How to delete a Yelp business account
You can close your Yelp for Business account, but Yelp keeps the business page. Pick the option that matches what you are actually trying to remove.
Lachlan Fea 3 min read
In this article7 sections
Closing a Yelp business account does not delete the business page or its reviews. It only gives up your access to manage that page. Yelp says plainly that it does not remove business pages.
That is frustrating if “delete my account” was meant to make the listing disappear, but it also makes the choice clearer. Decide what you actually want to happen before closing anything.
Business account or personal Yelp account?
Yelp has two different account types.
- A consumer account is the account someone uses to write reviews, save businesses and post photos.
- A Yelp for Business account lets an owner claim and manage a business page.
Closing a consumer account removes the content posted through that consumer profile, and Yelp says it cannot be restored. Closing a business account does not remove the business page. Yelp explains the difference in its account-closing help article.
This guide is about the business account.
Your four options
| What you want | What to do | What remains public |
|---|---|---|
| Stop managing the page | Relinquish or unclaim it | The page and its reviews |
| Show that the business has closed | Mark it permanently closed | The page, reviews and closed label |
| Remove a review that breaks Yelp's rules | Report that review | The page and reviews that comply |
| End the Yelp for Business login | Close the business account | The business page and its reviews |
None of these is a shortcut for wiping the review history of an operating business.
Close the Yelp for Business account
In the Yelp for Business app, open Account Information, choose Close or delete my account, then follow the prompts. If the account has advertising attached to it, deal with the advertising agreement first. Closing the free business login does not necessarily cancel a separate paid contract.
Before closing it, download anything you need and make sure another owner does not still rely on the account. Once access is gone, you also lose the ordinary ability to update the page and answer reviews.
If all you want is to hand control to someone else, closing is too blunt. Add the new owner or relinquish the claim instead.
Unclaim the business page
Yelp calls this relinquishing ownership. It removes the page from your business account but leaves the listing public. Yelp's ownership guide says to contact support if the self-service option is not available.
Use this when you sold the business, claimed the wrong listing or no longer represent the company. Do not use it merely because the reviews are hard to read. An unclaimed page can still rank, collect reviews and show old information, only now nobody from the business is looking after it.
Mark a business permanently closed
If the business really has closed, update the page rather than deleting your account and hoping Yelp works it out.
Yelp's current route is Business Information, then Manage extended closures, where an eligible owner can mark the business permanently closed. Yelp warns that the owner will lose the ability to manage the page, respond to reviews and make further updates. Its closure instructions also confirm that the page is not removed.
Closed businesses can still appear in search or open from an old link. That is deliberate. The record helps people understand what happened to the business they remember.
If the real problem is a review
Do not close the account. Report the review if it breaks Yelp's content rules, answer it if it does not, and keep managing the page.
Our guide to removing a Yelp review explains what Yelp will consider. If the review stays up, use the Yelp response guide to write for the next customer who reads it.
Yelp is also unusual because it tells businesses not to ask customers for reviews. Do not try to repair the rating by sending a Yelp review campaign, offering an incentive or selecting only happy customers. The sensible work on Yelp is accurate information, honest responses and service worth talking about.
Before you close anything
Run this quick check:
- Cancel or transfer any paid Yelp products separately.
- Save invoices and account records you need.
- Update hours, phone and website if the business is still operating.
- Add another authorised owner if the business has changed hands.
- Answer any review that needs a final public response.
- Choose unclaim, permanent closure or account closure based on the outcome you want.
The account and the listing are not the same thing. Once you keep those separate, Yelp's options make more sense, even if none of them is the delete button you hoped to find.