Business verification is Meta’s process for confirming that a business portfolio belongs to a real, legally operating business. You submit the business’s legal name, address, phone number and website along with supporting documents, then prove you can be reached through one of those contact details.
How business verification works
You start verification from the security section of your business portfolio settings. At the time of writing (October 2026), the steps are broadly these:
- Enter the business’s legal name, registered address, phone number and website, exactly as they appear on official records.
- Upload documents that show the legal name and, where asked, the address or phone number.
- Confirm a contact method, usually a code sent to an email address on the business’s domain, a phone call or text, or domain verification.
- Wait for Meta’s review, which can take anything from minutes to several days.
For UK businesses, documents commonly accepted include records from Companies House such as a certificate of incorporation, a utility bill or a business bank statement. Sole traders and partnerships, who have no Companies House record, usually rely on utility bills, bank statements or tax documents in the business name. Meta’s list of acceptable documents changes from time to time, so check what the form asks for when you apply.
Why it matters
Verification is not required to run ordinary Facebook and Instagram ads, but a growing number of features depend on it. Using the WhatsApp Business Platform beyond its starting limits, granting certain permissions to apps and some account-level features all ask for a verified business. Completing it early also means the business’s legal identity is on record in its own portfolio before any of those features are needed.
For UK limited companies there is a useful overlap with the law. Company websites are already expected to show the registered name, company number and registered office address under the UK trading disclosure rules. A site that does this properly gives Meta’s reviewers an easy match between the website, the documents and the details you entered, which removes one of the most common reasons for delay.
It is separate from advertiser verification, which confirms the identity of people running ads about social issues, elections or politics, and from financial services verification, which UK advertisers of financial products may need. Each checks something different.
Common mistakes
- Entering a trading name when the documents show the registered company name, or the other way round. A mismatch is the most common reason for rejection.
- Uploading a cropped or out-of-date document, or one in a director’s personal name.
- Using a website that does not show the business name, address or contact details anywhere.
- Choosing email confirmation with a Gmail or Outlook address rather than one on the business’s domain.
- Starting verification in the wrong portfolio when the business has more than one.
How to act on it
Before you start, gather the exact legal name and registered address from Companies House or your official records, a recent utility bill or bank statement showing the same name, and access to an email inbox on your domain. Make sure the website footer shows the legal name, address and phone number, and that they match what you will enter.
Submit, then check the portfolio’s notifications for requests for more information. If you are rejected, read the reason, fix the mismatch and resubmit, rather than trying different documents at random. When I take on Facebook and Instagram ads management, I check verification status early, because a feature blocked by it can hold up a launch.