Google Ads Pay-Per-Lead Terms: What to Check Before You Accept

The official name, and what accepting actually does

Google’s current U.S. document is titled Additional Terms for Ads with Pay-per-lead Goals (United States). It was last modified August 24, 2026, and is listed as the current U.S. version from Google’s terms index. The product is also called Local Services by Google. If you do not accept the terms, you may not use the platform.

That is not the same as being approved to advertise. Google’s help page About pay-per-lead goals for Performance Max campaigns sets separate eligibility rules. In short:

Your business must be located and operate in the United States.

You must have at least one verified Google Business Profile.

You must be in an eligible storefront or home-services category. Google points to the Local Services Ads supported-categories list and notes that some types, including those that need advanced verification (it names locksmiths and garage door services) and professional services, are scheduled for Performance Max pay-per-lead later, in 2027.

You must pass screening and verification, which can include extra checks depending on your category and location.

The terms are a condition of use. Eligibility, category, location, and verification are checked separately. If the setting appears, read the terms—but do not treat the prompt as proof that your campaigns have been moved over or that you already qualify.

This is one more Google Ads choice that is easy to click through. See also our notes on default settings that can waste a local budget and why local businesses lose leads when nobody follows up.

What you are agreeing to

This is a description of Google’s published terms and help pages, not legal advice. If anything in the document concerns you, read the full text or talk with an adviser before you accept.

Verification. Section 4 of the additional terms requires you to follow the Local Services platform policies, including Minimum Provider Requirements, to give complete and accurate information, and to cooperate when Google or its partners gather information to verify your identity or your compliance. Access may be denied if you fail those requirements. Google’s screening and verification help says every business in this campaign type must keep a verified, active Google Business Profile, and that some businesses must also complete checks such as business registration, representative affiliation, identity verification, or license review. Some accounts can start serving with a 30-day window to finish outstanding tasks; missing that window can make the campaign not eligible. Locksmiths and garage door businesses are called out as needing advanced verification before ads can serve, with no 30-day grace period.

Your branding and listing details. Section 3 grants Google an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use the data, feeds, or other content you submit, “for the maximum duration of such intellectual property rights under applicable law.” Google may sublicense those rights to affiliates, contractors, and users of its products. The same section authorizes Google to use your trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, domain names, and other business identifiers in connection with that permitted use of content. The terms also say your Local Services accounts and related data may be linked to other Google products, including Business Profile.

Calls and messages may be recorded. Section 7 says you authorize Google, its affiliates, and their agents “to access, monitor, and record telephone calls, text messages, live chat, and other communications initiated through the Programs (e.g., click-to-call ads).” You also agree to obtain the permissions required under local law, notify your team that these communications may be recorded, and obtain their consent. Google’s help on goals and leads adds that, in the United States and Canada, inbound calls through the Google forwarding number are recorded, and that customers are notified by a pre-recorded message before the call is connected. Recorded calls can be reviewed from the lead details view for a limited time.

Give your staff a heads-up if these campaigns are on. Recording rules are not the same everywhere: the FCC notes that it does not set individual recording rules, but that some state laws restrict the practice. What you must do depends on your state and how calls are handled. That, again, is not legal advice.

Section 8 also says customer satisfaction is your responsibility, and that you—not Google—are responsible for resolving disputes with your customers.

What the terms do not settle: pricing, billable leads, and credits

The additional terms do not list lead prices. Section 6 points pricing and related terms to the platform policies. Google’s ads-policy page on Local Services requirements covers provider conduct (for example, dishonest pricing toward customers). It is not a public price list for leads.

What Google does publish is in How leads work and lead quality and budgets:

You are charged for a valid lead, not for a standard click on the ad. A lead is a direct contact through the ad—a phone call, a message, or, where available, a booking.

Lead prices “may vary depending on your location, job type, lead type, or bidding strategy.” Message leads are typically priced lower than phone leads, “although that is not always the case.” Google does not publish a single nationwide rate.

For phone leads, you can be charged when you answer or call the customer back and speak with them; when a missed call during business hours stays on the line more than 20 seconds; or when you receive a voicemail (the 20-second rule is explained in more detail on that help page, including automated menus).

Google says its systems filter invalid activity such as spam or duplicate contacts, and that low-quality, duplicate, or invalid leads can be credited automatically, with quality reviewed over a 30-day period. Charge status on the Leads page may show Charged, Not charged, In review, or Credited. You can leave feedback on a lead. Those help pages do not clearly spell out a separate, advertiser-started dispute process for a billed lead.

A billed lead is a contact, not a booked job. Google even lets you mark a lead as booked or completed later, which is a reminder that those are different events. Track every lead through to a booked job, and answer quickly. The campaign can only charge you for the contact; it cannot close the work for you.

What to do before you click Accept

Confirm whether the setting is even in your account. If you do not see it, you may have nothing to decide yet. Google has not published a public list of who gets the prompt.

Read the official additional terms, not just a summary. Check the verification, branding, and recording sections, and the requirement to notify your team.

Check eligibility separately. United States, a verified Google Business Profile, an eligible category, and screening still apply. Accepting the terms does not skip those steps.

Know how a billable lead is defined and that prices vary. Plan to track contacts through to booked jobs, and watch the Charge Status column for automatic credits.

If you accept and run the campaigns, brief your staff that calls and messages through the ads may be recorded, and get advice if you are unsure about consent rules in your state.

How Local Business Search can help

Local Business Search can review these terms with you, help you set up lead tracking and a follow-up process, and run your ads if pay-per-lead—or another campaign type—fits your business. We also help with AI setup, websites, Google listings, and small-business marketing.

We're also making done-for-you how-to videos that walk through checks like this step by step. They're coming soon.