How to Validate LocalBusiness Schema (Checker Tools)

Validating LocalBusiness schema is two different questions that people run through one tool. The first is “is the markup well-formed and using real properties”, which a validator answers. The second is “does it say what my Google profile and citations say”, which no validator answers. A LocalBusiness block can pass every checker with a phone number you stopped using in 2021. This guide covers the tools for the first question, the one check that answers the second, and the errors that come up most.

The three tools, and what each one actually checks

Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org)

The general-purpose validator, run by the schema.org community. Paste a URL or the raw JSON-LD and it parses every structured-data block on the page against the full vocabulary: unknown types, unknown properties, wrong value types, malformed JSON. This is the tool that tells you whether your Dentist block is a valid Dentist block. Use it first, and use it for everything.

Google Rich Results Test

Google’s tool answers a narrower question: is this page eligible for one of Google’s rich results, and does the markup meet Google’s requirements for it? LocalBusiness is a supported rich result type, so a valid block appears here with Google’s required and recommended fields checked. Two things it does not do: it does not report valid markup for types Google does not surface, and since Google retired the FAQ rich result in mid-2026 it reports nothing for FAQPage markup on any site, which is expected and not an error. “No items detected” means “nothing Google would show”, not “invalid”. If you see it, go back to the Schema Markup Validator for the real parse.

Google Search Console

Search Console’s enhancement reports show, across the whole site, which pages Google found structured data on and which carry errors or warnings. It is the monitoring tool: it will not help you debug one page today, but it will tell you next month that a plugin update broke the block on forty pages.

The check the validators cannot do

Validators read syntax. They do not know your phone number. A block that says +1 512-555-0100 when your Google profile and every directory say +1 512-555-0134 is valid and wrong, and it is wrong on the most trusted source you own.

The free NAP checker does the value check. Enter your business with your website filled in and it parses every JSON-LD block on the page, reads the LocalBusiness or Organization name, address and telephone, and compares them with what the open directories publish. It reports whether a LocalBusiness block exists at all, and where the site and the listings disagree. Run it after you validate, not instead of validating; the two catch different failures.

The errors we see most, and the fix for each

What the tool says	What it usually means	Fix
JSON parse error	A missing comma, a stray quote, a trailing comma, or a page builder that HTML-escaped the block	Copy the raw block into a JSON linter; re-paste it as code, not as formatted text
Unknown type	A made-up subtype such as PestControl or MedSpa	Use a real type from LocalBusiness schema types
Unknown property	A typo (telephon) or a property from a different type	Check the property list in the complete guide
Missing required field (Google)	No name or no address	Add them; image is strongly recommended too
Invalid openingHoursSpecification	Times not in 24-hour HH:MM, or dayOfWeek spelled inconsistently	Use "opens": "08:00", "closes": "17:00", full day names
address is a string	"address": "12 Main St, Austin" instead of a PostalAddress object	Split it into streetAddress, addressLocality, addressRegion, postalCode, addressCountry
Two LocalBusiness items	A plugin and a theme both emitting a block	Keep one; the WordPress version of this is in LocalBusiness schema in WordPress
aggregateRating warnings	Ratings marked up that are not visible on the page, or copied from Google	Remove them unless the reviews are genuinely displayed on that page
Valid, but “no items detected” in the Rich Results Test	The type is not one Google surfaces, or it is FAQ markup	Nothing to fix; confirm with the Schema Markup Validator

A validation routine you can keep

1. Validate on change. Any edit to the schema, the theme, the SEO plugin or the page builder: run the page through the Schema Markup Validator and fix everything that concerns the business block.
2. Confirm eligibility. Run the Rich Results Test once to see Google’s required and recommended fields for the local business result.
3. Check the values. Run the NAP checker with the website included. If the schema disagrees with your listings, decide which is wrong; usually it is the schema, because it was written once and never revisited.
4. Monitor. Glance at Search Console’s enhancement reports monthly.
5. Re-run after every NAP event. A move or a rebrand changes the schema too; both checklists (address change, name change) include it.

Valid schema that agrees with your citations is a small, durable advantage: one fewer thing search engines and AI assistants have to guess about your business. Valid schema that contradicts them is the same contradiction, published in the format machines trust most. The tools above tell those two cases apart in about five minutes.