Some Google Business Profile users are reporting that the option to mark a business as “Permanently closed” may have disappeared from the dashboard.
Normally, business owners can update their profile and select options such as Permanently closed or Temporarily closed when a business is no longer operating or is closed for a certain period. However, some users recently noticed that these options are no longer showing for certain listings.
The issue was first highlighted by Hiroko Imai, who shared the discovery on LinkedIn.
According to the post, the Permanently Closed option appears to have been removed from the Google Business Profile dashboard for some businesses in Japan.
Hiroko Imai wrote:
“In Japan’s GBP, the option for a business owner to mark their establishment as “Permanently Closed” has been removed from the dashboard. I’d like to verify whether this same issue occurs in other languages and countries. If the “permanently closed” status cannot be marked from the GBP side, please specify the language and country in question.”
Here is a screenshot showing the missing option:
What Options Were Previously Available?
Previously, Google Business Profile owners could manage their business status directly from their profile settings.
For example, this screenshot from BrightLocal shows the older interface, where businesses could select options such as permanently closed or temporarily closed.
These options are important because they help business owners clearly communicate their operational status to customers searching on Google Search and Google Maps.
Is Google Removing the Permanently Closed Option?
At the moment, it is not clear if Google has officially removed the option. There are several possibilities.
The missing option could be:
- A temporary Google Business Profile bug
- A dashboard interface test
- A country-specific change
- A language-specific issue
- A change affecting only certain business profiles
So far, there does not appear to be clear confirmation that Google has permanently removed this feature for all businesses.
The discussion is continuing on LinkedIn, where users from different locations are checking their own Google Business Profiles.
Some Users Still See the Option
Interestingly, the issue does not appear to affect every business profile.
Amy Toman reported that the Permanently closed option was still available on a profile she checked. She also shared a screenshot on LinkedIn.
Here is the screenshot:
This suggests that the feature may still be active but unavailable for certain listings, regions, accounts, or profile types.
Why This Matters for Business Owners?
The Permanently closed status is an important Google Business Profile feature.
If a business shuts down permanently, marking the listing correctly helps customers avoid visiting a location that is no longer operating. It can also reduce confusion in Google Maps and local search results.
Similarly, the Temporarily closed option is useful for businesses that plan to reopen later.
If these controls disappear from some profiles, business owners and local SEO professionals may have fewer options for updating business status directly from the Google Business Profile dashboard.
For now, businesses should check their own profiles before assuming that the feature has been removed completely.
Since some users can still access the option while others cannot, this currently looks more like a limited issue, test, or interface change rather than a confirmed global removal. If you look after several profiles, our guide on how to manage multiple business listings covers where these settings sit.
More reports from different countries and languages may help clarify exactly which Google Business Profiles are affected.
