Black Owned Business Directory and Other Identity Lists

A black owned business directory is a website that lists businesses whose owners identify as Black so shoppers can find them, and the same model exists for women-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, Latino-owned and faith-based businesses. Our take: these lists are worth a short, free hour after your core listings are right, because they reach customers who search by owner, but they are not a replacement for Google Business Profile attributes, and certification is a different product for a different goal. Only list yourself where the identity is true, keep the name, address and phone identical to your other listings, and skip any directory that charges before you know what it delivers. This guide covers where each type of owner can list, the Google identity attributes that matter most, and what the certification bodies charge according to their own pages.

A note on sources. Every claim about a directory or certifying body below comes from that organization’s own pages, read in November 2026, and each name links to its own site. Our catalog has no general identity directories (our lists are built by country and industry), so we have no first-party listing data to cite here. The Google steps come from Google’s help page on identity attributes and its page on managing attributes. Directories change, so confirm the terms on the day you apply.

Start with Google: identity attributes on your Business Profile

Before any directory, set the attribute on the profile customers see first. Google’s help page lists nine: Asian-owned, Black-owned, Latino-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, Disabled-owned, Indigenous-owned, Veteran-owned, Women-owned and Small business. The steps it gives:

1. Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile.
2. Select More, then Edit next to the attribute category.
3. Select Yes or No for the attribute, then Save.

What Google’s pages say about the rules:

• You can pick more than one, and you can opt in or out of any of them at any time.
• It is public. Google says adding an identity attribute informs everyone that your business is owned by someone of that identity.
• Availability varies. Some attributes can only be changed in certain locations, countries or business categories, and attribute names may change over time.
• Review times. Edits usually take about 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days.
• Small business has a number. Google defines it as a business that makes under $10 million a year, says franchises do not qualify, and says it may mark a business as small automatically. The page does not say Google verifies the ownership attributes.

There is a narrower Google setting for sellers. Merchant Center’s help page lists Black-owned, Latino-owned, Small business, Veteran-owned and Women-owned, says it is currently open only to US-based retailers with a Merchant Center account, and says the attributes appear on free listings and not on Shopping ads. If you sell products online, that is a second place to set the same truth.

Our guide to Google Business Profile attributes covers the other groups (accessibility, amenities, payments). The identity attributes are yours to set for free, and they sit on the profile Google itself shows.

Black owned business directory options

These are the directories we could open and read. Each states its own terms.

Directory	Run by (per its page)	Free?	How to list
newBWS	Page does not say who runs it; describes itself as member-owned, “Est. 2020"	"The directory is free, for shoppers and owners alike.” Verification is free	Claim a listing or add a new business; anyone can also nominate a Black-owned business without an account
Support Black Owned	Page names no operator beyond a footer copyright to Lee Alliance	Free plan at $0	Register, then add a listing; paid plans exist
Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle directory	Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle	”The cost is FREE to list!"	"Add a Business” form; King County, WA only

Details that decide whether each is worth your time:

• newBWS. The page lists category and city search, including online businesses, and describes a claim step on the free tier. Its claim page says searching for an existing listing is the fastest path and that a ByBlack or NMSDC certificate counts as evidence in its review. It does not describe the review beyond that.
• Support Black Owned. Its pricing page showed a Free plan ($0, with name, category, phone and address, visible in search and map results) and four paid plans: PRO at $19 a month or $200 a year, Featured at $49 or $500, SmartBoost at $89 or $900, and SmartBoost Elite at $129 or $1,300 (at the time of writing, November 2026). The free plan already gives you the citation. The paid plans add things like a fuller profile, photos and analytics (PRO), top-of-category placement (Featured) and monthly SEO articles and social posts (SmartBoost), and the page claims “higher ranking in search results” for PRO without explaining it, so a paid tier is an advertising decision.
• Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. This one is local and curated. Its page says staff vet every business, that you must be operationally based in King County, Washington, have a website or social page showing regular upkeep within 60 days of submission, and be Black or minority-owned. Submissions are not added automatically, review typically takes 3 to 5 business days, and each November businesses are re-vetted before the printed edition, with closed or no-longer-qualifying businesses removed.
• National Black Chamber of Commerce. NBCC describes itself as a national federation founded in 1993 and points to a membership page. Its homepage did not state dues or describe a searchable business directory, so we treat it as an organization to join, not a listing to claim.

If you search for a black business directory, you will find more than these, including regional ones run by cities and chambers. Apply the same test to each: who runs it, whether the free tier lists name, address and phone, and whether the page tells you what happens after you submit.

Women-owned business directories and certification

• DirectHERy. Its page prompts visitors to create an account to start a free listing and asks whether you are a women-owned business. The page we read shows only “DirectHERy” in its footer copyright, and it mentions MembHER badges and a membership info page without prices.
• WBENC certification. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council certifies businesses at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated and managed by a woman or women, through a vetting process that includes a document review and a site visit. At the time of writing, its non-refundable processing fee depends on annual revenue: $350 under $1 million, $500 from $1 million to under $5 million, $750 from $5 million to under $10 million, $1,000 from $10 million to under $50 million and $1,250 for $50 million and above, plus a 3 percent fee on card payments from July 1, 2026. The page we read does not say how long certification lasts or whether certified firms appear in a public directory.
• SBA Women-Owned Small Business program. The SBA’s page says the program limits competition for certain federal contracts to certified women-owned small businesses and that its benefits apply only to federal contracting opportunities. It describes SBA’s online certification as free, requires 51 percent ownership and control by women who are US citizens, and names four SBA-approved third-party certifiers, WBENC among them.

If you do not sell to government or large corporate buyers, certification is probably not for you. A free listing and the Google attribute do the visibility job.

Veteran-owned business directories and certification

• Vet Maps. Its page says Vet Maps LLC is headquartered in North Carolina and that the team reviews public evidence of veteran ownership or veteran-serving status before approving a listing. Its claim page describes three steps (claim with documentation, verification, go live) and lists a name, a description of up to 1,000 characters, a category, a service area and at least one of website, email or phone. We found no listing fee on those pages, which link only to advertising options.
• SBA Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert). SBA’s veteran contracting page says veteran-owned small businesses can apply to be certified by SBA to compete for federal contracts, that the business must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by veterans, and that you apply through the SBA Certifications portal. It mentions no application fee. Certification moved from the VA to SBA on January 1, 2023, according to that page, and the VA’s own page points to SBA’s VetCert program.
• VeteranOwnedBusiness.com. This is another veteran-owned business directory by name, but its site refused our fetch tools (HTTP 403), so we cannot describe its terms. Check its pricing page before you pay for anything.

LGBTQ+ owned business directories and certification

• Everywhere Is Queer. It describes itself as a directory of queer-owned organizations with a free app. Its page says a basic listing “is completely free,” that the applicant must be the owner of a queer-owned organization, and that you add one in the app under More, then Add/Edit Listings. Featured listings are an optional paid tier with no price shown.
• NGLCC LGBTBE certification. NGLCC describes a four-step certification: create a business profile, upload documentation, complete a site visit with a trained site visitor, and a final review by the National Certification Committee. The pages we read state no fee and no directory, so contact NGLCC (its footer lists info@nglcc.org) for eligibility and cost.

Latino-owned business directories

• #WeAllGrow Latina Small Business Directory. The footer credits Latina Bloggers Connect, Inc. Its apply page says the directory is a fit if your business is Latine owned, women owned or product or service-driven, and describes a registration form (username, email, password) that must be finished in one session. The page mentions no fee.
• U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. It describes advocacy, capacity and networks for small businesses and sends you to a membership request page. The homepage lists no dues and mentions no business directory, so this is a membership to consider, not a listing to claim.

Christian business directory options

Faith is not an identity attribute on the Google pages we read, so a faith-based directory is the main way to signal it publicly.

The Shepherd’s Guide is the one we could read. Its sign-up form offers a “Free Listing Sign Up” path and, as paid options per year, a Basic Listing at $99, a Premium Listing at $199 and a Showcase Listing at $299 (at the time of writing, November 2026), plus monthly banner placements. The form requires a Statement of Faith answer of Yes or No that includes the signer having received Jesus Christ as personal savior. The page does not name the operator beyond a “Powered by NexGen” credit and does not say how it checks that a business is Christian-owned. If you cannot sign that statement in good conscience, do not sign it. If you can, the free path is a reasonable single listing. Search for a Christian business directory in your own city as well, since churches and local associations often run free ones.

How to choose which identity directories to use

1. Only list where it is true. Ownership claims are public, and Google’s own wording is that you are telling everyone who owns the business.
2. Prefer a free tier that carries name, address and phone. That is the citation. Everything above it is advertising.
3. Prefer directories that say who runs them. An operator you can name is an operator you can email to correct or remove a listing.
4. Prefer a review step. A curated directory is slower to join but less likely to be full of stale entries.
5. Check recency. The Urban League re-vets annually and says it removes closed businesses; most of the other pages we read say nothing about it.
6. Skip paid tiers until a free one has earned you a call. None of the pages we read promises a number of customers, and the ranking claims we saw (for example “higher ranking in search results” on Support Black Owned’s PRO plan) are not explained.

Keep the details identical everywhere

An identity directory is a citation like any other, so the rules are the same: one exact business name, one address format, one phone number and one website URL, copied character for character from your Google Business Profile. A directory that spells your name differently or carries an old phone number works against the listings you already have. Our free NAP checker shows what the open web currently says about your business, and our guide to what local citations are explains why consistency matters more than volume. Identity directories are close cousins of what our glossary calls niche citations, best added on top of your general listings, and our overview of industry-specific citation sites shows the other niche layer.

Common mistakes with identity directories

• Claiming an identity that is not true. The listing is a public statement, and Google’s attribute is the same.
• Confusing a directory with a certification. A free page and a $350 to $1,250 vetting process are different things, and only one of them opens corporate or government supplier programs.
• Paying to be listed. Every directory we read that states prices offers a free path; the paid tiers add visibility, not eligibility.
• Letting details drift. A listing with last year’s phone number is worse than none.
• Skipping Google. The attribute on your Business Profile reaches more people than any one of these directories.

Where these fit with your other citations

Identity directories sit on top of the general listings every business needs. For the no-cost general options, see our roundup of free business listing sites, and use the local citation finder to get the ranked sites for your country and industry from our catalog. Identity directories are listings you manage yourself, since the ownership statement is yours to make. For the directories we do build, Citation Builder records every live listing with its public URL and a screenshot, keeps your name, address and phone consistent across them, and leaves the listings yours, with ongoing monitoring as the value.