LegitScript Certification Guide for Rehabs

The ‘Velvet Rope’ of Digital Advertising: Why LegitScript Matters More Than Ever

If you’ve ever tried to run a Google or Facebook ad for your treatment center, you’ve likely hit a brick wall. Your ad, no matter how helpful or well-intentioned, was probably disapproved almost instantly.

You might have received a vague notification about “policy violations” or a specific mention of needing “addiction services certification.”

That certification and the organization behind it are LegitScript.

A Powerful Filter for Ethical Providers

In the world of online advertising for addiction treatment, LegitScript certification is the non-negotiable “velvet rope.” It’s the barrier to entry that separates you from the bad actors, and it’s your key to accessing the most powerful marketing platforms on the planet. For many providers who are just trying to get the word out, this process can feel like a frustrating, expensive, and bureaucratic nightmare. But we’re here to reframe that.

As ethical providers, we should see LegitScript for what it is: a powerful filter. It was created specifically to stop the predatory “patient brokers” and unethical, fly-by-night operations that once plagued our industry. Earning this certification isn’t just a hoop to jump through; it’s a badge of honor. It’s your first, most visible signal to the world—and to Google—that you are a legitimate, licensed, and ethical provider.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to LegitScript Success

We will walk you through every document you need to gather, every step of the application, and every common pitfall to avoid.

We will make this process easier because when ethical providers like you get certified, it becomes harder for unethical providers to exist.

And that’s a win for everyone.

What is LegitScript and Why Does It Hold the Keys?

The Vetting Partner for Google, Meta, and Bing

LegitScript is a third-party verification company specializing in high-risk industries, with healthcare as a primary focus. Around 2017, in response to a growing crisis of deceptive and predatory advertising for addiction treatment, Google, Facebook (Meta), and Microsoft (Bing) partnered with LegitScript.

They effectively outsourced their vetting process, mandating that any provider wishing to advertise addiction services must first be certified by this single entity.

Your Non-Negotiable Ticket to Paid Ads

This means that if you want to run paid search ads (PPC) targeting individuals seeking drug rehab, or use social media ads to reach families, you must have this certification.

There are no workarounds.

This partnership is why LegitScript holds all the keys to the paid advertising kingdom. Their approval is your ticket in, and in this space, trust is critical. Do the right thing and you have nothing to fear.

The 19 Standards of Certification

LegitScript doesn’t just check if you have a business license. They conduct a thorough review of your entire operation against their 19 Certification Standards. These standards are the core of the application and are designed to verify that you are a high-quality, ethical provider. You don’t need to memorize them all right now, but you should understand what they’re looking for.

The standards cover everything, including:

• Compliance with Laws & Regulations: This is the big one. They will verify all your facility licenses, clinical licenses, and ensure you’re in good standing with state health departments.
• Business Practices & Transparency: They review your website and marketing materials to ensure you are not making deceptive claims, guaranteeing “cures,” or using misleading imagery. This is where the NAATP Code of Ethics aligns perfectly.
• Staff Qualifications: They verify that your clinical staff are properly licensed and qualified to provide the services you advertise.
• Patient Privacy (HIPAA): They confirm you have clear, written policies and procedures for protecting patient information, as required by federal law.
• Professionalism & Facility Standards: They ensure your facility is operated professionally and provides a safe, appropriate environment for care.

Understanding these standards is the first step. The entire application is simply you proving that you meet them. While predatory operators will fail this review, an ethical provider with their documentation in order should have no problem passing.

The Pre-Application Document Checklist: Your “Secret Weapon” for Success

Here is the single most valuable piece of advice in this entire guide: Do not start the application until you have gathered, scanned, and organized every single item on this list in a folder on your computer. The number one reason for application delays and rejections is missing or incomplete documentation. Being prepared is your secret weapon.

This is your comprehensive checklist. Go through it line by line. This may take a week, but it will save you months of headaches.

Category 1: Business & Legal Documents

• Business Registration Filings: This is your Articles of Incorporation, LLC Operating Agreement, or DBA (“Doing Business As”) certificate. It must show the exact legal name of your business and must be current.
• Tax ID Number (EIN): You’ll need your federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS.
• List of All Facility Locations: A simple document listing the physical address of every location you operate, from your main residential facility to any outpatient or sober living homes you intend to advertise.
• Executive Leadership List: A document listing the full legal names and titles of all owners, corporate officers (CEO, CFO, COO), and clinical directors.

Category 2: Licenses & Accreditations (The Most Critical Category)

• Facility Licenses: Every. Single. One. This includes your state license for residential treatment, your license for outpatient services, your license for detox, etc. They must be current and not expired. The name and address on these licenses must match your business registration documents.
• Clinical & Medical Licenses: You don’t need to provide a license for every nurse, but you MUST provide current, active licenses for your key clinical and medical leadership. This includes:
  • Your Medical Director (MD or DO)
  • Your Clinical Director (LCSW, LPC, PhD, etc.)
• Accreditations (If Applicable): If CARF or The Joint Commission accredits you, have your accreditation certificate ready. This is a huge signal of quality and can expedite your application.
• DEA Registrations: If you provide Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and have an on-site pharmacy or dispense controlled substances, you will need to provide all relevant DEA registrations.

Category 3: Written Policies & Procedures (Your Operational Blueprint)

This is where many providers get stuck. LegitScript needs to see your actual operational policies. A two-sentence summary won’t work. You must provide your complete, board-approved policy documents.

• Patient Privacy & HIPAA Policy: Your complete, detailed policy on how you protect patient information, manage records, and ensure HIPAA compliance.
• Code of Ethics / Professional Conduct: Your official policy that all staff must sign, outlining your commitment to ethical care.
• Marketing Policies: This is a new and critical requirement. You must have a written policy that explicitly governs your marketing practices. It should state that you do not engage in patient brokering, that all your advertising will be truthful, and that you follow all ethical guidelines, like those from ASAM or NAATP.
• Admissions & Intake Procedures: Your written process for how a patient is admitted, from the first call to intake, including financial transparency.
• Discharge Planning Policy: Your formal policy on how you create a safe and comprehensive discharge plan for all patients.

Category 4: Online & Marketing Assets

• Your Website URL: The primary website you will be advertising.
• Insurance Information: Proof of your facility’s general and professional liability insurance policies.

Once you have this “digital binder” of documents, you are not just ready to apply—you are ready to succeed.

You’ve already done 80% of the work.

The Step-by-Step LegitScript Application Walkthrough

With your document folder open, it’s time to begin. The process itself is straightforward, if meticulous. We’ll make it feel easy by breaking it down.

Step 1: Create Your Account and Start the Application

Go to the LegitScript website and navigate to their “Addiction Treatment Certification” section. You will create an account and officially start your application. This is where you will input your basic business information (your “Golden NAP” – Name, Address, Phone) and pay the application fee.

This fee is substantial—it covers the deep manual review and one year of monitoring—so be prepared for it.

This initial fee is the first filter, weeding out non-serious or fraudulent applicants.

Step 2: Complete the Detailed Questionnaire

The application is a lengthy, multi-page questionnaire. This is where you’ll use all those documents you gathered. You will be asked to:

• List Your Leadership: You’ll enter the names of your owners and directors. LegitScript runs background checks on key personnel to ensure they have no history of fraud or criminal activity related to healthcare.
• Describe Your Services: You will detail every service you provide, from medical detox to family therapy and aftercare. Be honest and comprehensive.
• Attest to Your Policies: You will be asked a series of “yes/no” questions based on your policies (e.g., “Do you have a written policy on patient privacy?”).
• Provide Your Website: You’ll link to your website, which the analyst will manually review for transparency, accuracy, and any deceptive claims.

Step 3: Upload All Your Documents

You will now be directed to a secure portal to upload all the documents from your pre-application checklist. Upload each file into its designated category. Double-check that you have attached everything and that the scans are clear and legible. An unreadable license is the same as a missing license.

Step 4: The Review Period & Analyst Communication

After you submit your application, it enters a queue. The wait time can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on their backlog. Eventually, your application will be assigned to a specific LegitScript analyst. This person is your single point of contact, and how you communicate with them is key.

Almost all applications receive follow-up questions.

This is normal, so don’t panic. The analyst may ask for:

• Clarification on a policy. (e.g., “Your marketing policy is not specific enough about patient brokering. Please revise and resubmit.”)
• An updated license. (e.g., “Your clinical director’s license on file expires next month. Please provide the renewed license.”)
• Changes to your website. (e.g., “Your website implies a ‘cure’ for addiction. Please revise this language to be more clinically accurate.”)

Your goal here is simple: be prompt, professional, and thorough. Treat your analyst as a partner in compliance, not an adversary. Respond to their emails within 24-48 hours. If they ask for a revised policy, revise it and send it back. Arguing or being slow to respond is the fastest way to get your application denied.

Step 5: Approval and Monitoring

Once your analyst is satisfied that you meet all 19 standards, you will receive the best email of the process: your approval notification. LegitScript will then provide you with a unique certification code and will notify Google, Meta, and Microsoft that you are an approved advertiser. It can take a few days for this to sync with the ad platforms.

This is how they ensure providers don’t get certified and then revert to unethical practices.

Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them

We’ve seen providers get stuck in the application process for months. It’s almost always due to one of these avoidable mistakes. Here’s how you can learn from them.

• The “Inconsistent NAP” Trap: Your legal business name, physical address, and phone number MUST be identical across your business registration, your state licenses, and your website. An unethical operator might use multiple PO boxes or call-tracking numbers to obscure their location. An ethical, transparent provider has one, clear, consistent identity.
• The “Opaque Website” Red Flag: The analyst will manually review your site. If they can’t find your physical address, your privacy policy, or any information about your clinical staff, they will immediately flag your application. Your website must be a model of transparency.
• The “Thin Policies” Problem: Submitting a one-page “Code of Ethics” you just wrote won’t cut it. They need to see your real, comprehensive, operational policies. If your policies are weak, use this as an opportunity to actually improve them with your clinical team before submitting.
• The “Ghosting the Analyst” Failure: We can’t stress this enough. When your analyst emails you for more information, they are giving you a chance to fix a problem. Ignoring their email or sending a short, unhelpful reply is a critical error. Be their best, most responsive applicant.

Actions You Can Take Today

Feeling motivated to get this done? Here are 3 actionable steps you can take right now, before you even spend a dime on the application fee.

1. Create Your “LegitScript Folder”: Create a new folder on your computer desktop named “LegitScript Application.” Find and scan just three documents from the checklist right now: Your main facility license, your business registration (Articles of Incorporation), and your Medical Director’s license. Getting started is the hardest part.
2. Perform a “Website Transparency Audit”: Open your website and look for these three things:
   1. Is your physical address in the footer?
   2. Is your Privacy Policy (and HIPAA notice) easy to find
   3. Do you have a “Meet Our Team” page with actual staff bios? If you’re missing any of these, email your web developer today to get them added.
3. Review Your “Golden NAP”: Write down your official Name, Address, and Phone Number. Now, check it against your state license and your website. Do they match 100%? If not, you’ve just found your first, most important task. Get them aligned.

The LegitScript certification process is rigorous for a reason: it’s designed to protect people in need of addiction treatment from harm. It’s a high bar that unethical marketers can’t clear. By getting certified, you’re not just unlocking the power of paid advertising; you’re joining an elite group of providers who have proven their commitment to ethical, transparent, and high-quality care.

At AddictionHelp.com, we are building a platform exclusively for these proven, ethical providers.

Are you ready to demonstrate you’re one of them?

*All rights belong to their respective owners. The LegitScript logo is provided by Creative Commons

Written by

Chris Carberg

AddictionHelp.com Founder & Mental Health Advocate

Chris Carberg is the Co-Founder of AddictionHelp.com, and a long-time recovering addict from prescription opioids, sedatives, and alcohol.  Over the past 15 years, Chris has worked as a tireless advocate for addicts and their loved ones while becoming a sought-after digital entrepreneur. Chris is a storyteller and aims to share his story with others in the hopes of helping them achieve their own recovery.

Reviewed by

• Fact-Checked
• Editor

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O.

Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer

Kent S. Hoffman, D.O. has been an expert in addiction medicine for more than 15 years. In addition to managing a successful family medical practice, Dr. Hoffman is board certified in addiction medicine by the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine (AOAAM). Dr. Hoffman has successfully treated hundreds of patients battling addiction. Dr. Hoffman is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of AddictionHelp.com and ensures the website’s medical content and messaging quality.