Apple Business guidance for location capture eligibility
Location Capture Eligibility
Not every physical entity qualifies as a location eligible for capture in Apple Business. This guidance defines what does and does not meet the eligibility threshold for submission as a standalone location record.
Eligible Locations
A location qualifies as a candidate for capture when it meets all of the following criteria:
- Location MUST have a distinct, customer-facing physical presence. It must occupy a defined physical space that a visitor could independently identify, navigate to, and arrive at.
- Location MUST be independently navigable. A member of the public unfamiliar with the surrounding area MUST be able to meaningfully seek out, route to, or identify the location.
- Location MUST have an official name that reflects its identity as a distinct place — not merely a functional description of an internal service, amenity, or merchandise area.
- Location SHOULD be recognized as a discrete place by members of the public, independent of any containing structure.
Place Types
The following place types are examples of entities that may be eligible for capture.
| Place Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Companies & franchises | Restaurants, hotels, day care centers, law firms, and company headquarters |
| Non-profit organizations | Schools, churches, museums, and foundations |
| Government offices | Offices at all levels of government, except restricted-access offices |
| Housing complexes | Apartment complexes (not individual apartments) |
| Landmarks | Public monuments, bridges, and squares |
| Transit stations and airports | Metro and subway stations, railway stations, and bus stops |
| Parking lots | Public and paid lots, except restricted-access parking lots |
| Public amenities | Restrooms, stairs, and drinking fountains located in parks, public spaces, and malls |
| Seasonal businesses | Ski resorts, Christmas tree farms |
| Farmers markets | Regularly scheduled open-air or enclosed markets |
| Areas of Interest | Parks, beaches, lakes, and mountains |
| Retail chains | Chain businesses with more than one place, including franchises |
| Enclosed places | Places contained by other places, such as stores inside malls, airports, and university campus buildings |
General Disqualifiers
A location record MUST NOT be created when any of the following are true:
- Entity has no physical presence
- Entity operates exclusively through a website
- Entity has a residential address
- Entity is a mobile business
- Entity cannot be physically visited by a member of the public
Locations Not Eligible for Capture
The following types of entities do not qualify as locations eligible for capture and MUST NOT be submitted as location records.
Departments and Internal Subdivisions
Areas within a business that exist as organizational or merchandise categories — rather than as distinct, independently navigable places — are not eligible.
Examples: Departments Not Eligible
| Entity | Parent Location | Why Not Eligible |
|---|---|---|
| Women's clothing department | Department store | Internal merchandise area; no independent customer-facing identity |
| Electronics department | Big-box retailer | Organizational subdivision; visitors navigate to the store, not the department |
| Returns desk | Retailer | Functional service point within a larger location |
| Radiology department | Hospital | Organizational subdivision of the hospital; patients are routed there by hospital staff, not independently navigated to |
| History department | University | Academic subdivision; shares a building, entrance, and identity with the university |
Branded service counters and departments within big box retailers, grocery stores, hospitals or medical centers, and universities or colleges — such as pharmacies, optical centers, tire and auto centers, emergency departments, and academic departments with dedicated buildings — are not evaluated under this section. See Colocated Services below.
Utility and Service Spaces
Spaces that exist to serve the internal operations or basic needs of a location's visitors — rather than as independently identifiable destinations — are not eligible.
Examples: Utility and Service Spaces Not Eligible
| Entity | Why Not Eligible |
|---|---|
| Fitting room | Ancillary amenity; exists to serve the parent location's operations |
| Loading dock | Internal operations; not visitor-facing |
| Storage room | Internal operations; not visitor-facing |
Administrative and Structural Designations
Floors, wings, or zones identified only by alphanumeric designation or internal convention — rather than by a named, publicly recognized identity — are not eligible.
Examples: Administrative Designations Not Eligible
| Entity | Why Not Eligible |
|---|---|
| Floor 3 | Structural designation without a customer-facing identity |
| East Wing | Internal navigation convention; not a recognized destination |
| Zone B | Operational designation; no independent customer-facing identity |
Colocated Services in Large Parent Facilities
Big box retailers, grocery stores, hospitals or medical centers, and universities or colleges frequently contain departments and branded service counters or units — pharmacies, optical centers, tire and auto centers, fuel centers, bank branches, emergency departments, academic departments, and similar — that operate alongside the parent facility's core offering. This section defines when a colocated department must remain part of the parent location and when it qualifies for capture as its own location record.
Departments
A department is an internal section of the parent facility that operates under the parent's brand, category, and customer-facing identity. Departments are not independently navigable destinations and MUST NOT be submitted as a separate location record.
Examples: Typical Departments
| Department | Why Not Eligible |
|---|---|
| Clothing | Part of the store's core retail offering |
| In-store bakery | No independent identity or customer destination |
| Deli/butcher counter | Integrated into the shopping experience |
| Electronics | Merchandise department rather than an independent service |
| Floral | Extension of grocery shopping |
| Paint section | Part of the store's core retail offering |
Colocated Services
A colocated service provides a distinct customer function that may operate independently of the parent store through its branding, operations, customer intent, or all three. Unlike departments, a colocated service MAY qualify for capture as its own location record when it meets the decision criteria below.
Examples: Colocated Services
| Service | Typical Parent | Why It May Qualify |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmacy | Grocery stores, big box retailers | Different hours, separate point of sale, standalone customer intent |
| Optical | Big box retailers | Distinct brand partner, appointment-based, separate hours |
| Tire/auto center | Big box retailers | Separate entrance, appointment-based, separate hours, independent transaction |
| Hearing aid center | Big box retailers | Distinct brand partner, appointment-based, separate hours |
| Fuel/gas center | Grocery stores, big box retailers | Separate location, independent transaction, separate hours |
| Bank branch/kiosk | Big box retailers, grocery stores | Distinct brand partner, different hours, independent customer interaction |
| Money transfer service | Grocery stores, big box retailers | Distinct brand partner, different hours, independent customer interaction |
| Garden center | Big box and home improvement retailers | Separate entrance, separate hours |
| Branded cafe or restaurant | Any | Entirely distinct brand |
| Pet grooming | Pet stores | Separate entrance, separate hours, typically appointment-based |
| Emergency department | Hospitals, medical centers | Distinct entrance, 24/7 operation independent of the hospital's hours, dedicated contact number, visitors search for and navigate to it directly |
| Academic department with a dedicated building (e.g., school of art, school of architecture) | Universities, colleges | Distinct building with its own entrance and signage, independent search intent, distinct contact information |
Decision Criteria
Evaluate a colocated service against the following two tests. A colocated service satisfying either test may qualify as a separate location record; see Applying the Result below.
Distinct Brand Identity Test
Does this service represent a materially different customer-facing business than the parent location?
A colocated service satisfies this test when it carries branding, signage, and a service offering that is materially different from the parent location — for example, a branded pharmacy, optical center, or tire center. A colocated service does NOT satisfy this test when it is a department fully contained within the parent with no independent identity, such as an electronics aisle or a floral department.
Standalone Intent Test
Would a member of the public intentionally visit this service specifically, independent of the parent location?
This test is distinct from the Distinct Brand Identity Test — a service can carry a distinct brand but still fail this test (for example, a named deli counter). Standalone intent requires that a visitor could arrive, transact, and leave without depending on the parent location's core offering.
The following signals support standalone intent:
| Signal | Example |
|---|---|
| Appointment or scheduling is available | Tire rotation, optical exam, hearing test, pet grooming |
| The transaction is independent of the parent location | Filling a prescription, banking, fuel, money transfer |
| A separate entrance allows a visitor to arrive, transact, and leave without entering the parent location | Fuel canopy, tire installation bay, locker pickup |
| Visitors search for the service independently by name | "Costco Tire Center," "Walmart Pharmacy," "Kroger Fuel" |
| The service has its own waiting area | Pharmacy counter, bank kiosk, optical waiting area |
| The visit generates a separate transaction or receipt | Prescription, vehicle service record, banking transaction |
What Qualifies as a Separate Entrance
A separate entrance is an access point that allows a visitor to reach a colocated service without entering or traversing the parent location.
Separate entrances include:
- An exterior door serving only the colocated service
- A service bay or drive-up bay
- A fuel canopy with dedicated access from the parking lot
- A gate or outdoor access point that does not require entry to the main store
A separate entrance is NOT:
- A drive-thru
- An internal transition point between sections of the same store
- A checkout lane or service counter reachable only from inside the store
Applying the Result
A colocated service MUST be submitted as a separate location record when it satisfies either the Distinct Brand Identity Test or the Standalone Intent Test, and differs from the parent in any of the following:
- Category — maps to a distinct primary category from the parent
- Brand identity — distinct branded name and signage
- Phone number — a distinct published contact
- Point of sale — a distinct transaction system or receipt
- Entrance — a distinct customer entrance, drive-up bay, fuel canopy, or service bay
A colocated service MUST NOT be submitted as a separate location record — and instead MUST be represented via service hours or attributes on the parent — when it differs from the parent only in:
- Hours of operation
- Internal location, such as an aisle or section within the store
Applying the Test
When evaluating whether an entity qualifies for capture as a location, apply the following test:
Could a member of the public, unfamiliar with this location, meaningfully search for it by name and expect to find and navigate to a distinct physical place?
If the answer is no — because the entity is a department, a utility space, or an internal subdivision without an independent customer-facing identity — the entity does not qualify and MUST NOT be submitted as a location record.
Related
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Display Names | Guidance for capturing location names |
| Categories | Guidance for assigning location categories |
| Location Eligibility | Onboarding guide introduction to location eligibility |