Google Screened

The badge appeared at the top of a firm’s Local Services Ads (LSA) listing, the pay-per-lead unit that sits above the local map pack and organic results. It signaled that Google, through its screening partners and state regulators, had confirmed the business held any required professional license and that the people performing core services had cleared identity and criminal-history background checks. Screening was free (providers were never charged for the check), and businesses had to meet a minimum review threshold and pass periodic re-verification to keep it.

Eligibility was limited to professional-services verticals. Lawyers, financial planners, financial advisors, real estate agents, and childcare or preschool operators qualified for Screened, while home-services trades like plumbers, HVAC techs, and electricians earned the parallel Google Guaranteed badge instead.

The 2025 merge into Google Verified

In October 2025 Google retired Screened, Guaranteed, and License Verified and folded all three into one Google Verified badge, shown as a blue checkmark. Firms that had already passed verification transitioned automatically, with no need to reapply. Google’s stated reason was that consumers could not tell the old badges apart. The money-back guarantee that had been tied to Google Guaranteed was discontinued as part of the change.

So if you search “Google Screened” today, you are really looking at what is now Google Verified. The underlying vetting logic (license checks, background checks, review minimums, and periodic re-verification) carried straight over.