The short route to add a business to Apple Maps
Adding a business to Apple Maps means creating or claiming its place card inside Apple Business. A place card is the panel that opens when someone taps a business on the map. The owner controls that card once Apple has verified the business and the location.
The path has three broad stages:
- Sign in to Apple Business at business.apple.com and set up the business.
- Let Apple verify that the business is genuine.
- Add each location, or claim one that already shows on the map.
Inside the dashboard, a new location starts under Brands, then Locations, then Add single location. A location that already exists can be verified by a phone call to the number Apple holds for it. The owner answers and enters a four-digit code.
Sometimes another account already controls the location. In that case the owner files a transfer request instead. Apple’s review of a location transfer request can take up to five business days.
The detailed walkthrough for claiming an Apple listing sits in the next part of this series. This guide stays with the overall picture.
The core service costs nothing. No paid plan is needed to set up a location or to edit its place card.
Apple has used other names for this job over the years. Apple Maps Connect arrived in October 2014 and let small businesses edit location and hours with an Apple ID. Apple Business Connect followed on January 11, 2023, and Apple Business took over in 2026.
How a business record reaches Apple Maps
Apple Maps assembles each business record from several sources, and the owner’s claimed details are only one of them. Apple combines its own data with base map data from TomTom and OpenStreetMap. Points of interest come from roughly twenty companies, including Yelp, Foursquare, TripAdvisor and Booking.com.
A point of interest is any named place a map can show, such as a shop, a clinic or a hotel. Many owners discover their business is already on the map before they ever sign up. That record arrived from a data provider, not from the owner.
Claiming changes who speaks for the record. The owner gains a direct way to correct details and add new ones. The data providers do not disappear, but the claimed card gives Apple a source tied to the business itself.
Verification as the gate
Verification is the step where Apple confirms that the person asking really represents the business. Apple checks the business before it can claim any location. Only after that check does editing a place card become possible.
The phone-call method described earlier is one confirmed way to verify a single location. Apple’s full set of organization checks is outside what this guide can confirm. The dedicated part on verification covers that ground.
Where claimed details show up
Once a location is claimed, the owner edits its place card in Apple Business. Under Apple Business, place cards appear across Maps, Safari and Spotlight. Safari is Apple’s web browser, and Spotlight is its built-in device search.
That spread matters because a customer may never open the Maps app at all. A search in the browser or on the home screen can surface the same card. One set of edits feeds all three surfaces.
Partners for brands with many sites
Brands with many sites do not have to type in each location by hand. At the 2023 launch, Apple named listing partners that push data to Maps at scale. Those partners were Reputation, Rio SEO, SOCi, Uberall and Yext.
They connect through the Business Connect API. An API is a link that lets one software system send data straight to another. A chain can keep its own records and let the partner relay changes.
Ratings follow their own track
Customer ratings on Apple Maps run on a separate system from owner edits. In August 2021 Apple added its own US ratings and photos system. It replaced third-party ratings for that purpose.
Listing types and the owner’s path for each
The right route onto Apple Maps depends on what kind of business it is and whether a record already exists. A shop with a street address, a mobile service and a regional chain each take a slightly different path. The table sets the common cases side by side.
| Situation | What the owner does | Point to know |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront with a street address | Adds a single location or claims the existing one | Phone-call verification is one option |
| Service or online business with no storefront | Registers without a physical location | Allowed since October 16, 2024 |
| Location already controlled by another account | Files a transfer request | Review can take up to five business days |
| Many locations under one brand | Works through a listing partner | Partners use the Business Connect API |
| Place added by a data provider | Claims the record to take control | The record may predate any sign-up |
The storefront case is the familiar one. The owner either finds the existing place or starts a fresh location. Either way, the place card becomes editable after verification.
The second row changed in 2024. Before October of that year, a business needed a physical location to register. Virtual, online and service businesses can now register as well.
Transfers are slower because Apple has to review a competing claim. A former manager, an old agency or a previous owner may hold the location. Patience during that review is part of the process.
What an Apple Maps presence means for a local business
A claimed Apple Maps location gives a local business control over how it appears to Apple users. At the 2023 launch, Apple said Business Connect reached more than a billion users. That reach spanned Maps, Messages, Wallet, Siri and other apps.
The place card is where that control shows. It can include photos, logos, action buttons such as order or reserve, and special promotions. The part of this series on the place card covers each element in turn.
Seeing what customers do
Owners also get numbers back. Insights give data on searches, views and taps on actions in Maps. A tap on an action means a customer pressed a button such as call or reserve.
Those figures help an owner judge whether the card is doing its job. A card with many views and few taps may need clearer hours or better photos. None of this requires any paid feature.
Tools beyond the place card
The account does more than hold a map listing. Everything from Showcases to Insights lives inside the Apple Business platform, which has its own guide on this hub. Branded Mail and Business Caller ID are among the newer additions there.
A claimed location also opens the door to paid placement. Maps ads launch in summer 2026 in the US and Canada, on iPhone and iPad. Advertisers must verify the business and claim locations in Apple Business first.
Feature availability varies by country and region. A tool that works for a US location may not appear for a branch elsewhere. Owners with sites abroad should check each market separately.
Why an unclaimed card is a risk
An unclaimed record still shows to customers. Its details come from whichever data provider supplied them. If that provider has old hours or a former phone number, customers see the mistake.
Claiming does not make other sources vanish. It does give Apple a verified, owner-backed version to work from. For most owners, that alone justifies the setup time.
Common misconceptions about Apple Maps listings
Several beliefs about Apple Maps listings are out of date or were never true. Most come from Apple’s history of renamed tools and from comparisons with Google. Each one below is checked against Apple’s own announcements.
“Apple Maps just copies Google’s data”
This is wrong. Apple uses its own sources plus TomTom, OpenStreetMap and about twenty point-of-interest providers. A correct Google Business Profile does not automatically fix an Apple Maps record.
“Only storefronts can be listed”
This stopped being true on October 16, 2024. From that date, businesses without a physical location could register. Mobile trades and online sellers now have a route onto the platform.
“Getting on Apple Maps costs money”
The core service is free. Claiming a location, editing a place card and reading Insights carry no fee. Paid options exist only on the advertising side.
“Buying ads can replace claiming”
It cannot. Apple requires advertisers to set up an organization, verify the business and claim locations in Apple Business first. Ads build on a claimed listing rather than replacing one.
“Apple Business Connect is where to sign up”
That name is retired. Apple Business Connect no longer exists as a separate product since April 14, 2026. Its data moved across to Apple Business automatically, so existing users did not need to start again.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to put a business on Apple Maps?
Nothing, for the core service. Apple Business is free, including claiming locations and editing place cards. Costs arise only if a business later chooses to run Maps ads.
Why doesn’t my business appear on Apple Maps?
Apple Maps relies on its own data and on outside providers, so a business those sources missed may not show. The fix is to add the location in Apple Business and complete verification. Feature availability also varies by country and region.
How long does it take to add a business to Apple Maps?
Apple does not publish one overall timeline in the sources behind this guide. Verifying an existing location by phone happens during the call itself, with a four-digit code. A location transfer request review can take up to five business days.
How to make a business show up on Apple Maps?
Set up the business in Apple Business, let Apple verify it, then add or claim each location. Service and online businesses without a storefront can register too. Keep the place card details accurate once it is live.
Where to read more about Apple Maps
This guide covered the route onto Apple Maps and why claiming a location matters. The Apple Maps hub goes further, with guides on how Apple Business took over from Business Connect and on Maps advertising. It also gathers the four parts of this series, from claiming to place cards.
Start with Apple Maps explained for the full set.