Local Services Ads categories decide whether your business can run Google’s pay-per-lead ads at all. Google only opens Local Services Ads to a set list of business types, and that list differs by country. In the US it now covers far more than the plumbers and electricians it started with: health care, lawyers, real estate agents, pet care, tutors, auto, beauty and restaurants are all on it.
Below is Google’s full US list, grouped the way Google groups it, with which categories can get the Google Verified badge, which are limited to certain states, and a link to my SEO guide for each trade where I’ve written one.
How Local Services Ads categories work
When you sign up, you choose the category that matches your business. That category decides three things:
- Which searches you can appear for. Local Services Ads don’t use keywords. Google matches your ad to searches based on your category, the job types you select within it and your service area.
- What screening you go through. Checks vary by category and location and may include licenses, insurance, background checks and minimum reviews.
- Which features you get. Some verticals can’t show the Google Verified badge, can’t use pre-badge ads or can’t take booking leads.
Google groups categories into verticals. Here’s what the verticals mean for you:
- Home services: the original Local Services Ads trades. Badge available, and most of these categories need license and insurance checks, plus background checks in some.
- Health care: badge available, but no booking leads and no pre-badge ads, so you must finish verification before your ads run. US providers also need National Provider Identifier verification.
- Legal, professional and other services: lawyers, real estate agents, financial planners, tax specialists, pet care, child care, tutors and more. Badge available.
- Auto, beauty and dining: can run Local Services Ads, but the Google Verified badge isn’t currently available.
The full US list
113 US categories, copied from Google's Local Services Help page on business screening and verification requirements, checked October 13, 2026.
Home services (41)
Google Verified badge available.
| Category (Google's label) | Notes | My guide |
|---|---|---|
| Appliance repair | Appliance Repair SEO | |
| Architect | California and Florida only | Architect SEO |
| Bathroom remodeling | Bathroom Remodeling SEO | |
| Carpenters | ||
| Carpet & Upholstery cleaning | Carpet Cleaning SEO | |
| Countertop services | Countertop SEO | |
| Drain expert | California and Florida only | |
| Electrician | Electrician SEO | |
| Fencing services | Fence Company SEO | |
| Flooring services | Flooring Company SEO | |
| Foundations services | Foundation Repair SEO | |
| Garage door | No pre-badge ads | Garage Door SEO |
| General contractor | Contractor SEO | |
| Handyman | Handyman SEO | |
| Home inspector | Home Inspector SEO | |
| Home insulation | California and Florida only | Insulation Contractor SEO |
| Home security | Home Security Company SEO | |
| Home theater | Home Theater Installer SEO | |
| House cleaning | Cleaning Company SEO | |
| HVAC | HVAC SEO | |
| Interior designer | California and Florida only | Interior Designer SEO |
| Junk removal | Junk Removal SEO | |
| Kitchen Remodeling | Kitchen Remodeling SEO | |
| Landscaping services | Landscaping SEO | |
| Lawn care | Lawn Care SEO | |
| Locksmith | No pre-badge ads | Locksmith SEO |
| Moving | Moving Company SEO | |
| Painter | Painting Contractor SEO | |
| Pest control | Pest Control SEO | |
| Plumber | Plumber SEO | |
| Pool cleaner | Pool Service SEO | |
| Pool contractor | Pool Builder SEO | |
| Roofing | Roofing SEO | |
| Sewage systems | ||
| Siding services | Siding Contractor SEO | |
| Snow removal | Snow Removal SEO | |
| Solar energy contractor | Solar SEO | |
| Tree service | Tree Service SEO | |
| Water damage services | Restoration SEO | |
| Window cleaning | Window Cleaning SEO | |
| Window repair | Window Company SEO |
Health care (15)
Google Verified badge available.
| Category (Google's label) | Notes | My guide |
|---|---|---|
| Allergist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Allergist SEO |
| Audiologist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Audiology SEO |
| Chiropractor | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Chiropractor SEO |
| Dentist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Dental SEO |
| Dermatologist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Dermatology SEO |
| Dietitian | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Dietitian SEO |
| Occupational therapist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Occupational Therapy SEO |
| Ophthalmologist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Lasik SEO |
| Optometrist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Optometrist SEO |
| Orthodontist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Orthodontist SEO |
| Orthopedic surgeon | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Orthopedic SEO |
| Physical Therapist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Physical Therapy SEO |
| Plastic surgeon | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Plastic Surgeon SEO |
| Podiatrist | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Podiatrist SEO |
| Primary care physician | No pre-badge ads; No booking leads | Medical SEO |
Legal, professional, pet, learning and other services (44)
Google Verified badge available.
| Category (Google's label) | Notes | My guide |
|---|---|---|
| Acupuncturist | Acupuncture SEO | |
| Animal rescue | ||
| Bankruptcy lawyer | Bankruptcy Lawyer SEO | |
| Beauty school | ||
| Business lawyer | Business Lawyer SEO | |
| Cell phone and laptop repair | ||
| Child care | Daycare SEO | |
| Contract lawyer | ||
| Criminal lawyer | Criminal Defense SEO | |
| Dance instructor | ||
| Disability lawyer | Disability Lawyer SEO | |
| Driving instructor | Driving School SEO | |
| DUI lawyer | Dui Lawyer SEO | |
| Estate lawyer | Estate Planning SEO | |
| Family lawyer | Family Law SEO | |
| Financial planners | Financial Advisor SEO | |
| First aid trainer | ||
| Funeral home | Funeral Home SEO | |
| Immigration lawyer | Immigration Lawyer SEO | |
| Insurance agency | California and Florida only | Insurance Agency SEO |
| IP lawyer | Ip Lawyer SEO | |
| Labor lawyer | Employment Lawyer SEO | |
| Language instructor | ||
| Litigation lawyer | Law Firm SEO | |
| Malpractice lawyer | Medical Malpractice SEO | |
| Massage school | ||
| Massage therapist | Massage Therapist SEO | |
| Personal injury lawyer | Personal Injury SEO | |
| Personal trainer | Personal Trainer SEO | |
| Pet adoption | ||
| Pet boarding | Pet Boarding SEO | |
| Pet grooming | Pet Grooming SEO | |
| Pet training | Dog Training SEO | |
| Preschool | Preschool SEO | |
| Real estate agents and brokers | Real Estate SEO | |
| Real estate lawyer | Real Estate Lawyer SEO | |
| Storage | Self Storage SEO | |
| Tax lawyer | ||
| Tax specialist | Tax Preparer SEO | |
| Traffic lawyer | Traffic Lawyer SEO | |
| Tutor | Tutoring SEO | |
| Veterinarian | Veterinary SEO | |
| Weight loss service | Weight Loss Clinic SEO | |
| Yoga studio | Yoga Studio SEO |
Auto (5)
The Google Verified badge is not currently available in this vertical.
| Category (Google's label) | Notes | My guide |
|---|---|---|
| Auto body shop | Auto Body Shop SEO | |
| Auto repair shop | Transmission Shop SEO, Auto Repair SEO | |
| Car wash | ||
| Tire shop | California and Florida only | Tire Shop SEO |
| Towing | Towing Company SEO |
Beauty (6)
The Google Verified badge is not currently available in this vertical.
| Category (Google's label) | Notes | My guide |
|---|---|---|
| Barber shop | California and Florida only | Barbershop SEO |
| Hair salon | California and Florida only | Salon SEO |
| Nail salon | California and Florida only | Nail Salon SEO |
| Piercing studio | California and Florida only | |
| Tattoo studio | California and Florida only | Tattoo Shop SEO |
| Waxing or Hair removal | California and Florida only | Laser Hair Removal SEO |
Dining (2)
The Google Verified badge is not currently available in this vertical.
| Category (Google's label) | Notes | My guide |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee and dessert shop | ||
| Restaurant | Restaurant SEO |
A few categories are only open in California and Florida: architects, drain experts, home insulation, insurance agencies, interior designers and tire shops, plus the whole beauty vertical. If you’re outside those states, those categories won’t appear when you sign up.
Pre-badge ads, which let you get leads while your checks finish, aren’t available for garage door services, locksmiths or any health care category. My guide to the Google Verified badge explains what pre-badge ads are and why finishing verification matters.
Local Services Ads for lawyers
Legal is one of the biggest groups on the list, with 15 categories: bankruptcy, business, contract, criminal, disability, DUI, estate, family, immigration, IP, labor, litigation, malpractice, personal injury, real estate, tax and traffic lawyers. That makes Local Services Ads a realistic option for most consumer-facing law firms.
Legal leads tend to be high-value, so the pay-per-lead model can work well, but only if someone answers the phone. Google ranks Local Services Ads partly on responsiveness, and missed calls count against you. If your intake process means calls go to voicemail, fix that first.
Local Services Ads for health care
Health care has more restrictions than any other vertical, so read the rules before you sign up. Google says that for health care:
- No pre-badge ads. Your ads only run once every check is complete.
- No booking leads. Patients can call or message, but can’t book through the ad.
- No automatic lead credits in the US, so you carry more of the cost of poor-quality leads.
- No call recordings for US health care advertisers.
- NPI verification is required for US providers, checked against the national NPPES registry.
It can still be worth it for dentists, chiropractors, physical therapists and the other health categories on the list, but answer calls promptly and track which leads become patients.
Local Services Ads for auto, beauty and dining
These verticals can run Local Services Ads but can’t show the Google Verified badge, which removes one of the main reasons customers pick an ad. The beauty vertical is also limited to California and Florida. If you’re in one of these categories, weigh the leads against what a strong Google Business Profile and good reviews already bring you.
Local Services Ads for realtors
Real estate agents and brokers are on the US list, so realtors can run Local Services Ads and appear at the top of searches like “real estate agent near me”. As with any professional category, you’ll go through screening first. You’re charged when a potential client contacts you through the ad, not when they click.
What if your business isn’t on the list?
Then you can’t use Local Services Ads for it yet. That doesn’t mean you can’t get leads from Google:
- Standard Google Ads work for any business, charged per click rather than per lead.
- Organic local SEO gets you into Google Maps and the local results without paying per lead or click. That means a complete Google Business Profile, steady reviews and a strong website. My local SEO guide for small businesses walks through it.
Google does change its category list, so check the eligibility tool on Google’s Local Services Ads sign-up page every few months.
Choosing your category
Pick the category that matches the work you actually want leads for. If you do several things, choose the main one, then add the specific job types within it during setup. Picking a broader category to get more leads usually backfires, because you’ll pay for leads for jobs you don’t want.
Keep your business name and address the same as on your Google Business Profile. Google uses your Business Profile during verification, and from August 2026 core details sync from your Business Profile into Google Ads as Local Services Ads move into Performance Max. My guide to Google Local Services Ads covers how they work, what they cost and that migration.
Find your trade
Every category above that links to a guide goes to my “SEO for [industry]” page for that trade. Each one covers which Local Services Ads category to choose, the Google Business Profile categories to use, the searches worth ranking for and the mistakes I see most. Browse them all in my industry guides.
