How to Remove a BBB Complaint or Review

BBB doesn't delete complaints once they're filed. Here's how complaints and customer reviews work, what a business can do, and how long a complaint stays online.

Researched: October 2026

Quick overview

  • BBB complaints can't be deleted. They appear on the Business Profile for three years from the filing date.
  • BBB sends a complaint to the business within two business days, and the business has 14 days to respond.
  • A response is public and shapes the closing status, such as Resolved or Answered, but it doesn't remove the complaint.
  • Customer Reviews are a separate system: BBB verifies the reviewer and the interaction, and doesn't allow anonymous or compensated reviews.
  • While a complaint is live, search suppression keeps it from being the first thing prospects find.

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Complaints vs. reviews

A Complaint is a formal dispute process. BBB sends it to the business within two business days, the business has 14 calendar days to respond, and it closes with a public status.

A Customer Review is a 1 to 5 star rating with a comment. Before it's published, BBB verifies the reviewer's email address or phone number, confirms a marketplace interaction took place, and lets the business respond.

BBB removes inappropriate language and personal information before publishing. It doesn't allow anonymous reviews or reviews where the consumer was compensated.

What you can do

A complaint can't be deleted, so the response is what a business controls. It costs nothing but time.

  1. 1

    Check your BBB account for the complaint

    BBB sends a submitted complaint to the business within two business days.

  2. 2

    Respond within 14 days

    Submit a clear, factual response to the specific issue raised. The response is public, like the complaint.

  3. 3

    Aim for a "Resolved" or "Answered" closing status

    If the consumer confirms the issue was fixed, the complaint closes as Resolved. If the business addressed it but the consumer doesn't confirm, it closes as Answered.

Customer Reviews work differently. Both the reviewer and the business can add comments, and BBB doesn't allow comments from third parties.

Notice: A name showing up on a review site like this one often shows up elsewhere too. You can run a free scan to see what else turns up.

How long it stays online

A complaint stays on the Business Profile for three years from the date it was filed, then comes off on its own. A response changes the closing status, not how long the complaint stays.

During those three years, search suppression keeps the complaint from being the first thing a prospective customer finds. We tell you what's realistic before any work begins.

What we don't do

We won't tell you a BBB complaint can be deleted, because it can't. We don't promise removal of a customer review either.

Common questions

Can a BBB complaint be deleted?

No. BBB says complaints cannot be removed, and they appear on the Business Profile for three years from the date they are filed. A business can respond, and both the complaint and the response are public.

What's the difference between a BBB complaint and a BBB customer review?

A complaint is a formal dispute process with a response window and a public closing status. A customer review is a 1 to 5 star rating with a comment, which BBB verifies before it's published.

How long does a business have to respond to a complaint?

BBB sends the complaint to the business within two business days of filing. The business has 14 calendar days from the filing date to respond, and BBB sends a follow-up letter if it doesn't. Complaints are generally closed about 30 days after filing.

What are the closing statuses?

Resolved means the consumer confirmed the issue was fixed. Answered means the business addressed it but the consumer didn't accept the response or confirm satisfaction. Unresolved means the business responded without a good-faith effort to resolve it, Unanswered means it didn't respond, and Unpursuable means BBB couldn't locate the business.

How does BBB verify customer reviews?

BBB validates the reviewer's email address or phone number, confirms the interaction with the business, and lets both sides comment. It removes inappropriate language and personal information before publishing. BBB says it can't guarantee the accuracy of any single review.

Do I pay if the review isn't removed?

Our removal services are no-removal, no-fee: you're invoiced only once we achieve the removal defined in your Service Agreement. A BBB complaint can't be removed, so the work here is search suppression, which is billed for the work performed.

Related

Also dealing with a ConsumerAffairs review or a ComplaintsBoard listing? See our ConsumerAffairs or ComplaintsBoard guides, or the full Review Removal & Suppression service. Search suppression moves a listing down, and Google De-indexing covers pages that shouldn't appear in Google at all.

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