LegitScript Certification: Your Guide to Google Ads for Supplements
Google requires third-party certification from LegitScript for supplement advertisers in several categories. Without certification, your ads won't run regardless of how compliant your creative is. Understanding this process is essential for planning your Google Ads strategy.
No Shortcuts: Attempting to advertise without required certification results in immediate rejection and potential account restrictions. When in doubt, apply for certification first.
Which Categories Require Certification
LegitScript certification is mandatory for addiction treatment services, telehealth services, pharmaceutical sales, and certain supplement categories. The supplement requirements specifically target products making therapeutic claims or containing ingredients on Google's restricted lists.
When It's Required: If your products contain CBD, target specific health conditions, or make therapeutic claims, assume certification is required. General wellness products without health claims may run without it.
The Certification Process
LegitScript reviews your entire operation, not just your advertising. They verify business legitimacy, product compliance, marketing claims, and operational practices.
Start by submitting an application through LegitScript's portal. You'll provide business documentation, product information, and marketing materials for review.
LegitScript's team examines your products against regulatory requirements for your target markets. They review whether your claims are substantiated and compliant with FDA or EFSA rules depending on where you're advertising.
They also assess your business practices. Age verification for restricted products, customer service policies, return handling, and manufacturing quality all factor into certification decisions.
Common Reasons for Denial
Top Denial Reasons:
- Unsubstantiated health claims — Marketing claims you can't support with evidence
- Product formulation issues — Prohibited ingredients, unsafe dosages, regulatory concerns
- Operational deficiencies — Inadequate age gates, unclear refund policies, poor customer communication
- Website compliance — Blog posts with excessive claims, medical-sounding testimonials, outdated product info
Your entire site is reviewed, not just the products you want to advertise. Blog posts with excessive claims, testimonials that sound like medical endorsements, or outdated product information can sink your application.
Preparing for Success
Pre-Application Checklist:
- Audit your website—read every page from a compliance perspective
- Remove or revise content with unsupported claims
- Ensure product labels match website descriptions exactly
- Prepare documentation for all health-related claims
- Verify terms of service, privacy policy, and refund policy are current
If you state that a product supports immune function, have the substantiation ready to share. LegitScript may request evidence.
Timeline and Costs
Expect: Initial certification typically takes 4-8 weeks. Complex applications take longer. Annual fees vary based on business size and product categories—plan for this recurring cost in your advertising budget.
Renewals happen annually and include re-review of your compliance status. Maintaining certification requires ongoing attention to compliance, not just passing the initial review.
After Certification
Once certified, link your LegitScript certification to your Google Ads account through the platform's verification process. This unlocks the ability to run ads for certified product categories.
Certification ≠ Approval: Certification doesn't guarantee ad approval. Google still reviews individual ads against their policies. Certification opens the door; compliant creative gets you through it.
Maintain certification by staying compliant. LegitScript monitors certified businesses and can revoke certification for violations discovered after approval.
Strategic Considerations
Factor certification timeline into your go-to-market planning. If Google Ads is central to your launch strategy, start certification months before you need to advertise.
Consider certification scope. You can certify specific products rather than your entire catalog. This may be faster and cheaper if you only need to advertise certain items.
Hidden Benefit: Use the preparation process productively. The compliance review required for certification often reveals issues worth fixing regardless of advertising plans. Better to find problems during certification prep than during an FDA inspection.
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