What verifications will be required? (Local Services Ads)

The Business Entity Check

After you create the roster, Evident will start processing the business entity verification. The business entity verification is required for all businesses. For the business verification, we need:

1. the name of your business
2. the full address of your business

We collect this information earlier on in the process so that when your roster is created, the business entity check can begin. Here is an explanation of the business entity check.

• Business entity background check: Your business entity must pass Google’s regionally-specific entity verification process (Europe and select U.S. verticals) before you are authorized to serve Local Services ads. This is a civil litigation history check of the business for evidence of negligent or substandard performance of services, such as judgments and liens from federal and state courts in the US.

The Business Owner Check

If you are a business owner, as soon as you create the roster, you will be redirected to the submission page for your specific business owner Google Local Services check. If you are a marketing agency, your business owner will receive an email for their specific business owner check.

Here is an explanation of the identity verification and business owner background check. To ensure you are successful submitting to the identity verification, follow these best practices. 

• Identity verification & business owner background check: A background check for all owners of the business that may include identity and criminal history checks, such as cross-checks against national sex offender, terrorist, and sanctions registries in the US.

For the business owner background check we will need:

1. an up to date identity document - here is our best practice guidance for users on how to submit an identity document for verification. Without this item, your background check cannot begin to process. For that reason, it is much better to take your time on this step and for Evident to receive a high quality image than it is to rush through this step and have to provide a second submission later. Take your time providing a good, high quality picture of the ID. 
2. your social security number 
3. all of the state disclosures listed - you will need to check off all the state disclosures, even for state that you do not live/work/operate in

The Workers' Checks

In addition, upon roster creation, your employees/service professionals will receive an email with a button that will allow them to fill out their own verifications. This applies when you have employees/service professionals on the roster, regardless of if you are a business owner or marketing agency. Here is an explanation of the employees/service professional check: 

• Identity verification & service professional/employees background check: Just like your background check, the service professional background check may include identity and criminal history checks, such as cross-checks against national sex offender, terrorist, and sanctions registries in the US. We will also need to verify their identity. 

For this we will need:

1. an up to date identity document - here is our best practice guidance for users on how to submit an identity document for verification - you can provide this to your employees.  Without this item, their background check cannot begin to process. For that reason, it is much better to have your employees/service professionals take their time on this step and for Evident to receive a high quality image than it is to rush through this step and have to provide a second submission later. Take your time providing a good, high quality picture of the ID. 
2. their social security number 
3. all the state disclosures - they will need to check off all the state disclosures, even for state that you do not live/work/operate in

To ensure your employees are successful in submitting to the identity verification, have them follow these best practices. 

Understand the Timeline

Understanding the timeline for submissions may help you make it through the background check process successfully. Logging into the roster page triggers the 90-day window within which you will need to finish the background check part of the Local Services Ads process.

Note that each verification on its own can take 6 weeks for the initial submissions to process, and an additional 2 weeks for each required followup submission. Accordingly, you only have a 2-3 day window to provide Evident any required submissions - whether they are initial submission or follow-up submissions.

Because of the importance of Evident receiving these submission from you in a timely manner, you will need to provide the required submissions to Evident immediately after roster creation (which occurs when you log-in). If you are unable to provide the submissions immediately, you should provide them as soon as possible after roster creation. This is why it is important to understand how to fill out the roster correctly to avoid challenges providing submissions. 

Now that you understand how to fill out the roster correctly & what verifications will be required (the article you are reading now), you are ready to be introduced to the roster.