Google Guaranteed for HVAC companies: what changed and how to get the Google Verified badge

The short answer: Google Guaranteed is now Google Verified

If you're searching for how to get Google Guaranteed, here's the news first. Google has retired it. Google's help pages say it launched a single Google Verified badge for all Local Services advertisers, and that the Google Guarantee badge and its money back guarantee were discontinued. Google's Local Services page gives the date as October 20, 2025. Another copy of the same Google page says November 7, 2025.

Google says Google Verified replaces the older badges and programs: Google Guaranteed, Google Screened, License Verified by Google and the Money Back Guarantee. If you already had a badge, Google says you got the new one automatically and your ads kept running. New advertisers get it by passing Local Services screening and verification.

You'll still see "Google Guaranteed" in old blog posts, agency pitches and even some older Google pages. When someone sells you on the guarantee, ask what they mean. The badge homeowners see today is Google Verified.

What the old guarantee covered

It helps to know what went away, because homeowners may still ask. Under the old Google Guarantee, if a customer who found you through Local Services Ads wasn't happy with the quality of the work, Google could, at its sole discretion, pay them back up to the amount paid for the first service. In the US there was a lifetime limit of $2,000 per customer.

Google's page listed what it didn't cover:

• Add-on or future projects
• Damage to property
• Unhappiness with the price or with how fast the provider responded
• Cancellations

When it ended, Google said eligible customers could still ask for money back on services booked through Local Services Ads before December 7, 2025, as long as they asked within 30 days of the job being finished. That window has now closed.

Google Screened vs Google Guaranteed

Before the change there were two main badges, and people mixed them up all the time.

So for an HVAC company, the question "Screened or Guaranteed?" no longer applies. There's one badge.

What Google checks for HVAC companies

Google says screening depends on your business category and where you are. For HVAC in the US, Google's requirements table lists these checks:

• Background checks. A business check, an owner check and a service professional check. Google says all owners must pass a criminal background check, and so must every worker who does the core work for customers, including employees and contractors. Google says the background check doesn't pull your credit.
• Insurance. General liability and professional liability. You upload your certificate of insurance. Google says the minimum amount depends on the category and location, and the name on the policy must match the name you signed up with. If it doesn't, you need a DBA (doing business as) document.
• Licenses. Google says it checks the state licenses your business and its owners or managers need, against state databases, to the extent possible.

Google also says some businesses can apply for background check equivalency. If Google approves your own background check process, your techs can answer leads without a separate check by Google's providers.

How to get the Google Verified badge

1. Sign up for Local Services Ads and pick HVAC as your category, with the services and areas you actually want.
2. Get your papers ready. Certificate of insurance with a policy number, in the same business name you sign up with. Your state HVAC license numbers for the business and owners.
3. Finish the background checks for owners and the techs who go into homes, or apply for equivalency if you already run your own.
4. Keep it current. Update insurance and licenses before they expire, and add new techs as you hire them.

Google says a listing that hasn't finished every onboarding step is placed below providers who have. So a half-done profile costs you spots at the top.

Where screening usually gets stuck

Most delays come from paperwork that doesn't line up with what Google asked for. Based on Google's own rules, check these before you upload anything:

• Names that don't match. Google says the name on your insurance must match the name you signed up with. If your policy is under your LLC and your listing uses a trade name, have the DBA document ready.
• Documents that can be edited. Google asks for a real, non-editable certificate of insurance with a policy number on it. A screenshot or a typed list won't do.
• Missing people. Every owner needs a background check, not just the one filling out the form. So does each tech who goes into homes.
• New hires. A tech who joins after you're verified still needs to be checked before they work your Local Services leads.

If you run more than one location or brand, give each its own clean set of papers. It's easier to keep track of what expires when.

Google's exact requirements change by category, state and over time. The table in your Local Services or Google Ads account is the final word for your business.

What's changing in 2026

Google is moving Local Services Ads into Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals inside Google Ads. Google says the first phase began in August 2026 for select US home service providers, including HVAC.

For the badge, Google says:

• If you already passed verification, your verified status and badge move to Google Ads automatically.
• Insurance and license reverification are no longer required for campaigns that move over. If more checks are needed, you'll see a notice in your Google Ads account.
• Eligible businesses show the badge after passing business registration and representative checks.
• You may be asked to repeat checks. Not finishing them may lead to losing the badge, paused ads or a suspended account.

Google also updated its Local Services policies in 2026. It renamed them "Local Services Ads requirements", with the new version taking effect July 31, 2026, and said the change lines the rules up with the new badge.

Does the badge matter without the guarantee?

It still tells a homeowner that Google checked you before showing you at the top of the page. But it's not the only thing they see. Google lists your rating, review count, response time and finished verification as part of your profile quality for Local Services rankings.

So the badge gets you in. Fast answers and good reviews decide how often the phone rings. Review requests after every job and missed-call text-back help with both. For how leads are charged and credited, see Local Services Ads for HVAC. To see what a lead may cost you, try the Local Services Ads cost calculator.

Want someone to handle the setup and screening? See our Local Services Ads management.

Questions

Sources

• Google Local Services Help: About Google Verified badge
• Google Local Services Help: The Google Guarantee
• Google Business Profile Community: Upcoming changes to Local Services Ads Google Guarantee badges
• Google Local Services Help: About Google Screened
• Google Local Services Help: Business screening and verification requirements, United States
• Google Local Services Help: Understand the screening and verification process
• Google Local Services Help: Getting started with Local Services Ads
• Google Local Services Help: About ad rankings
• Google Ads Help: Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals
• Google Ads Help: Business screening and verification for campaigns with pay-per-lead goals
• Google Advertising Policies Help: Local Services Ads policy update (June 2026)