Most clinics find out about LegitScript the same way. The Google Ads account gets suspended, or Meta rejects a GLP-1 ad, or the payment processor sends an email asking for a certification number. Then someone types "legit scripts" into Google and finds a dozen companies offering to fast-track it.
Here's what they tend to leave out. LegitScript isn't reviewing your application form. It's reviewing your business: who's licensed where, who owns what, which pharmacy fills your prescriptions, and whether your website says anything you can't back up. The form is the easy part.
MDside is LegitScript certified, and we build the clinical structure that clinics, med spas and telehealth brands are reviewed on. This is the version we give clients before they pay the fee.
The short answer
To get LegitScript certified you confirm you're in scope, make sure every prescriber is licensed in every state you serve, check that your business structure and pharmacy partners are compliant, clean up your website, apply at my.legitscript.com with a $975 fee, answer the reviewer's follow-up questions, and pay $2,150 a year once you're approved. The full breakdown of the nine standards sits on our LegitScript certification hubLegitScript for GLP-1 brandsLegitScript for med spasLegitScript for TRTLegitScript and peptidesLegitScript vs NABP.
What LegitScript certification costs
LegitScript's published pricing, as of September 2026:
- $975 application fee per website, nonrefundable
- $2,150 annual certification fee per website, charged only if approved
- $2,500 extra per application for expedited review
- $3,995 a year instead of $2,150 if you're placed on probationary certification
So a single-domain brand pays $3,125 in year one, or $5,625 with expedited review. Two domains double it. Older guides quote a $1,995 annual fee; that figure is out of date.
The fee is the cheapest line in the budget. The expensive line is an ad account sitting dark for weeks while you license a prescriber you should have licensed before you applied.
How long it takes
LegitScript doesn't publish a standard turnaround, and anyone promising a fixed number of days is guessing about someone else's queue. What we can say from the files we've seen: complete applications from correctly structured businesses move. Files with gaps sit, because every follow-up question pauses them until you answer.
Expedited review guarantees your file is picked up within 2 business days. It doesn't guarantee approval, and it doesn't help if the reviewer's first question is "why isn't your prescriber licensed in Texas?" Pay for speed only once the file is actually ready.
What you'll need before you apply
- Business registrations for every entity involved, and an ownership chart
- Every prescriber's license for every state you serve, plus NPI and DEA registrations where controlled substances are involved
- Your pharmacy partners' licenses in each ship-to state, and their certification or accreditation
- Written prescribing and telehealth protocols, including how a valid provider-patient relationship is established in each state (see good faith exams)
- Your medical director or oversight agreement and management services agreement if you run a PC-MSO
- Ten years of disciplinary, regulatory, criminal and civil history for the business and key people
- A website that lists service states, shows a real address, phone and email, and publishes a privacy policy, terms and refund policy
The 7 reasons clinic applications stall
1. The state list and the licenses don't match
The site says "available nationwide." The prescriber holds three licenses. This is the most common problem and the most expensive to fix mid-review, because licensure takes time. Match the list to the licenses, or the licenses to the list, before you apply.
2. The structure doesn't survive corporate practice rules
A lay-owned LLC employing physicians and billing for their services won't pass in states that prohibit the corporate practice of medicine. The usual fix is a professional corporation owned by a physician with a management services organization handling the business side. Reviewers look at who owns the practice, not whose logo is on the site.
3. The pharmacy partner isn't what you think it is
Standard 4 pulls your partners into your review. A 503A pharmacy that isn't licensed in a state you ship to, or a supplier that isn't a pharmacy at all, becomes your problem. Ask partners for their license list and certification before you sign.
4. Research-use-only products on the site
RUO peptides sold for human use are a legal compliance failure, not a copy problem. Removing the words "for research" doesn't fix it; removing the products does. Prescription peptides compounded by a licensed pharmacy are a different question. See LegitScript and peptides.
5. GLP-1 copy that sounds like a brand
"Generic Ozempic," "the same ingredient as Mounjaro for less," "guaranteed 20 lbs." With semaglutide and tirzepatide off the FDA shortage list, reviewers read compounded GLP-1 marketing closely. Call compounded products compounded, and back up any result you quote.
6. Prescribing without a valid relationship
A questionnaire and a click isn't enough in every state. Standard 7 asks whether each prescription follows the patient's state law, which is why we write protocols by state rather than one national script. Testosterone adds DEA and registration-by-location questions on top.
7. History that wasn't disclosed
A board action or lawsuit that surfaces during review looks worse than one disclosed up front with context. Disclose it.
Do it in this order
- Structure. Entity, ownership, medical director, management agreement.
- Prescribers. Licensed in every state you'll list, credentialed, documented.
- Protocols. Good faith exams and prescribing rules per state.
- Partners. Licensed, certified pharmacies and labs.
- Website. State list, policies, contact details, honest claims.
- Apply. $975 per domain; expedite only when the file is complete.
- Respond. Answer every follow-up fully, the same week.
Clinics that do it in the reverse order, website first and structure last, are the ones who end up paying for expedited review twice.
After you're certified
Certification is monitored, not permanent. Tell LegitScript before you add a state, a new product line, a new pharmacy, a new owner or a new domain. Each new root domain is its own application and its own annual fee. A certified domain doesn't cover a landing page on a different one.
Ad approval is still separate. Google, Meta and TikTok each apply their own policy to every ad, so a certified brand with non-compliant copy still gets disapproved.
What this means for you
If you're a med spa that only treats patients in person, you probably don't need LegitScript at all. If you prescribe online, ship medication, or want to advertise GLP-1s, testosterone or peptides, you do, and the review will test the parts of your business a marketing agency can't fix.
That's the part MDside builds: physician medical direction, a licensed provider network across your states, state-specific protocols and a compliant PC-MSO structure. When those are right, the LegitScript application is paperwork. Book a call and we'll tell you where your file stands.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get LegitScript certified?
LegitScript doesn't publish a standard review time. Completeness decides it. Expedited review (+$2,500) starts within 2 business days but can't fix licensing gaps.
Is the LegitScript application fee refundable?
No. The $975 application fee is nonrefundable. The $2,150 annual fee is charged only if you're approved.
Can I reapply after a LegitScript denial?
Yes, once the underlying problem is fixed. Resubmitting the same file stalls for the same reason.
Do I need a medical director for LegitScript?
LegitScript doesn't require a title, but it does require valid prescribing, licensed prescribers in each patient's state and a lawful structure. In most states a physician medical director and PC-MSO is how clinics meet that.
Does each website need its own LegitScript certification?
Yes. Fees and certification apply per root domain.
Sources
- LegitScript: process and pricing
- LegitScript: certification standards
- LegitScript: certification FAQ
- Google Ads: prescription drug services
Find out where your file stands.
We'll review your structure, prescribers and protocols against the LegitScript standards.