Check before you add
Search for your business in Apple Maps first. If it’s there, even with old details, claim it instead of creating a second one. Search by street address as well as by name, since a place created from old data may carry a former name or spelling. Two pins for one shop confuse customers and give Apple conflicting details to sort out. The claim path lets Apple verify you by a phone call to the listed number; the new-location path relies on your organization being verified.
What Apple needs from you
The form is short, but Apple reviews what you enter against its own rules, and sloppy entries are the usual reason a new place stalls.
- Name. Your storefront name only. Apple allows periods, commas, hyphens, apostrophes and parentheses, but not semicolons or brackets.
- Address and pin. Use the address on your website and the one customers use to find you. The pin goes on the roof of your building, not the curb.
- Phone. Required for a new location, written with the country code. No extensions.
- Website. Your own site, or a Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page. A page on a booking or directory site doesn’t count.
- Status. Open, or Opening Soon with a date no more than six months out. If the opening slips, update the date or status rather than leaving a wrong date on the card.
- Hours. For appointment-only places, Apple asks you to list the times appointments can be booked.
Each location also belongs to a brand. A brand needs a country or region, a primary category and a website that starts with https://. For one shop, the brand and the location will look nearly identical, which is fine.
Verification and timing
If this is your first location, Apple won’t publish it until your organization is verified. The verification guide covers the two methods Apple asks for and the 60-day deadline.
Once the brand is approved, Apple says details can take up to five business days to show across its services. Apple doesn’t give a separate time for a single new pin to appear on the map.
If it doesn't work
- You can't pick Opening Soon with your launch date: Apple caps that date at six months away. Add the location closer to opening.
- The phone field won't accept an extension: Apple doesn't support extensions on place cards. Use a direct line.
- Your website is a listing on a directory site: Apple doesn't allow third-party websites. Use your own site or your Facebook, Instagram or TikTok page.
- Nothing shows days after approval: Apple says approved brand details can take up to five business days to appear across its services.
Questions owners ask
Can I add a home-based or service-area business?
Our recommendation: add it only if customers visit you at an address you're willing to show, such as a home studio that receives clients. Apple defines a location as a physical place where you do business with customers, and its guide has no service-area option. If customers never come to you, skip Apple Maps and put that time into Google, which does.
Where exactly should the pin go?
On top of your building, centered over your location. Apple's attribute guide says the pin can't sit on the sidewalk, the road or the nearest intersection, and it shouldn't mark a doorway or parking lot entrance.
How many categories can I choose?
One primary category, as specific as possible, plus up to 19 optional ones. Apple uses the primary category to pick your map icon. If nothing fits, Apple says to contact Apple Business support.
What name should I type?
The name on your storefront, signage or website, and nothing else. Apple doesn't allow descriptions, keywords, or symbols like the registered trademark sign, and you can't add a city to tell branches apart unless it's part of the brand name.
Sources
- Add a single location (support.apple.com)
- Configure location attributes (support.apple.com)
- Brand identity attributes (support.apple.com)
- Apple Business glossary (support.apple.com)
Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.