Your Business Profile ID is in your profile’s Advanced settings: sign in with an account that manages the profile, open it on Google, select the three dots menu, then Business Profile settings, then Advanced settings, and copy the ID shown there. If a tool asks for a “place ID” instead (a string that usually starts with ChIJ), that is a different identifier from Google Maps, and you find it with Google’s free Place ID finder rather than in your profile.
Most of the confusion comes from those two IDs, plus a third one the API uses. Google support wants one, review and map tools want another, and software built on the Business Profile APIs wants a third. Here’s how to find each one and which job each is for. Everything below was checked against Google’s help pages and developer docs in November 2026.
How to find the Business Profile ID
Google’s advanced settings help page describes the ID as “the unique identifier for your listing on Google” and says you can share it with Google support by phone, chat or email. To get it:
- Sign in to the Google Account that owns or manages the profile. Google says you must be signed in to that account to see your profile’s controls.
- Open your profile. Search Google for your business name and city, or go to business.google.com and pick the profile.
- Select the three dots menu (labelled More on some screens).
- Select Business Profile settings.
- Select Advanced settings. Your Business Profile ID is listed on that page.
The same Advanced settings page also holds your store code, labels, the Google Ads phone number and the setting for automated calls from Google, so it’s worth knowing where it is anyway.
Copy and paste the ID rather than retyping it. One wrong character sends a support agent to someone else’s listing.
Why you can’t see the menu
If there’s no three dots menu or no Business Profile settings option, you’re almost always signed in to the wrong account. People who run their own business often have a personal Gmail and a work account, and only one of them is attached to the profile. Switch accounts in the top right corner and search again.
If you’re an agency or a new employee, you need to be added to the profile first. Our guide to adding a user to a Google Business Profile covers the owner and manager roles and how to request access when the current owner doesn’t answer.
If your profile doesn’t come up at all when you search for it, the ID is the least of your problems. Start with why a Google Business Profile isn’t showing up, because an unverified or suspended profile behaves differently.
Business Profile ID vs place ID vs location ID
Three different identifiers get called “the business ID.” They aren’t interchangeable, and Google doesn’t document a way to convert one into another, so get the one the tool or person actually asked for.
The place ID comes from Google Maps, not from your profile. Google’s place ID docs say place IDs “uniquely identify a place in the Google Places database and on Google Maps,” and give ChIJgUbEo8cfqokR5lP9_Wh_DaM as an example. Because it’s public, you can look up the place ID for any business, including a competitor’s, which you can’t do with the Business Profile ID.
The location name is what the Business Information API returns, in the form locations/{locationId}. The same API response also carries the place ID in a placeId field “if this location appears on Google Maps.” If you’re building on the API, our Business Profile API guide shows how those location names are joined with account IDs for the reviews endpoint.
Which ID each task needs
| Task | ID to use | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Contacting Google Business Profile support | Business Profile ID | Advanced settings |
| Bulk appeal for 10 or more suspended profiles | Business Profile ID for each location | Advanced settings, one per profile |
| Review link or QR code for customers | None needed | Read Reviews, then Get more reviews |
| Map embeds, Maps links, rank tracking and review widgets | Place ID | Place ID finder or Places API |
| Scripts on the Business Profile APIs | Location name (locations/...) |
The API’s own location list |
Two rows deserve a note.
Suspended profiles. Google’s appeals page asks for “a spreadsheet that contains the Business Profile ID for each suspended location” when you request bulk reinstatement for 10 or more locations. Google’s page doesn’t explain where to find the IDs, so the safest habit is to note each profile’s ID from its Advanced settings while the profile is healthy, and keep the list with your owner and manager records. Our suspended profile guide covers the rest of the appeal.
Review links. Plenty of guides tell you to build a review link from your place ID. You don’t need to. Google’s review link help page says to open your profile, select Read Reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link. Google notes the QR code can only be made from a computer browser, not on mobile.
How to find a place ID
The quickest way is the Place ID finder built into Google’s place ID page. Type the business name or address, pick the right suggestion, and the ID appears on the map. It looks up one place at a time, which is fine for your own business or a handful of competitors.
As the made-up example shows, check the category and city on the suggestion before you copy anything. A similarly named business nearby is the most common way to end up tracking the wrong listing.
For more than a few lookups, use the Places API. A Text Search (New) request with the field mask set to places.id returns only the ID:
curl -X POST 'https://places.googleapis.com/v1/places:searchText' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'X-Goog-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
-H 'X-Goog-FieldMask: places.id,places.displayName,places.formattedAddress' \
-d '{"textQuery": "Oak Hollow Landscaping, Raleigh NC"}'The Text Search docs say the request fails without a field mask. You need a Google Cloud project with billing turned on and an API key, but cost is rarely an issue: Google’s pricing table lists Text Search Essentials (IDs Only) with an unlimited free cap. Adding the name and address, as above, makes it easier to check you have the right place. Check the usage and billing page first, though, because you’re billed at the highest SKU your field mask touches, and those two fields may sit in a paid tier. Request places.id alone if you only need the ID.
Place IDs can change. Google says a place can get a new ID, after which the old one returns NOT_FOUND, and it recommends refreshing stored IDs that are more than 12 months old with a Place Details request for the ID field only. Google’s pricing table lists Place Details Essentials (IDs Only) as free and unlimited too, and the docs say place IDs are exempt from the caching limits in the Maps terms, so you can store them.
FAQ
Can I find a competitor's Business Profile ID?
No. The Business Profile ID only shows in Advanced settings, which needs owner or manager access. You can find any business’s place ID with Google’s Place ID finder, and that’s the one rank trackers and map tools use.
Is the Business Profile ID the same as the CID or the place ID?
Not the same as the place ID, which is a text string starting with letters such as ChIJ. Google’s help pages don’t document the CID or say whether it matches the Business Profile ID, so give tools and support exactly the ID they name.
Does my Business Profile ID change if I edit my profile?
Google’s help pages don’t say it changes, and it’s described as the unique identifier for your listing. Place IDs are different: Google says they can change over time and should be refreshed if they are more than 12 months old.
Copy the right ID once and keep it
Find the Business Profile ID in Advanced settings and the place ID in the Place ID finder, then save both in the same place you keep your profile’s login and owner list. Next time support, an appeal or a new tool asks for “your business ID,” check which one it means, paste it, and move on. If you’re still setting up the profile itself, our guide on where to start with local SEO covers what to do first.
