If you want to run Google or Meta ads for a treatment program, LegitScript certification isn't optional — it's the gate. Here's what the review covers and how to pass it the first time.
LegitScript certification is a third-party vetting program that verifies an addiction treatment provider is legitimately licensed and operating ethically. Google and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) require LegitScript certification before addiction treatment providers can run paid ads in the U.S. The review covers state licensing, ownership and background checks, clinical staffing, and business practices (including marketing and patient-referral practices). It involves a one-time application fee plus an annual fee, and certification must be maintained year over year.
Any organization that wants to advertise addiction treatment services on Google Ads or Meta platforms: residential and outpatient SUD programs, detox facilities, sober living homes that advertise, telehealth addiction providers, and lead generators or marketers operating in the space. Organic listings (your website ranking in search, your licensed program's Google Business Profile) don't require it — paid advertising does.
Licenses, ownership records, staff rosters and credentials, policies, and marketing materials. Gaps here cause most delays.
LegitScript charges a one-time application fee plus an annual certification fee (both in the low thousands of dollars per entity — check LegitScript's current fee schedule).
Reviews commonly take several weeks. Analysts ask follow-ups about licensing, ownership, and marketing — fast, complete answers keep it moving.
Once certified, you complete Google's and Meta's own advertiser verification referencing your certification, then maintain it annually.
The most common stumbles: advertising services at locations that aren't licensed for them, undisclosed ownership interests, outcome claims that can't be substantiated ("95% success rate"), and referral arrangements that look like patient brokering — which is also illegal under California law. Getting your licensing house in order first makes certification dramatically easier.
LegitScript certification is a third-party vetting program that verifies an addiction treatment provider is properly licensed and operating ethically. Google and Meta require it before addiction treatment providers can run paid ads in the U.S.
Yes — Google requires addiction treatment advertisers in the U.S. to be LegitScript-certified and to complete Google's own advertiser verification. Meta (Facebook/Instagram) has the same requirement for addiction treatment ads.
There is a one-time application fee plus an annual certification fee, each typically in the low thousands of dollars per entity. Fees vary by organization type and number of locations — check LegitScript's current fee schedule before applying.
Reviews commonly take several weeks from a complete application. Missing licensing documentation, undisclosed ownership, or marketing claims that can't be substantiated are the most common causes of delay or denial.
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