Can I ask for reviews? The rules on each platform

The short version

• Google: ask every customer. No rewards, no asking only happy ones.
• Yelp: don’t ask anyone, not even friends or your mailing list.
• Trustpilot: invitations are encouraged, but invite customers neutrally and don’t pick and choose.
• Houzz and Angi: both have built-in ways to request reviews.
• Everywhere in the US: the FTC rule bans paying for a positive (or negative) review.

What does each platform say?

These rules come from each platform’s own pages, checked on October 31, 2026. Rules change, so the links are there for you to check before a big campaign.

Google: asking is fine, done fairly

Google’s review tips page encourages owners to ask, saying “you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code.” Its Maps content policy allows you to encourage genuine reviews “without offering incentives.” It bans:

• incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods or services;
• discouraging negative reviews or “selectively” asking for positive ones;
• pressuring customers on your premises;
• staff review quotas, and reviews from staff or anyone with a conflict of interest.

How to do it step by step is in our guide to getting more Google reviews.

Yelp: don’t ask

Yelp is the strict one. Its Content Guidelines say “Businesses should never ask customers to write reviews.” Its business help page, Don’t Ask for Reviews, goes further: “Don’t ask anyone to review your business.” That covers customers, mailing lists, friends and family, and asking after a survey or contact form. Yelp also says not to offer “freebies, discounts, or payment” for reviews.

On Yelp, your job is to keep the page accurate and reply to what comes in. Our guide to Yelp’s recommended reviews explains what happens to reviews Yelp’s software thinks were solicited.

Facebook: no specific rule found

Meta’s Help Center explains how recommendations work, how to turn them off and how to report them. We didn’t find a Meta help page that sets rules for businesses asking customers to recommend them. Treat Facebook like Google: ask everyone the same way and never reward a recommendation. The FTC rule applies regardless.

Trustpilot: invite everyone, neutrally

Trustpilot’s guidelines for businesses say “Businesses are encouraged to invite customers to leave reviews.” Invitations must be neutral, and you mustn’t “Be selective with invitations, by picking and choosing which customers you invite,” including by timing invitations so only happy customers get them. Trustpilot doesn’t allow incentivized reviews.

Houzz and Angi: built-in request tools

Houzz’s pro help page explains how pros request reviews from their profile; Houzz moderates them before they show. Angi’s article on asking for reviews describes a request feature in the pro account. Read each site’s terms before offering anything to customers.

Better Business Bureau

BBB’s review handling page says BBB checks that the reviewer did business with you and gives you a chance to respond. Anonymous and compensated reviews aren’t allowed.

What does the law say about asking?

In the US, the FTC’s rule on reviews bans offering anything that requires, outright or by hint, a positive or negative review. Its Q&A says general requests to all customers are fine. It also says the rule “does not contain a specific prohibition” on asking only happy customers, but warns that doing so could still break the wider FTC Act. Our guide to the FTC fake reviews rule has the detail. This isn’t legal advice.

So how should I ask?

1. Pick one main platform, usually Google, and ask there.
2. Ask every customer, the same way, at the same point in every job.
3. Make it neutral: “an honest review” rather than “five stars.”
4. Offer nothing in return. Not a discount, not a raffle entry.
5. Leave Yelp alone. Keep your Yelp page accurate and reply there.

Why does it matter?

Breaking a platform’s rules can get reviews removed, which wastes the work. On Yelp, solicited reviews may be filtered out of your rating. On Google, the policy says it can remove content that breaks the rules. And in the US, some practices now carry civil penalties.

What are the common mistakes and edge cases?

• A “rate us 1 to 5” survey that sends only the 4s and 5s to Google. That’s selective asking, which Google bans.
• A “Review us on Google or Yelp!” card. Fine for Google, against Yelp’s rules.
• A raffle for everyone who leaves a review. Still an incentive under Google’s policy.
• Staff bonuses tied to review counts. Google bans staff review quotas.
• Asking a happy customer to update an old negative review. The FTC Q&A says that’s allowed. Don’t offer anything for it.

What if this didn’t work?

• Reviews you asked for vanished. Check whether the request broke that platform’s rules, then fix the process.
• Customers say they can’t leave a review. Most platforms need the customer to sign in or create an account.
• You already ran an incentive campaign. Stop it now, and don’t repeat it.

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

Asking is free. Setting up a consistent request takes an hour. Automated request tools cost money and must follow the same rules.

How does E-3 handle this?

Our leads and follow-up service can send a review request after each job, to every customer the same way. Wording is written for you, checked by a person and approved by you before anything is sent. Because of Yelp’s rules, any request we set up points to Google, not Yelp.

Related questions

• What does the FTC fake reviews rule mean for my business?
• Why are some of my Yelp reviews “not recommended”?
• How do Facebook recommendations work?
• Which industry review sites matter?
• Do Facebook and Yelp reviews matter, or only Google?
• Back to the complete reviews guide

Sources

1. Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user-generated content policy)
2. Tips to get more reviews (Google Business Profile Help)
3. Don't Ask for Reviews (Yelp for Business Support)
4. Content Guidelines (Yelp)
5. Guidelines for businesses (Trustpilot, September 2026)
6. How to Get Reviews on Your Houzz Profile (Houzz Pro Help)
7. How to Ask Customers for Reviews (Angi)
8. How BBB Customer Reviews are Handled (Better Business Bureau)
9. The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers (FTC Business Guidance)