Do you qualify for Local Service Ads?

There is no single list of Local Service Ads requirements that applies to everyone. Google’s own Local Services Ads Help center says the checks depend on your business category and your location, and it updates them without much notice. A Dallas house cleaner and a Dallas electrician will sign up through the same screen and get two different checklists.

So this page does two things. It explains the gates every applicant goes through, in the order Google applies them, and it shows how to find out exactly what your own account will ask for. What the badge means once you have it is covered in the Google Verified badge, explained, so we won’t repeat that here.

The four gates of LSA eligibility

Think of LSA eligibility as four gates. You have to clear each one, in this order, before an ad can run.

1. Your category is offered where you work. Local Service Ads only run for certain business types in certain countries and cities. If your category isn’t offered in your ZIP codes, nothing else matters yet.
2. Your business passes the screening. Google, through its third-party partners, checks the business itself and, in many categories, the people who do the work.
3. Your documents match. Licenses and insurance certificates have to be current and show the same business Google is verifying.
4. Your profile is complete and follows policy. Hours, service area, job types, a budget, and an account that sticks to Google’s Local Services Ads policies.

The badge appears once you clear the screening. Since October 20, 2025, that badge is Google Verified, which replaced Google Guaranteed, Google Screened and License Verified, and it no longer comes with a money-back guarantee (Search Engine Journal reported the change). If you came here searching for the old name, our Google Guaranteed verification service page explains what changed for existing accounts.

Gate 1: Local Service Ads categories

Local Service Ads categories are fixed by Google. You can’t type in your own. The home service list covers the trades you’d expect: plumbers, electricians, HVAC, roofers, garage door companies, locksmiths, pest control, house cleaners, carpet cleaners, landscapers and lawn care, painters, handymen, movers, window cleaners, pool cleaners, appliance repair, tree services, water damage and general contractors, among others. Google has also opened LSA to some professional services, such as lawyers, real estate agents and financial planners, which follow their own set of checks.

Two things trip people up here:

• Availability varies by city. A category can be live in Dallas and not offered in a smaller market nearby, or the reverse. The sign-up flow at the Local Services Ads site asks for your business category and ZIP code first and tells you right away whether it’s available.
• Job types sit inside categories. Within a category you pick the job types you want leads for. If your best work, say whole-home rewiring, isn’t a listed job type, you can still run LSA for the jobs that are listed, but you can’t make Google show you for the missing one. That’s where search ads come in, and we compare the two in Local Service Ads vs Google Ads.

If your business does several trades, say HVAC and plumbing, you’ll usually go through screening for each category, and each one can carry its own license and insurance requirements.

Gate 2: Background checks

Google’s help center describes background checks at two levels for most home service categories.

The business check

Google’s partner checks that the business is real and in good standing. Expect to give your legal business name, the owner’s details and supporting records. This check is where a mismatch between your LLC name, your DBA and what’s on your Google Business Profile tends to surface.

Checks on people

In many categories, Google requires a background check on the owner and on every employee or contractor who goes to customers’ homes or businesses. Each person gets an email invite and fills it in themselves; you can’t submit it for them. Google’s help center lists what these checks can cover, and the details depend on the category and local law. For a crew that works across Collin, Denton and Dallas counties, this step is often the slowest part of the whole process, simply because it relies on several people opening an email.

Gate 3: Licenses and insurance

Licenses

Google checks a license when your trade, in your state or city, legally requires one. It doesn’t invent its own licensing rules. In Texas that typically means state-licensed trades such as electricians and air conditioning contractors (licensed through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation), plumbers (the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners) and pest control (the Texas Department of Agriculture). Texas has no statewide license for roofers or general remodelers, so for those trades Google usually won’t ask for a state license, though some cities have their own registration rules. Always go by what your LSA account asks for, not by what a neighbor’s account asked for.

The license has to be active and tied to the business or to a qualifying person on it. If the license is in the name of a master electrician who left last year, expect a rejection.

Insurance

Most categories require proof of general liability insurance. Google’s help center sets the specifics per category and location, so check the amount your account asks for rather than assuming. The certificate has to be current, name your business as Google knows it and cover the work you’re advertising. Insurance that lapses later can pause your ads, so put the renewal date on your calendar.

Gate 4: Profile, reviews and policy

Once you’re verified, Google still needs a working ad profile: your service area, business hours, job types, a weekly budget and a way to receive leads. You also agree to the Local Services Ads policies, which cover things like honest business information, how you treat customers and not using the platform to mislead people. Breaking them can get an account suspended, verified or not.

Do you need reviews to qualify?

Reviews mostly affect how often you show, not whether you qualify. Google lists review score and number of reviews among the factors that decide ad ranking, alongside proximity, responsiveness, business hours and your bid. You can usually get verified with few reviews, but a thin profile will struggle to win calls against established competitors. If you’re short, start on that now with our guide on how to get more Google reviews.

Requirements at a glance

Source: Google’s Local Services Ads Help center (verification and ad ranking articles). Requirements change, so confirm in your own account.

How long does LSA verification take?

Google doesn’t promise a timeline, and it depends mostly on you. A solo operator with documents ready can be through in days. A business with several techs, a name mismatch or a license problem can take weeks. The fastest route is boring: get every document in the exact same business name before you start, tell your crew the background check emails are coming, and answer any request from Google support the same day.

If you don’t qualify yet

Not qualifying is common, and it’s rarely permanent. If your category isn’t offered where you work, Google Ads and your Business Profile are the next places to put effort; our guide to ranking higher on Google Maps covers the free side. If you failed a document check, fix the record and reapply. If a background check came back with an issue, Google’s help center explains how to request more information about the result.

When you’re ready to go, the official source is the Local Services Ads Help center at support.google.com/localservices. If you’d rather hand it off, our Local Service Ads management team handles the paperwork and chases each open item, or you can contact us and we’ll check your eligibility on a discovery call.