LegitScript Certification and Your Addiction Treatment Website

If you want to run Google or Meta ads for addiction treatment in the United States, you need LegitScript certification first. Most owners treat that as an advertising hurdle. It is closer to a review of the whole organization, and the website is where much of that review happens.

The analyst compares your application with what your site tells the public: the addresses, the levels of care, the photos, the phone numbers, and every other domain you own. A site written to sell can fail that comparison even when the program behind it is sound.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your situation with LegitScript and with counsel.

Why do addiction treatment ads need LegitScript certification?

Because Google and Meta will not run addiction treatment ads in the United States without it.

In September 2017, Google announced it would stop selling search ads tied to addiction treatment, a move the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers reported on September 15, 2017. On April 16, 2018, LegitScript launched its addiction treatment certification program, and Google announced the same day that U.S. treatment providers would need that certification to advertise starting in July. LegitScript confirmed in July 2018 that Google would reopen the category that month. Bing followed in March 2019.

The current rules are short. Google's healthcare and medicines policy says U.S. advertisers of recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services must be certified by LegitScript, and then must also be certified with Google. Meta's policy requires LegitScript certification plus written permission from Meta.

Passing LegitScript only gets you to each platform's own review. LegitScript's own FAQ says certification may be required for certain advertising programs but does not guarantee advertising approval.

Who must apply, and who cannot?

Clinical substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers apply. Referral businesses generally cannot.

According to the Addiction Treatment Certification FAQ, eligible organizations include outpatient, inpatient, residential, telehealth and dual diagnosis programs, credentialed interventionists who work in person, mutual support groups, and crisis hotlines that do not steer callers to specific facilities.

The same FAQ lists who is generally not eligible:

• Lead generation websites
• Organizations paid to redirect prospective patients to treatment providers
• Sober living homes and other non-clinical recovery residences
• Peer recovery coaching and sober coaching
• Assessment-only services
• Providers outside the United States or Canada

Google's policy adds the consequence: services that are not eligible for LegitScript certification are not allowed to advertise drug and alcohol addiction services on Google.

One detail matters for mental health practices. LegitScript's general certification FAQ warns that if your website includes information about SUD treatment, ad platforms may classify you under their addiction policies even if you never intend to advertise those services. A psychiatry practice with one page on medication for opioid use disorder can land in this category.

What does LegitScript review on your website?

More than most owners expect. One standard addresses the website by name, and several others reach it through what the site says about your services, your locations and your business relationships.

LegitScript publishes 16 certification standards and binding terms and conditions. These are the parts that touch your site:

• Address and services. Standard 9 requires the site to conspicuously disclose the physical address where services are rendered and the specific nature of those services.
• Photographs. Standard 9 also requires every photo to truthfully depict your facilities. Stock images of a pool you do not have fail this test.
• Scope and location. Your content may not misrepresent what you offer or where. Standard 13 adds that you may not claim to operate in locations where you do not provide services.
• Your own name. Standard 13 requires you to identify yourself clearly in your ads and not use third-party business names in them.
• Privacy policy. Standard 10 requires a posted privacy policy when the law requires one, and HIPAA compliance where you handle protected health information. The terms require that policy to be easy to find.
• Incentives. Standard 14 says programs that offer to pay for travel will generally not be approved, and names paying rent or insurance premiums as problems too. A "we cover your flight" banner is an application problem.
• Lead generator ties. Standard 12 prohibits co-ownership of, or any formal or informal business affiliation with, lead generators. Informal affiliation includes sponsoring or answering a lead generator's hotline.
• Medications. Standard 11 limits you to drugs permitted by regulators.
• Every domain. Standard 15 and the terms require you to list every domain and website you own or control. Treat each one as part of the review.

Two terms surprise people. First, you agree not to link or refer users to addiction treatment websites that LegitScript has not approved. A "helpful resources" page linking to other rehabs is now a compliance question. Second, once certified, the LegitScript seal must be the live version linking to legitscript.com. A static image of the seal is not permitted.

Be precise about what the standards do not say. They do not mention call tracking, the word "free," or insurance verification forms by name. The terms do require you to disclose every customer incentive, which they define as anything of value offered to a prospective customer as part of the marketing or sign-up process, so anything you advertise as free belongs on that disclosure. Standard 16 also requires every practice and offer to be accurate, transparent and not misleading, so a tool gets judged by what it tells the visitor. A tracking number that rings your own admissions staff is a different thing from a number answered by someone else's call center. If any number on your site reaches anyone but your staff, ask LegitScript before you apply.

Tracking scripts raise a separate privacy question. We cover it in HIPAA, tracking pixels and behavioral health websites.

How much does LegitScript certification cost?

For a program with one to nine facilities, $1,595 to apply and $3,095 a year, per facility.

These are the fees LegitScript publishes on its certification page as of October 4, 2026:

• 1 to 9 facilities: $1,595 application fee and $3,095 annual fee, per facility
• 10 to 24 facilities: $1,495 and $2,775, per facility
• 25 or more facilities: $1,395 and $2,550, per facility. LegitScript's FAQ adds that organizations with 10 or more facilities may instead qualify for its Enterprise program, which uses a different pricing model.
• Individual practitioner pricing: $535 and $1,070, for practices with three or fewer practitioners, one location, one website and no affiliation with a larger organization
• Expedited processing: an extra $2,500 per application

A "unique facility" is a distinct location providing treatment, even under one corporate registration. A detox at one address and an outpatient program at another are generally two facilities. LegitScript decides close cases at its discretion, weighing factors such as whether locations sit within a mile of each other and share corporate registration, ownership, management or policies. A single-site program pays $4,690 in the first year and $3,095 each year after.

The application fee is nonrefundable regardless of outcome. The annual fee is due only if you are approved. Hardship waivers may be available to qualifying nonprofits. Prices change, so check the page on the day you apply.

How long does certification take?

LegitScript does not publish an estimate. Its general FAQ says review time depends on application complexity, how complete your submission is, how quickly you answer analyst requests, and current volume. Expedited processing guarantees only that review begins within two business days of screening. It does not shorten the review itself.

LegitScript approval is also not the last step. Google certification and Meta permission are separate steps that come after it, so budget time for both.

While you wait, be careful with your existing campaigns. The terms say that continuing to advertise on a platform that requires certification after you apply is presumed to be an attempt to circumvent the process, and may be grounds for denial. Do not try to run ads around a pending application.

Why do websites hold up applications?

Usually because the site says something the paperwork does not.

The analyst compares what you submit (licenses, addresses, services, staff, ownership) with what the public sees. Every gap becomes a question, and every question adds time. Most gaps are predictable from the standards above: a level of care on the website that is not on the license, city landing pages for towns with no facility, an address that appears only inside an image, a microsite from a campaign three years ago that still lists an old program.

LegitScript's general FAQ calls its review collaborative, and Standard 16 says applicants may take reasonable remedial action during the certification process without penalty. That helps, but each fix made during review is another exchange with the analyst. Fixing the site before you apply is faster.

What should you fix before you apply?

Make the website match the license, line by line. A practical pass:

• Legal entity name and every facility address in visible text, not only inside an image
• Levels of care listed exactly as licensed, per location
• Location pages only for places where you deliver care
• Real photos of each facility, with stock and borrowed images removed
• Staff credentials that match the documents you will submit
• Ownership and affiliations stated plainly
• One phone path that reaches your own staff
• No travel, rent, premium or other patient incentives
• A privacy policy linked from every page
• Medication content limited to approved drugs
• An inventory of every domain you own, including old microsites and landing-page domains, with each one fixed or retired
• No links to uncertified treatment websites
• A dynamic seal slot reserved for after approval

The domain inventory is the easiest item to skip, because often nobody on the current team built the old sites. LegitScript asks for all of them anyway. The standards keep applying after approval. A location page or microsite added next year has to meet them just as the original site did.

Common questions about LegitScript certification

Do I need LegitScript certification to run Google Ads for addiction treatment?

Yes, in the United States. Google's advertising policy says recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services must be certified by the LegitScript Certification program, and then also certified with Google. Meta requires LegitScript certification plus written permission from Meta for addiction treatment ads aimed at people in the United States.

Can a lead generation or referral website get LegitScript certified?

Generally, no. LegitScript lists lead generation websites, and organizations that redirect prospective patients to treatment providers in exchange for compensation, as generally not eligible. Its standards also prohibit treatment providers from co-owning, or having any formal or informal business affiliation with, a lead generator.

How much does LegitScript addiction treatment certification cost?

As published by LegitScript on October 4, 2026, a program with 1 to 9 facilities pays a $1,595 nonrefundable application fee and a $3,095 annual certification fee per facility. Individual practitioner pricing is $535 to apply and $1,070 per year. Expedited processing costs an additional $2,500 per application.

How long does LegitScript certification take?

LegitScript does not publish an estimate. It says review time depends on application complexity, how complete the submission is, how quickly you answer analyst questions, and current application volume.

Does LegitScript review my website?

Yes. Its Website Content standard requires the site to conspicuously disclose the physical address where services are rendered and the specific services provided, to use photographs that truthfully depict the facility, and to avoid misrepresenting the scope or location of services. Applicants must also list every domain they own or control.

Related reading: HIPAA, Tracking Pixels and Behavioral Health Websites · SEO for Medical Practices · Behavioral Health Websites