To get LegitScript certification for a telehealth company, you open an account in LegitScript's client portal, pay a $975 application fee per website, and complete its questionnaire with your licenses, policies, partners and website. Analysts review you against nine standards and ask for anything missing, and once you're approved you pay $2,150 a year per website. LegitScript publishes no standard timeline. Google requires the certification for telemedicine ads in the US, and Meta requires it before telehealth providers promote prescription drugs.
On thimblehub, your site is built to LegitScript's requirements and we support your review hands-on. We make the site and terms changes analysts ask for, set up a reviewer login to your patient portal, and answer their questions on how checkout and patient data work. You apply, and the certification is yours.
Why telehealth companies need it
LegitScript is a verification company that ad platforms and card networks rely on to vet healthcare merchants. Its certification decides whether you can buy ads for prescription care, and it helps when a payment processor reviews your business.
- Google allows US telemedicine ads from providers certified through LegitScript's Healthcare Merchant Certification Program, and you also apply for Google's own healthcare certification. Online pharmacies can use NABP accreditation instead.
- Meta requires online pharmacies and telehealth providers to be actively certified with LegitScript, and to get Meta's authorization, before their ads promote prescription drugs. Ads that promote telehealth services in general need no written authorization.
- Microsoft Advertising and TikTok are on LegitScript's list of platforms that require its approval for healthcare ads. TikTok asks US pharmacies for NABP or LegitScript certification.
- Visa and Mastercard recognize LegitScript certification when processors register pharmacies and telemedicine providers that take card-not-present payments.
What it costs
| Fee | Amount | When you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Application | $975 per website, nonrefundable | Before you start the questionnaire |
| Annual certification | $2,150 per website a year | Once you're approved |
| Probationary certification | $3,995 per website a year, with closer monitoring | In place of the annual fee, when LegitScript certifies you on probation |
| Expedited processing | $2,500 more per application, optional | With your application, or by email after you submit |
| Another root domain | Its own application fee and annual fee | With the same application. Subdomains such as shop.yourbrand.com are generally covered. |
From LegitScript's Healthcare Certification page, Certification FAQ and Healthcare Certification 101 Guide (January 2026). Checked October 12, 2026.
LegitScript's own example: three websites on one application cost $2,925 to apply and $6,450 a year. Every website you operate has to be disclosed, and you choose which ones to certify.
How long it takes
LegitScript says every application is different, so it gives no estimate. Review time depends on how complex your business is, how complete your application is, how fast you answer its analysts, and how many applications are in the queue. Published timelines from others run from days to months, and they measure different moments: when review starts, or when approval arrives.
| Source | What it says | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| LegitScript FAQ | Every application is different, so no estimated timeline | Approval |
| LegitScript Step-by-Step Guide (January 2026) | Screening within the first two business days after you submit | Start of screening |
| LegitScript expedited processing | For $2,500 more, review begins within two business days. Its certification page counts from submission, and its FAQ from the end of screening. It doesn't shorten the review. | Start of review |
| MDI (September 1, 2026 release) | Standard review waits can be 4 to 6 weeks before work begins. Applications through MDI can be picked up in as little as two days. | Start of review |
| OpenLoop (January 9, 2025 post) | Certification usually takes 2 to 4 months | Approval |
| Wizlo (LegitScript service page) | Most brands wait 4 to 6 months for certification, and as fast as 7 days through its own pathway | Approval |
Each from the publisher's own page, listed under Sources. Checked October 12, 2026.
What you control is completeness and response speed. LegitScript's FAQ says a missing item doesn't mean automatic denial: analysts contact you, and quick answers keep the application moving.
The certification process step by step
- Open an account and pay. Create an account in LegitScript's client portal and pay the $975 application fee for each website. Add expedited processing here if you want it.
- Complete the questionnaire. Upload your documents as you go. You can save and come back, so gather the list below first.
- Screening. LegitScript checks the application for missing information, usually within two business days of submission.
- Review. An analyst checks your business against the nine standards, including your website, partners, policies and advertising, and contacts you with questions. Small fixes are common at this stage.
- Fix and answer. Make the changes analysts ask for and reply quickly. On thimblehub, our team makes the site and terms changes and sets up the reviewer's portal login.
- Approval. Pay the $2,150 annual fee to finalize certification. If your site isn't live yet, LegitScript typically grants preliminary certification first and issues your seal once the site is live and passes a final review.
What to have ready
LegitScript's 101 Guide and Step-by-Step Guide list what the questionnaire asks for. Gather it before you open the application.
- Business registration for every state or country you operate in
- Every relevant license, plus LegitScript's licensure spreadsheet, including the Corporate Holdings tab every applicant completes
- LegitScript's telemedicine compliance spreadsheet, covering your clinicians and the states they serve
- A description of your business model and the services you offer
- Your privacy policy
- A list of affiliates and partners, with your fulfillment pharmacy's LegitScript or NABP status
- Test credentials for your patient portal, so the reviewer can sign in
- Screenshots or wireframes and your go-live date, if your site isn't live yet
- Any criminal, regulatory or civil history for principals, key staff and practitioners, with what you did about it
Who prepares what
Every standard has an owner. On thimblehub, ours are the site, the portal and the answers about checkout and patient data.
| Standard | Who prepares it | What reviewers look at |
|---|---|---|
| Licensure and business registration | You, with your clinician network's licenses for its clinicians | Licenses where you prescribe and dispense, and where your patients are |
| Legal compliance | You and your healthcare attorney | The laws that apply where you serve patients |
| Prior discipline and history | You | Criminal, regulatory and civil history of principals, key staff and practitioners |
| Affiliates and partners | You, with your network and pharmacy | Every affiliate, and whether your fulfillment pharmacy holds LegitScript certification or NABP accreditation |
| Patient services | You choose your states, and thimblehub lists them on your site | Every state or country where your services are available, listed on your site |
| Privacy | You own the policy. thimblehub answers how data is protected: field-by-field encryption, audit-logged staff access and two-factor sign-in, under a signed BAA. | Your privacy policy, HIPAA compliance and secure handling of patient data |
| Validity of prescription | Your network's clinicians decide. thimblehub shows how intake and checkout send each order for review. | How a prescription comes about |
| Transparency | You approve every claim. thimblehub runs a site built to LegitScript's requirements, makes the changes analysts ask for and sets up the reviewer's portal login. | Accurate details on your pharmacy, clinicians, treatments and prices, with no unsupported health claims |
| Advertising | You, and whoever runs your ads | Ads that are accurate and follow each platform's rules |
Standards and what reviewers look at, summarized from LegitScript's Healthcare Certification page, 101 Guide and Step-by-Step Guide. Checked October 12, 2026.
Our support runs through the whole review, and for help with the questionnaire itself we point you to people we trust for LegitScript prep.
Common analyst requests
LegitScript's Step-by-Step Guide names the issues that most often hold an application up.
- Incomplete documentation, such as a missing license or a blank Corporate Holdings tab.
- Unverified partners. Fulfillment pharmacies generally need LegitScript certification or another recognized accreditation, so check yours with LegitScript's status lookup before you apply.
- A website still under construction. Send wireframes or screenshots with your go-live date, and tell LegitScript when the site launches so it can do a final review.
- Missing transparency. Your site must list every state or country you serve, and your application every domain and affiliate.
- Unclear policies for quality assurance and compounding, where they apply.
- Undisclosed history, including resolved cases, for principals, key staff and practitioners.
How your website affects certification
Reviewers read your site against the same standards. On the site, that comes down to four things.
- Every state or country where your services are available
- Accurate details on your pharmacy, clinicians, treatments and prices
- No health claims a regulator hasn't backed, on the site or in your ads
- A privacy policy where the law requires one, and secure pages for patient and payment data
Need a telehealth site built to LegitScript's requirements?
thimblesites sets up and runs brand sites with the disclosures, policies and provider credentials where LegitScript looks for them, and we support you through the review. The certification is yours.
See brand sites built for LegitScriptAfter certification: maintaining your status
- Certification lasts a year. LegitScript reminds you about 60 days before it expires, and renewal is usually faster than the first review.
- LegitScript keeps monitoring certified businesses and requires fixes when it finds noncompliance. Ignoring a request can lead to suspension or revocation.
- Tell LegitScript about changes to staff, partners, licenses, products or areas of operation, and within 30 days of learning that a staff member faces disciplinary action.
- Showing the seal is optional. It links to your public verification page.
- Certification makes you eligible to advertise, and each platform still reviews every ad against its own rules.
Ad platforms after certification
Google Ads
Apply for Google's healthcare certification on its online form, from the Google Ads account that will run the ads (never a manager account), with that account's customer ID and your certified domain. Once Google approves, you can run ads in approved healthcare categories.
Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
Meta asks for active LegitScript certification and its own authorization before you promote prescription drugs. Ads can only reach people 18 or older in the United States, Canada or New Zealand where you're certified, and they carry a disclaimer to consult a licensed health professional. For tracking, read how Meta ads work for telehealth.
What one call gets you
One call gets your whole launch moving, with certification running alongside it. We set up and run your checkout and intake, patient and admin portals and brand site on the clinician network and pharmacy you choose, or introduce you to ones we work with. Your site is built to LegitScript's requirements, we support you through the review, and you can be live as fast as 3 days after you sign. How to start a telehealth company covers the rest of the launch, and launching a white-label brand fast shows what sets your date.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does LegitScript certification take?
- LegitScript gives no estimate, because every application is different. Screening usually happens within two business days of submission, and expedited processing ($2,500 more) starts the review within two business days without shortening it. Others publish 4 to 6 weeks before review starts and 2 to 6 months to approval. Complete documents and quick answers are what you control. On thimblehub, we make the site changes analysts ask for and answer their questions on checkout and patient data, so those parts of your review keep moving.
- How much does LegitScript certification cost?
- The application fee is $975 per website, one-time and nonrefundable. The annual certification fee is $2,150 per website, and probationary certification is $3,995 a year. Expedited processing costs an additional $2,500 per application. Each extra root domain needs its own application fee and annual fee.
- Can I advertise on Google without LegitScript certification?
- Not for telehealth in the US. Google allows telemedicine ads from providers certified through LegitScript, and you also need Google's own healthcare certification. Online pharmacies can use NABP accreditation instead.
- Does each subdomain need separate certification?
- Generally, no. LegitScript's FAQ says subdomains and subpages are generally covered by the certified root domain, so shop.yourbrand.com falls under yourbrand.com. A different root domain needs its own application fee and annual fee, and it can go on the same application.
- Can I apply before my website is live?
- Yes. Send wireframes or screenshots with your go-live date, and tell LegitScript when the site launches. An unfinished site typically gets preliminary certification, which LegitScript says carries the same benefits, and your seal comes once the site is live and passes a final review.
- How does thimblehub help with LegitScript?
- Your site is built to LegitScript's requirements. During your review we make the site and terms changes analysts ask for, set up a reviewer login to your patient portal, and answer their questions on how checkout and patient data work. You submit the application, and the certification is yours.
Questions, or a topic you'd like us to cover? Book a call or email hello@thimblehub.com.
Sources
- LegitScript: Healthcare Certification (fees and standards)
- LegitScript: Certification FAQs
- LegitScript: Healthcare Certification 101 Guide (January 2026)
- LegitScript: Healthcare Certification Step-by-Step Guide (January 2026)
- Google Ads Help: Healthcare and medicines policy
- Google Ads Help: Prescription drug services (how to apply)
- Meta: Drugs and pharmaceuticals ad standards
- TikTok: Healthcare and pharmaceuticals ad policy (updated September 2026)
- MD Integrations: Partners with LegitScript (September 1, 2026)
- OpenLoop: LegitScript certification for telehealth advertising (January 9, 2025)
- Wizlo: LegitScript certification and compliance for telehealth