# How to Add Your Business to Apple Maps Source: https://lots.business/blog/how-to-add-your-business-to-apple-maps Published: 2026-10-22T00:30:49.392315+00:00 To add your business to Apple Maps, sign up for Apple Business at business.apple.com, verify your organization with two proofs, then add your location under Brands > Locations with its address, map pin, category, phone and hours. Apple says verification takes up to five business days. It's free to get started, and you don't need an Apple device. Apple Maps is the map on every iPhone, and the same place card shows in Siri, Spotlight and Safari. Apple Business is the new home of what used to be Apple Business Connect: Apple moved its brand and location tools there when Apple Business launched on 14 April 2026, so older guides that send you to Business Connect now land on business.apple.com. Every step below comes from Apple's own Apple Business User Guide and support pages, opened on 21 October 2026. ## Before you start - **Look your business up in Apple Maps first.** If it's already there, you'll claim the existing place instead of creating a new one, and you may be able to verify it with a phone call (step 4). - **Use a real person's name.** Apple asks for the legal name of the person signing up for the organization. Names like "IT Coordinator" are sent back to be corrected. - **Have a work email and phone number ready.** Apple sends a verification code to each. The email can't already be an Apple Account used for the App Store or iCloud, and it can be from a public email provider. - **Gather two proofs that your business is real.** You'll need them in step 2 (the list is there). - **Any recent browser works.** Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox. Apple's FAQ says you can manage your presence on Apple Maps without owning any Apple devices. ## Step 1: Sign up for Apple Business 1. Go to [business.apple.com](https://business.apple.com/) and select **Sign up now**. 2. Enter your organization's name, website (optional, but Apple says it can speed up verification) and address. 3. Leave the agency checkbox unticked. It's only for agencies that manage other organizations' listings (see the agency section below). 4. Enter your name, country or region, a password and your phone number, then the codes Apple sends to your email and phone. 5. Agree to the Apple Business Terms and Conditions. If you already used Apple Business Connect with your personal Apple Account, sign in with it. You can create an Apple Account for Work, or keep your personal account, which gives you the brand and location features only. That's all you need for Maps. ## Step 2: Verify your organization You have **60 days** after signing up. Apple's guide says that if your organization isn't approved in that window, the organization and its data are deleted, so do this right away. In Apple Business, choose **Settings > Organization > Verify Now** and give two verification methods. The options are: - **A business ID,** such as a D-U-N-S Number. - **Domain validation:** a TXT record added to your domain's DNS. - **An official document:** a business license, sales tax permit, food, health or alcohol permit, lease or property agreement, or a utility bill. Apple also lists App Store Connect for organizations with an app. Select **Send for Review**. Apple says verification takes up to five business days, longer at busy times, and that it may contact you, so let mail from apple.com through your filters and pick up the phone. If your website runs on your own domain, domain validation is often the quickest of the two proofs: you add one TXT record where your domain's DNS is managed. ## Step 3: Add your location 1. Choose **Brands > Locations**, select **Add Location**, then **Add single location**. 2. Type your business name. If Apple shows **This location is already managed**, someone else has claimed it; carry on, then request a transfer (see below). 3. Enter the address, then drag the map or enter coordinates so the pin sits on your building. Switch to Hybrid or Satellite view to find the entrance. 4. Fill in the details: - **Default language** for the location. - **Display name** as it should appear in Maps. - **Primary category.** You can add more later, and Apple adds new categories over time. - **Status:** Open, or Opening Soon with an opening date up to six months away. - **Phone number** with the country code. - **Website,** optional. A Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page is allowed, but your own website is better. 5. Set your **hours** for each day. 6. Choose your brand, or create one. A brand holds the name, logo and cover photo shared by your locations. 7. If your organization is already verified, select **Done**. If it isn't, Apple sends you to verify it first. **If someone else manages your location:** find it in Brands > Locations and select **Request Transfer** under Status. Explain why and attach a business license or utility bill. Apple says the review can take up to five business days. ## Step 4: Verify an existing place by phone (if offered) When your business already exists on Maps, Apple may offer a phone check: select **Location Verification**, choose **Phone Verification**, take the call and enter the four-digit code. Apple calls the number it has on record for that place. If you don't recognize the number, contact Apple Business support instead. ## Step 5: Finish your place card After verification, make the place card worth tapping: - **Logo and cover photo.** Together they're the place card header. The cover photo must be at least 1600 × 1040 pixels and a plain photo: no edits, promotional text, watermarks or clip art. The logo is at least 1024 × 1024. - **Photos** of the outside, inside and what you sell, at least 720 × 960 pixels, in HEIF, JPEG or PNG. Apple reviews each photo before it appears, in an album called From the Business. - **An "about" description** of the location: what you're known for, your specialties, your history. - **A clean display name.** Apple's rules: it must match your storefront or website, with no descriptions, slogans or symbols like ® or ™. - **Showcases and actions.** A showcase highlights a deal, new item or event on the place card, and actions let customers book, order or view a menu. ## Step 6: Keep it right Customers can report a wrong status or hours from your place card, and Apple may edit the name, status or hours after review. You get an email when that happens. Sign in, check the change, and select **Looks Good** if it's right, or edit it if it's wrong. A disputed name goes back to Apple for review, which can take up to five business days. Apple Business also shows **insights** for each location: how people found you (by name, by category or another search), place card views, and taps on directions, your website, calls and shares. ## For agencies managing clients on Apple Maps Apple calls agencies **third-party partners.** You register your agency at business.apple.com with the agency checkbox ticked and verify it with two methods, like any organization. Then each client shares access with you from **Settings > Integrations > Partner Access**, using your Partner Organization ID, and chooses which brands and features you may manage, such as locations, photos and hours. The client keeps control and can remove your access from the same page. Apple also lists approved partners that connect through its Partner API. ## What it costs Apple's FAQ says Apple Business is free to get started, with place card customization on Apple Maps included. Ads on Maps are paid and available only in some countries and regions; you don't need them to be listed. ## Where LotsBusiness fits Apple Maps is one of the places a local business should be listed, next to Google Maps, Bing and the directories for its trade. If you or your agency run the business in LotsBusiness, a paid business gets: - **The list of directories that matter** for its trade, Apple Maps included, with how to submit to each. - **A listing pack:** the exact details every directory asks for, built from the business record and worded the same way every time. Name, phone, address or service area, website, categories, descriptions in 80, 160 and 750 characters, hours, services and photos, plus what's still missing. Copy them into Apple Business so your name, address and phone match everywhere. - **Progress tracking** for each directory: not started, in progress, submitted, live (with the listing's URL), and so on. You submit to Apple yourself: LotsBusiness doesn't submit listings or sign in to Apple for you. And when your hours change, LotsBusiness updates your website and its free LotsBusiness listing straight away, but you change Apple Maps in Apple Business. Online-only businesses aren't eligible for map listings, so LotsBusiness leaves the maps out of their list. The same approach covers Google: LotsBusiness walks you through creating and verifying the Google Business Profile with Google's own steps. See [how to get a business on Google Maps](https://lots.business/blog/how-to-get-a-business-on-google-maps), and [how to get your business found in AI answers](https://lots.business/blog/get-found-in-ai-answers) for the wider picture. Plans start at $10 a month billed yearly per business ([pricing](https://lots.business/pricing)). ### Or ask your AI assistant LotsBusiness works with the AI agent you already use. If you've connected ChatGPT or Claude to it ([setup](https://lots.business/mcp)), ask: > Give me the listing pack for my bakery and tell me what's missing before I add it to Apple Maps. When I've submitted it, mark Apple Maps as submitted. It reads the details from your business record and never invents a missing one; you still do the Apple part yourself. ## Common questions ### Is it free to add a business to Apple Maps? Yes. Apple's FAQ says Apple Business is free to get started and includes place card customization on Apple Maps. Ads on Maps cost money, but you don't need them to appear on the map. ### How long does Apple Maps verification take? Apple says organization verification can take up to five business days, and longer when volumes are high. A request to take over a location someone else manages also takes up to five business days. If your place already exists on Maps, Apple may offer a phone call with a four-digit code instead. ### Is Apple Business Connect the same as Apple Business? Apple Business replaced it. Apple moved the brand and location tools from Apple Business Connect into Apple Business, which launched on 14 April 2026 at business.apple.com, and existing Business Connect users can sign in there with the same Apple Account. ### Do I need an iPhone or a Mac to add my business? No. Apple's FAQ says you can manage your presence on Apple Maps without Apple devices. Apple Business runs in Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox. ### What documents does Apple accept to verify a business? You need two verification methods. Apple accepts a business ID such as a D-U-N-S Number, a TXT record on your domain, or an official document: a business license, sales tax permit, food, health or alcohol permit, lease or property agreement, or a utility bill. ### Can my agency add my business to Apple Maps for me? Yes, as a third-party partner. The agency registers and verifies with Apple, and you share access from Settings > Integrations > Partner Access, choosing what it can manage. You keep control and can remove its access.