Can I advertise drug or alcohol addiction treatment?
Direct answerOnly in limited places, and only with the certification that location requires. Google’s addiction-services policy allows recovery-oriented drug and alcohol ads in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States after you are approved. Government-only rules apply in some of those countries. In the US and Canada, Google requires LegitScript plus Google certification. Meta requires LegitScript and written permission for addiction-treatment ads aimed at the United States.
What the ad actually is
A telehealth visit that prescribes a drug is telehealth and prescription ads. A supplement claim is supplements. A brewery is alcohol ads. Nicotine products are tobacco and nicotine ads. This page is recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services.
Google, by country
Google’s addiction services policy restricts promotion of recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services. Examples include clinical treatment, recovery support such as sober living and mutual-help organizations, lead generators or referral agencies, and crisis hotlines. Approved advertisers can run in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Apply separately for each location through healthcare certification.
The healthcare and medicines location table, reviewed with that policy on September 23, 2026, does not use one certificate for all six:
| Location | Who Google says may apply |
|---|---|
| United States | LegitScript Addiction Treatment Certification, plus Google certification. Providers LegitScript will not certify are not allowed. |
| Canada | Same pair: LegitScript, then Google. |
| Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand | Government entities only, and they still need Google certification. |
| Everywhere else | Not on the allowed-location list in the addiction-services article. |
Impulse-control, behavioral-addiction, and nicotine-addiction services are out of scope of this policy. That means the addiction-services certificate is not the rule for them. It does not publish a free pass. A guaranteed “sober in 30 days” line can still be an unreliable claim after the certificate is in place. Violations of the addiction-services policy do not suspend the account immediately. Google says a warning comes at least 7 days before suspension.
Meta in the United States
Meta’s drug and alcohol addiction treatment standard, summarized in Meta Business Help, requires advertisers who want to run these ads targeting people in the United States to be certified with LegitScript and to have written permission from Meta. With that permission, the standard describes in-person treatment, hotlines, mutual-support groups, and online treatment. It also says some physical-rehabilitation ads can run without that permission. Read the live exception list before you decide a sober-living ad is outside the rule.
Certification does not fix copy that asserts a personal attribute. “Are you an alcoholic?” or “your relapse” is Meta’s personal attributes policy. Talk about the program.
TikTok
TikTok’s healthcare and pharmaceuticals article, in the text reviewed on September 23, 2026, does not publish a LegitScript row for addiction treatment. Do not import Google’s six-country list. A clinic can still be read as a medical institution, which on that page is market-specific and often 18+ with local certification. That is an interpretation of the medical-institutions row, not a published addiction allowance. Open the market you target.
Copy after the certificate exists
| Line | Problem | If you are actually eligible |
|---|---|---|
| “Are you an alcoholic? We guarantee sobriety in 30 days.” | Personal attribute on Meta, plus a promised outcome. | “Licensed drug and alcohol treatment. See admissions and who the program serves.” |
| US lead form for a center LegitScript will not certify | Google says ineligible providers are not allowed. Meta still wants certification for US treatment ads. | Do not run that offer. A new headline is not a certificate. |
Setup workflow
- Confirm the offer is recovery from drug or alcohol addiction: clinical treatment, sober living, mutual help, a referral or lead-gen path, or a crisis hotline. Nicotine and behavioral programs are outside this Google policy.
- Open Google’s location table. Australia, France, Ireland, and New Zealand are government entities only, plus Google certification. The United States and Canada require LegitScript and Google certification.
- If LegitScript will not certify the business, do not buy US or Canada Google traffic for this offer. Google says ineligible providers are not allowed.
- Submit a separate Google healthcare application for each location. Do not add a seventh country and assume the six-country list expanded.
- For Meta ads aimed at the United States, get LegitScript certification and Meta’s written permission before launch. “Are you an alcoholic?” can still be rejected as a personal attribute.
Frequently asked questions
Does a LegitScript certificate replace Google certification?
No. In the United States and Canada, Google’s healthcare location table says you need LegitScript’s Addiction Treatment Certification and Google certification. Not every provider is eligible for LegitScript. Google says those who are not eligible are not allowed to advertise recovery-oriented drug and alcohol addiction services.
Can I advertise nicotine, gambling, or behavioral-addiction treatment under this policy?
Google says promotion of services unrelated to drug and alcohol addiction — impulse control disorders, behavioral addiction, or nicotine addiction — is out of scope of the addiction-services policy. Out of scope means this certification does not cover them. It does not mean those ads are unrestricted. Nicotine products themselves are the tobacco page.
Is a beer brand an addiction-treatment ad?
No. Selling or depicting alcohol is the alcohol-ads policy. This page is recovery-oriented treatment, sober living, mutual-help organizations, referral agencies, and crisis hotlines for drug and alcohol addiction.
Sources
- Google Ads: Addiction services
- Google Ads: Healthcare and medicines (location table)
- Meta: Drug and alcohol addiction treatment
- Meta Business Help: About the addiction treatment policy
- TikTok: Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
Certification vendors and country rows change. This reading is as of September 23, 2026. It is not a statement that a particular center is licensed.
Check the line that talks about the person
LaunchGuarding flags personal-attribute phrasing and outcome promises before a certified account spends on a headline the certificate does not cover.