So you’ve spent time creating the perfect Facebook Business Page, but then notice you have other pages on Facebook you can’t access. There are several reasons why you may have duplicate Facebook pages.

You or someone in your company created a page in the past and forgot about it or lost the login information
Your customers checked in at your location, but couldn’t find your business page, thus creating an unmanaged page
Someone has created a fake page with your business information

Regardless of the reason for duplicate pages, it’s important to resolve the issue quickly to better manage your branding and maintain consistency for your customers and audience.

Luckily, Facebook has done a better job during the past couple of years of alerting businesses about unclaimed duplicate pages. Now, Facebook Business Page administrators don’t have to take sole responsibility for tracking down duplicate pages. Facebook will ask administrators to claim duplicate pages when they create new Business Pages.

However, if you’ve noticed duplicate pages and need help figuring out how to fix the problem, here’s a how-to guide to help you out.

Dealing with Duplicate Pages When You Have a Facebook Business Page

If you already have a Facebook Business Page and Facebook found duplicate pages, you will first have to claim ownership of each page. To report pages that you should be managing, you should do the following:

Go to the top right-hand corner of the page you want to notify Facebook about. There, just to the right of the “Message” button, you will see a button with three dots. Click on it.
Once you do so, you will see an option on the dropdown menu for “Report Page.”
After clicking that button, you will have the option of choosing the reason you are reporting that page. Choose “Duplicate” or “Miscategorized” page.
Once you select that option, there is a field for you to submit the name of your Facebook Business Page.
After filling out the field, click “Submit” and Facebook will look into whether the page is a duplicate of yours. If they deem that it is, they will let you know and provide you access to the page or they will merge it with your page.

How Do You Merge Duplicate Pages?

Once Facebook grants you ownership of a particular page, it’s easy to merge it with your Facebook Business Page. Here’s what you do:

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/merge/. Or you can type “Request to Merge Your Duplicate Pages” in the Facebook search bar at the top of the page. You can also click on the “Admin Settings” button of your page, and under “General Features” you will see a “Merge Pages” menu item. You can then expand it and click the “Merge Duplicate Pages” button.

After doing so, you will see a pop-up window where you will be instructed to reenter your password.
Once you enter your password, you will be taken to a new page where you will be prompted to select the two pages you’d like to merge.
You will next see a “Choose the Page You Want to Keep” button. Here, you should select your Facebook Business Page. Below this button, you will see five “Pages You Want to Merge” buttons. You can merge up to five pages with your page. It’s important to note that if you mistakenly select your Facebook Business Page with any of the “Pages You Want to Merge” buttons, you will not be able to “Unmerge” your Facebook Business Page.
After you’ve selected the page(s) you want to merge with your Facebook Business Page, you will click “Send.” Once you do so, a pop-up window will appear informing you that you will receive an email response from Facebook confirming the merger(s).

When considering whether a page or pages should be merged with your Facebook Business Page, Facebook will review each page on an individual basis. If Facebook determines that the name and products or services the page/business offers are close to yours, they’ll usually grant you permission within 48 hours to merge the pages. However, if the names are fairly different, it may take them up to 14 days to make a decision.

If Facebook approves the merged page, they will send you an email with a link to the combined page. If they confirm the merged page, your Facebook Business Page will automatically pull in the other page’s likes, followers, and check-ins. However, none of the content, including images, will be merged into your Facebook Business Page.

You can keep track of your merge requests by accessing the “Page Support” button, which you can find under your main page’s admin settings. Here, you can review all of your Facebook support requests, including merge requests, along with the status of each request.

In addition, you can also remove duplicate pages, but if you choose to do this, you will lose any likes or followers from that page. To do so, copy and paste the URL from the duplicate pages and find the “Suggest Edits” button on your page. After clicking it, scroll to the bottom of the “Suggest Edits” page and paste the URL in the “Report Duplicates” field, and then click “Save.” It typically takes 3 to 5 days for Facebook to remove duplicate pages.

Dealing with Duplicate Pages When You Don’t Have a Facebook Business Page

Conversely, if you don’t have a Facebook Business Page and you want to create one, you will have to prove ownership of your business; that is if you find one or more unofficial Facebook pages with your business’ name. The reason these pages usually exist is that when people check in to your business, and there’s not already a Facebook Business Page, Facebook creates a page for your business.

Unfortunately, these pages aren’t a great representation of your business because they may include inaccurate information, and they aren’t updated with exciting new information to help improve your social outreach. Yes, unofficial pages can be aggravating, but here are the steps you can take to claim them:

On each of the Facebook pages you find, click on the “Gear” sign at the top right-hand corner of the page. Next, scroll down and select “Is This Your Business?” from the dropdown menu.
Confirm that you are the “Official Representative” of this business by checking the box that affirms that you agree to Facebook’s terms.
You will then input the name of your business, the address, your job title, the phone number, and the website. The more information you provide, the easier it is for Facebook to confirm your status.
Finally, Facebook will ask you to verify your connection with the pages you are claiming. You can do so by either adding your business email to your Facebook Business Page account or by sending official documentation regarding your business to Facebook.

Email confirmation: Simply select “Email” from the dropdown menu and add it there or add it to the aforementioned form.
Document confirmation: Upload your business license, tax ID, articles of formation, or a phone or utility bill in a .doc, .docx, .pdf, .jpg, or .png file.

Once you’ve met all of Facebook’s requirements, they will review your ownership claim and make a decision.

Regardless of whether you are creating a Facebook Business Page or already have one, you want to be vigilant in making sure that your page is the one that Facebook users see first. Doing a little housekeeping on Facebook from time to time will ensure that your business is properly represented and you’ll be better able to attract more followers and customers.