What is a verified review?
A review is verified when its publisher holds proof that the reviewer bought or used what they review: an invitation sent after a purchase, a matched order, or a receipt. The label tells a reader how the review reached the page; the content is still the reviewer's own opinion.
Google uses the same idea for its store ratings: "Eligible reviews are post-fulfillment reviews, sometimes denoted by websites of review partners as 'verified' or 'post purchase'" (Google).
Verified vs unverified reviews
An unverified review is not a fake review. It is a review the publisher holds no purchase evidence for, such as one from a customer who found the business online and reviewed it unprompted.
| Point compared | Verified review | Unverified review |
|---|---|---|
| How it arrives | Invitation after a purchase, or matched to an order | No invitation, or no order linked |
| Evidence held | An order reference, invitation record or document | None about the purchase |
| What a reader learns | The publisher has evidence of a transaction | The publisher has not checked a transaction |
| Fake-review and incentive laws apply | Yes | Yes |
How reviews get verified
Invitation after a purchase
The business sends each customer a review link after delivery or once the service is done, so the platform knows the reviewer is a customer. Google describes its own post-purchase programme this way: "only your verified buyers contribute to the Google Customer Reviews" (Google).
Order matching
The business sends an order reference with the invitation, and the platform stores it against the review. That ties one review to one transaction, which is stronger evidence than an invitation alone.
Documents and other checks
A platform can also accept a receipt or invoice from a reviewer who was not invited. Separately, platforms check for fake reviews in general; Google, for example, filters out reviews "that don't indicate that a transaction took place" from store ratings (Google).
What the UK, US and EU rules require
The rules quoted below do not use a verified label as their test. They ban fake reviews and hidden incentives, require honest publication, and in the EU require traders to say how reviews are checked.
| Rule | UK | US | EU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main text | DMCC Act 2024, Schedule 20 para 13, in force 6 April 2025 | FTC rule, 16 CFR Part 465, in force 21 October 2024 | Directive (EU) 2019/2161, applied from 28 May 2022 |
| Fake reviews | Banned | Banned | Banned |
| Incentives | Allowed only if not concealed | Banned when conditioned on a particular sentiment | Recital 47: traders should say whether reviews were sponsored |
| Hiding negative reviews | Misleading publication | Banned when presented as all or most reviews | Misrepresenting reviews banned |
| Checking reviews | Reasonable and proportionate steps required | Not set out in the rule sections we read | Whether and how reviews of products are checked is material information |
| Penalty | Up to £300,000 or 10% of total turnover, if higher | Up to $53,088 per knowing violation (January 2025 figure) | Not covered on this page |
UK: the DMCC Act and CMA guidance
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 treats as unfair in all circumstances submitting or commissioning "a fake consumer review" or "a consumer review that conceals the fact it has been incentivised", and "Publishing consumer reviews, or consumer review information, in a misleading way" (Schedule 20, para 13). Publishing in a misleading way includes "failing to publish, or removing from publication, negative consumer reviews whilst publishing positive ones" and "giving greater prominence to positive consumer reviews over negative ones". Anyone publishing reviews must take "reasonable and proportionate steps" to prevent, and remove, fake reviews, reviews that conceal an incentive, and false or misleading review information. The CMA can fine up to £300,000 or 10% of total turnover, whichever is higher (section 182).
The CMA's guidance, CMA208, adds detail (gov.uk). Where a platform allows incentivised reviews, "the review must be clearly identifiable as incentivised" (para 3.5). Cherry-picking includes "encouraging just those who are satisfied to leave reviews" (para 4.5). Publishers need "a clear policy on the prevention and removal of banned reviews" and a risk assessment (para 8.5), and even a trader publishing only its own customers' reviews must take reasonable and proportionate measures where its content poses a risk (para 8.31), though it may need fewer steps than a platform (para 8.32).
US: the FTC rule on consumer reviews
The rule makes it unlawful "for a business to write, create, or sell a consumer review" that misrepresents that the reviewer exists or "used or otherwise had experience with" what is reviewed (16 CFR 465.2). It bans incentives "conditioned expressly or by implication on, the writing or creation of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, whether positive or negative" (465.4), and bans presenting displayed reviews as all or most of them when reviews are being suppressed "based upon their ratings or their negative sentiment" (465.7) (eCFR). Reviews by a business's officers or managers need a clear disclosure of that relationship (465.5).
The FTC's Q&A says the rule allows incentives with no express or implied requirement about sentiment, and that asking only happy customers, though not specifically banned by the rule, could still break the FTC Act (FTC). Courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations, up to $53,088 per violation in the FTC's January 2025 adjustment (16 CFR 1.98).
EU: the Omnibus Directive
Where a trader gives access to consumer reviews of products, "information about whether and how the trader ensures that the published reviews originate from consumers who have actually used or purchased the product shall be regarded as material" (new Article 7(6)). It is banned in all circumstances to state "that reviews of a product are submitted by consumers who have actually used or purchased the product without taking reasonable and proportionate steps to check" (Annex I, point 23b) (EUR-Lex). In short: if you say your reviews come from real buyers, you must actually check. The Directive's wording is about reviews of products, and each EU country writes it into its own law, so check how far it reaches reviews of services where you trade.
Are Google reviews verified?
Google runs two separate review systems. Google Customer Reviews collects reviews after a purchase through Merchant Center, and Google says "only your verified buyers contribute" to it. Google also says these "are different from Google Business Profile reviews" (Google). The Google pages we read for this guide do not describe Business Profile reviews as verified. Our Trustpilot vs Google reviews comparison sets out who can leave a Business Profile review.
Other platforms define the label themselves; Trustpilot alternatives compares how several verify reviews.
Verified reviews and Google star ratings
Google generally looks for around 100 verified, post-purchase reviews before it calculates a store rating, and its own help pages give different review windows (Google). For product ratings, "You must collect and own the reviews you share with Google" (Google). For review markup on your own pages, Google says "Don't include fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews" (Google).
How to collect verified reviews
- Invite every customer, not only the ones you expect to be happy. The CMA calls inviting only satisfied customers cherry-picking.
- Send it after the experience, once the order has arrived or the service is finished.
- Include the order reference, so the review is tied to one transaction.
- Keep the wording neutral. Ask for an honest review and do not hint at a rating.
- Do not offer rewards. If you do where the platform allows it, every resulting review must show it was incentivised, and a reward must never depend on a positive review.
- Publish every review that meets your rules, applying the same rules to good and bad. Removing or burying negatives is misleading publication under UK law.
- Write down how you check reviews and say so on your site. The CMA's guidance expects every UK publisher to have a clear policy (para 8.5), and in the EU whether and how reviews of products are checked counts as material information for consumers.
- Keep your rating accurate. The CMA says a rating not updated after fake reviews are removed can mislead (para 5.1(a)).
- Disclose staff reviews. In the US, reviews by officers or managers need a clear disclosure of the relationship.
Buying reviews is never a shortcut: a bought review is a fake review, whatever label it carries (see the FAQ below).
How GoldStarred labels reviews
On GoldStarred, a reader can see how every review reached a business's profile, and the business can show readers which reviews are tied to an order. Every review carries one label: Verified (the business supplied an order reference for the purchase), Invited (the business invited the customer), Organic (the reviewer came without an invitation), Imported (brought in from elsewhere) or Incentivised (a reward was offered or given).
Businesses can reply to any review, no business can hide or reorder one, and moderation and ranking work the same on every plan. Free includes 75 review invites a month and an unlimited review link and QR code. Growth, at $17 a month, gives 250 invites with automatic reminders; Pro, at $37 a month, gives unlimited invites and imports from other platforms. Plans are monthly; prices exclude VAT and sales tax. The checks behind the labels are set out in our fake review policy and moderation rules.
We make GoldStarred, so weigh this section with that in mind. For a side-by-side with another platform, see GoldStarred vs Trustpilot.
FAQ
What is a verified review?
A review the publisher can link to evidence of a real purchase or experience, usually because it came from an invitation sent after an order or was matched to an order reference. Each platform decides what it checks before it uses the label.
Are Google reviews verified?
Google runs two review systems. Google says only verified buyers contribute to Google Customer Reviews, its post-purchase programme in Merchant Center, and that these are different from Business Profile reviews. The Google pages we read do not describe Business Profile reviews as verified.
How do I make sure my reviews come from verified purchases?
Invite every customer after delivery or after the service, send the order reference with each invitation, and use a platform that stores that reference against the review. Reviews that arrive without an invitation can still be published, labelled to show they were not matched to an order.
Can I offer a discount in return for a review?
The rules differ. In the UK an incentivised review must not conceal the incentive, and the CMA says it must be clearly identifiable. The US FTC rule bans incentives conditioned on a particular sentiment. Google's review snippet guidelines exclude undisclosed incentivised reviews, and many platforms ban incentives outright, so check the platform's rules first.
Can you buy verified reviews?
No. A bought review is a fake review. The UK DMCC Act bans submitting or commissioning fake reviews and offering services to traders to do it, and the US FTC rule bans writing, creating or selling reviews that misrepresent the reviewer's experience.
Do verified reviews help SEO?
No page we read says verified reviews improve rankings. Google's store ratings count post-fulfilment reviews and filter out reviews that do not indicate a transaction, and review markup can make a page eligible for star ratings. Google decides what it shows.
What is the difference between a verified purchase and a verified customer?
Neither term is defined in the UK, US or EU rules quoted on this page, and platforms use them differently, so read each one's definition. Ask whether the label means the review was matched to a specific order, or only that the reviewer was known to be a customer.
Sources and check dates
All checked 25 October 2026. Laws, guidance and Google's pages change, so confirm on the linked page before you rely on them. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
- UK: 1DMCC Act 2024, Schedule 20 and 2section 182
- UK: 3CMA fake reviews guidance, CMA208, published 4 April 2025
- US: 4FTC rule, 16 CFR Part 465, 5civil penalty amounts, 16 CFR 1.98 and the 6FTC's questions and answers
- EU: 7Directive (EU) 2019/2161
- Google: 8store ratings, 9Google Customer Reviews and Business Profile reviews, 10Product Ratings policies and 11review snippet guidelines