search for your business.
- Pick the matching result and then Location verification.
- Apple calls the number stored in Apple Maps and gives you a four-digit code. Enter it in the portal.
If Apple Maps still shows an old phone number, the call goes there. According to Apple, you then contact Apple Business support. If someone else manages the location, request a transfer.
If someone else manages your location, for example a former agency or the previous owner, take it back with a transfer.
- Search for the location and choose Request transfer under status.
- Attach evidence, such as your business license or a utility bill for the address.
- According to Apple the review takes up to five business days.
Allow up to two weeks for the whole process, longer when volume is high. That is our estimate based on the time frames Apple states. With a call, verifying an existing location is often much faster.
What to maintain in your listing
In Locations you edit everything that appears in Apple Maps. The most important details:
- Name, category and status: the name exactly as on your door. Besides the primary category, up to 19 more are possible.
- Opening hours: regular hours, special hours for individual services and temporary hours with a start and end date, for example for holidays. According to Apple, temporary hours cannot record a closure.
- Phone and website: instead of a website you can also give Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, but your own site is better.
- Logo, cover photo and photos: the logo needs at least 1024 x 1024 pixels, the cover photo 1600 x 1040, photos 720 x 960. Apple reviews every image before it appears.
- Actions: buttons such as reserve, order or book an appointment that lead straight to your offer.
- Showcase: a promotion or news item with an image, visible for up to 365 days. Apple reviews it within up to three days.
- Useful info: for example payment methods or accessibility.
| Industry | Watch out for |
|---|---|
| Hotels | Point the booking action to your own booking page, not a portal. Maintain changed seasonal times as temporary hours with a start and end date. |
| Restaurants | Reserve or order as an action, rest day and kitchen hours exactly as on your website. A showcase works well for lunch menus or events. |
| Practices | Appointment booking as an action. Enter changed times around holidays in good time as temporary hours. |
| Trades | Phone number and website are key, because Siri also uses the data from Apple Maps. Choose the category as precisely as possible. |
| Retail | Each branch as its own location, changed holiday times via temporary hours. For many locations there are location reports. |
After approval you can see under Insights, at the earliest after one hour, how often your listing was found and what users did: directions, calls, website, photos or actions. Apple shows very small values as 0.
Change your Apple Maps listing: address, name, hours
If you have access, you can change your listing yourself at any time: in Business and Locations pick the location, edit the field and click Save.
- Moving: enter the new address and place the pin on the new entrance. Do not create a second location, otherwise you create a duplicate.
- Name: exactly as on your door, without additions such as location or slogan. Apple reviews name changes, which takes up to five business days.
- Hours and phone: change them right away and make the same change in your Google profile and on your website straight after.
Correct wrong data in Apple Maps
Even a well-maintained listing can change without you doing anything. Users can report, for example, that a place is closed. Apple reviews such reports and adjusts the listing. If Apple changes name, status or opening hours, administrators get an email:
If the change is right, click Confirm. If it is wrong, go to View details and Edit and enter the correct value. You send a changed name back via Submit for review, which takes up to five business days.
If you have no access to the portal, you can also report an error directly in the Maps app via the place card. Claiming the location is faster and more reliable. How to remove a location or mark it as permanently closed is covered in the guide remove old and duplicate listings.
Apple Business or Google Business Profile?
It is not an either-or: you need both. Google reaches most searchers, Apple everyone searching with an iPhone, Mac or Siri. What matters is that both listings say exactly the same.
| Apple Business | Google Business Profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Verification | First the organization with two different methods, existing locations also by call | Per profile, for example by video, call or text |
| Categories | 1 primary and up to 19 more | 1 primary and up to 9 more |
| Visible in | Apple Maps, Siri, Safari, Spotlight, Messages | Google Search, Google Maps |
| Extras | Showcases, actions, branded mail with logo | Posts, products, questions and answers |
| Changes by others | Email to you and an Update available notice | Google updates in the profile, some with 4 days notice |
How to edit your Google profile is shown in the guide Edit your Google Business Profile.
Add an agency or staff
Under Settings, Integrations and Partner access you give an agency access to your locations. You enter their organization ID or connect via the partner's website. Both sides must be verified by Apple. Give staff a role, for example marketing administrator. That way you never share login details, and when someone leaves the company you simply remove the role.
Keep an eye on all listings
Apple Maps is only one of many places where your data appears. For Siri, Google, portals and AI answers to say the same, every source must be right. faktado.ai checks all these listings and the answers of ChatGPT and Google against your website and shows you where an old number or wrong opening hours remain. The free check shows you within about 15 minutes where you stand.
- Apple Newsroom: Introducing Apple Business
- Apple: Business Connect is now Apple Business
- Apple: Sign up and verify your organization
- Apple: Add and verify a location
- Apple: Location attributes
- Apple: Photos
- Apple: Showcases
- Apple: Review updates from Apple
- Apple: Insights
- Apple: Branded Mail
- Apple: Partner access
- Apple: Remove a location
- Apple: Availability by country
- Apple Newsroom: Business Connect 2023
- Google: Categories
- Google: Verify your profile
- Google: Review Google updates
maxonline, the SEO and GEO agency behind faktado.ai, takes care of it for you.
FAQ
What does an Apple Maps listing cost?
Nothing. Apple Business is free. Costs only arise for ads in Apple Maps, which at launch are only available in selected countries outside Europe.
What happened to Apple Business Connect?
Since 14 April 2026 it is called Apple Business. Apple merged Business Connect with Business Manager and Business Essentials. Existing locations, photos and place cards were transferred automatically.
Do I need an iPhone to add my business?
No. The portal runs in the browser at business.apple.com. You only need an Apple Account, ideally a separate business one that you can create during registration.
How long does verification take?
Apple usually reviews the organization within up to five business days, as well as a transfer. You verify an existing location by call with a four-digit code, which is immediate.
The verification call goes to an old number. What now?
According to Apple, contact Apple Business support. If someone else manages the location, request a transfer with evidence. After that, enter the correct number.
Who can change my Apple Maps listing?
Only authorized users of your organization in Apple Business can change it directly. Users can report errors though, and Apple adjusts the listing after a review. You then get an email and can confirm or correct the change.
Do I need both Apple Business and a Google Business Profile?
Yes. Both reach different customers, and both listings should have exactly the same details. Differences confuse customers and AI assistants that read both sources.
Harald FischlManaging Director, maxonlineHarald is Managing Director of maxonline, an SEO and GEO agency from Lower Austria focused on hospitality. He works every day on how businesses are presented correctly in search engines and AI answers. More about Harald