If you travel to your customers, you can have a Google Business Profile without showing your home address, as long as the profile follows Google's rules for businesses that serve customers where they are.

This guide is for owners of UK service businesses that visit customers or work from home. It helps you check whether your business and location fit Google's rules, set your service areas, keep your name, phone number and hours within the guidelines, and make sure enquiries from the profile reach someone. It includes a blank profile check and a hypothetical worked example.

These are Google's platform rules, not law. They are current at the time of checking (30 October 2026), and Google can change them, so read the linked pages before you change anything. This guide is about following the rules. It doesn't promise where your profile will appear in Google's results, and it isn't a decision about any particular business.

1. Are you a service-area business or a hybrid business?

Google's overview for service businesses describes two types:

Service-area business: visits or delivers to customers directly, but doesn't serve customers at its business address. Google's examples are a plumber or a pet walker.
Hybrid business: serves customers at its business address and also visits or delivers to customers.

If customers never come to you, you're a service-area business. If they sometimes come to your premises and you also go out to them, you're a hybrid business.

2. Check your location is eligible

Google's guidelines for representing your business say you can create a profile if your business "either has a physical location that customers can visit, or travels to customers where they are". The address rules are more detailed. Read these sentences together, because each one qualifies the others:

A rented address you don't work from isn't eligible. "If your business rents a physical postal address but doesn't operate out of that location, also known as a virtual office, that location isn't eligible for a Business Profile."
A "virtual" office for a service-area business. "Service-area businesses can't list a 'virtual' office unless that office is staffed during opening hours."
Co-working spaces. "Businesses can't list an office at a co-working space unless that office maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during opening hours, and is staffed during opening hours by your business staff."
PO boxes. Google says PO boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations aren't acceptable.

Staffing on its own doesn't make an address eligible. If you rent a postal address that your business doesn't actually operate from, it isn't eligible, whether or not someone is there. A co-working office needs all three conditions: clear signage, customers received there during opening hours, and your own staff there during opening hours.

If you're a hybrid business with a service area, Google says "your business location should be staffed by your team and able to receive customers during its stated hours."

3. Hide your address and set your service areas

If you're a service-area business, Google says "you should hide your business address from customers." If you do show an address, Google says businesses showing their address "should maintain permanent fixed signage of their business name at the address."

Google's page on managing service areas sets out how service areas work:

"You can set up to 20 service areas based on the cities, postcodes or other areas that you serve."
"You can't set your service area as a radius distance around your business."
Your overall area "shouldn't be more than about two hours of driving time from where your business is based." This is guidance: Google's representation guidelines add that "for some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate."

Google also notes that approved service-area edits may take up to 48 hours to show.

Choose the towns, postcode districts or areas you genuinely serve, rather than listing as many as possible.

4. Keep your name, phone and hours within the rules

The same representation guidelines cover the details customers see:

Name. "Your name should reflect your business' real-world name, as used consistently on your shopfront, website, stationery and as known to customers." Google says including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted and could result in the profile being suspended. Use your trading name as customers know it, without added keywords or taglines.
Phone. "The phone number must be under the direct control of the business." Google also says to use a local number instead of a central call centre helpline number whenever possible.
Hours. Google says some types of business shouldn't provide hours, including those that operate only by appointment. If you have regular hours when customers can reach you, list those.

5. One profile, and the listed exceptions

Google's guidelines say "there should only be one profile per business", and then list exceptions and additional guidelines. These cover chains and brands, departments, individual practitioners and certain co-located businesses. If you think one might apply to you, read that section of the guidelines rather than assuming either way.

6. Decide where enquiries from the profile go

A profile is another way for customers to contact you, so decide who owns those enquiries and record them with the others. Our guide to managing customer enquiries covers giving each enquiry an owner and a next step.

Check which contact options your profile actually offers:

Calls go to the phone number on the profile, so make sure someone answers it or returns calls.
Your website link should go to the most relevant page, such as your services or contact page.
Messages, only if they're available and switched on. Google says WhatsApp and text messaging options are currently available for select regions and might not be available for your profile. The older Business Profile chat and call history features were retired on 31 July 2024. Don't assume your profile has a built-in inbox.

7. Your profile, your website and Search Console are separate

Your Business Profile is separate from your website. Decisions about which pages your site needs, including whether to have pages for the areas you cover, are covered in our guide on what pages a small service business website should have.

It's also separate from Google Search Console, which reports on how Google indexes your website. Our guide on checking whether Google has indexed your key pages covers that.

8. Keep it accurate

Recheck your profile whenever something changes: your address, phone number, hours, trading name or the areas you cover. Reread Google's linked rules at the same time, because they can change.

9. Use the profile check

Copy the blank check into a document.
Answer each question, reading the linked rule in sections 2 to 5 where it applies.
Answer question 2 before question 4. A staffed office doesn't help if your business doesn't operate from it.
Record the date you checked and the date you reread Google's rules.

Profile check (blank)
Check	Your answer
1. Service-area, hybrid or customers visit you only?
2. Is the address a place your business actually operates from?
3. Is it a PO box or a mailbox at a remote location?
4. If listing an office: do you operate from it, and is it staffed during opening hours?
5. If co-working: signage, customers received and your own staff, all during opening hours?
6. If showing an address: permanent fixed signage with your business name?
7. If service-area: is your address hidden?
8. Service areas: named places, no radius, up to 20, roughly within two hours' drive?
9. Does the name match your real-world name?
10. Is the phone under your direct control, and local where possible?
11. Hours: regular hours, or none if by appointment only?
12. One profile, or a listed exception?
13. Website link page, and who owns profile enquiries?
14. Date checked, and date rules reread

Hypothetical example

Hypothetical example only: an invented sole-trader electrician. It is not a real business, a ScalePass client or advice about any real profile.

The electrician works from home and visits customers. They also rent a postal address in a nearby town to receive post.

Check	Hypothetical answer
1. Type	Service-area business: visits customers, doesn't serve them at home
2. Operates from the address?	Home: yes. Rented postal address: no, so not eligible
3. PO box or remote mailbox?	No
4. Office staffed?	Not applicable: the rented address won't be listed
5. Co-working?	Not applicable
6. Signage at a shown address?	Not applicable: address hidden
7. Address hidden?	Yes, home address hidden
8. Service areas	Six named towns and postcode districts, about an hour's drive; no radius
9. Name	Trading name as on the van and invoices, no added keywords
10. Phone	Business mobile under their control
11. Hours	None listed: by appointment only
12. Profiles	One; no exception applies
13. Link and enquiries	Services page. Calls to the electrician; partner as backup. No messaging enabled
14. Dates	Checked 6 April; rules reread 6 April (hypothetical dates)

In this invented example, renting a postal address doesn't change anything, because the business doesn't operate from it. Having someone there wouldn't change that either. This shows how to apply the check; it isn't a decision about any real business.

Common questions

Can I hide my home address?

Yes, if you're a service-area business. Google says service-area businesses should hide their business address from customers.

Can I use a virtual office or a co-working desk?

A rented postal address you don't operate from isn't eligible. A service-area business can't list a "virtual" office unless it's staffed during opening hours, but staffing doesn't fix an address you don't operate from. A co-working office needs clear signage, customers received there and your own staff there, all during opening hours. Read Google's guidelines in full before deciding.

How many service areas can I list?

Up to 20, as named places such as towns or postcodes, not a radius. Google's guidance is that the overall area shouldn't be more than about two hours' drive from your base, though it says larger areas may be appropriate for some businesses.

Should I list opening hours if I work by appointment?

Google says businesses that operate only by appointment are among those that shouldn't provide hours.

Can I have more than one profile?

Google's starting point is one profile per business, with listed exceptions such as departments, individual practitioners and certain co-located businesses. Check whether an exception applies before creating another.

ScalePass helps service businesses build websites that explain what they do and make the next step easy. If you'd like help making sure the website your profile links to does its job, see how we approach websites.

In short

Work out whether you're a service-area or hybrid business. Only use an address your business actually operates from: a rented postal address doesn't count, staffing alone doesn't change that, and co-working offices need all three conditions. Hide your address if you're a service-area business, and set up to 20 named service areas, not a radius. Keep your name, phone and hours to Google's rules. Decide who owns enquiries from the profile, using only the contact options it really offers. Reread Google's rules whenever you make changes.