1. What do you need before you start a LegitScript application?
Gather every document before you pay the application fee, because the fee is non-refundable and the clock that matters starts when an analyst finds something missing. LegitScript’s own guide names incomplete documentation as the first thing that holds applications up.
| Document | What it covers | Who usually has to produce it |
|---|---|---|
| Licensure template — Corporate Holdings tab | Who owns the business. LegitScript requires this tab from every applicant. | Owner, with the CPA or attorney who formed the entity |
| Licensure template — Prescribers tab | Each prescriber’s name, license number and credential, for every state you serve | Medical director and each prescriber |
| Licensure template — Pharmacy tab | Only if you are a pharmacy or fulfil medication yourself | Pharmacist in charge |
| Business registration and location | Entity documents and the physical address you operate from | Owner |
| Ownership and leadership | The principals and key staff, named | Owner |
| Ten-year history disclosure | Any criminal, regulatory or civil matter involving principals, key staff or any practitioner, resolved or not, with the remediation | Every principal and practitioner, individually |
| Partner list | Every pharmacy, telehealth group or distributor you rely on | Operations lead |
| Every domain you control | All websites, including ones you are not certifying | Whoever holds the domain registrar login |
| Written SOPs | Quality assurance, and compounding or batch-testing procedures where they apply (there is a compounding addendum) | Medical director |
| Telemedicine sheet | How remote care is delivered, if you offer it | Medical director |
Check your partners before you list them. Partner pharmacies that fill prescriptions for your patients are generally expected to be LegitScript-certified or accredited by another recognized body. LegitScript’s public status lookup shows whether a site is certified; it allows about five free look-ups a week per connection, so check your whole list in one sitting.
2. What are the steps of a LegitScript application, in order?
Seven steps, and only two of them are waiting on LegitScript. The rest are yours, which is why the same certification takes one clinic weeks and another months.
| # | Step | Who is waiting on whom | What speeds it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create an account at LegitScript’s certification portal (desktop Chrome; the confirmation link expires in two hours) | You | Use a shared inbox the whole team can reach, not one person’s email |
| 2 | Choose the certification category, complete the eligibility form and pay the non-refundable application fee | You | Pick the category that matches your model; the wrong one restarts the process |
| 3 | Optionally pay for expedited review to move the start of the review forward | You | Only worth it if your documents are already complete |
| 4 | Complete the questionnaire and upload the documents (it saves as you go) | You | Having the table above ready turns this into an afternoon |
| 5 | Client Relations screens the submission for completeness, within the first two business days | LegitScript | Nothing — but a gap found here costs you a round trip |
| 6 | Analysts review licensure, registration, website, affiliates, privacy policy, patient practices and promotion, and ask for fixes | Both | Answer the same day; LegitScript says prompt responses keep reviews on track |
| 7 | Pay the annual certification fee on approval | You | The annual fee is only due once you are approved |
LegitScript notes that it is common for a business to have a few minor areas of non-compliance that must be fixed before approval. Plan for one round of changes; plan your launch around two.
3. Why do LegitScript applications stall?
Six reasons, all listed in LegitScript’s own guide, and every one of them is fixable before you submit.
| What stalls it | What the analyst sees | The fix before you apply |
|---|---|---|
| Incomplete documentation | A missing tab or template, most often Corporate Holdings | Fill every tab that applies; write N/A where a question does not, rather than leaving it blank |
| Unverified partners | A pharmacy or telehealth partner with no certification or accreditation | Check each partner’s status first; replace any that fail before you list them |
| Website not live | Wireframes or a placeholder page | Expect preliminary certification; the seal is issued once the live site passes a final review |
| Inadequate transparency | The site does not say where services are available, or domains and affiliates are missing from the application | State every state or country you serve on the site; list every domain you control |
| Unclear policies | No written quality, compounding or batch-testing procedures | Write the SOP you actually follow, and keep it short enough to be true |
| Undisclosed history | A past matter the analyst finds on their own | Disclose everything in the last ten years with its remediation; a disclosed matter is a question, an undisclosed one is a problem |
4. What does your website need to show for LegitScript?
Your website is part of the application, and the analyst reads it the way a regulator would. The practical list:
| The site should | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Name every state, territory or country where the service is available | LegitScript requires it; it is also how a patient in the wrong state learns you cannot treat them |
| Match the services and products on the application exactly | A treatment on the site that is not on the application is an unapproved one |
| Avoid disease claims and unapproved health claims in copy and ads | Certification does not approve your ads; each ad platform still applies its own claims rules |
| Carry a privacy policy that matches how data is actually handled | The review includes privacy policies |
| Be under a domain you listed | Every domain you control belongs on the application, certified or not |
One commercial consequence worth knowing: many payment processors ask what your public website advertises, and a merchant that advertises a prescribing service it is not certified for can have its account reviewed. The payments side is covered in which payment processors allow GLP-1 and TRT clinics.
5. What happens after you are LegitScript certified?
Certification lasts one year and is watched the whole time. The obligations that catch clinics are the quiet ones.
| Obligation | The detail |
|---|---|
| Annual renewal | Valid one year from certification; LegitScript notifies you about 60 days before it expires, and renewal is usually faster than the first application |
| Tell them about changes | New owners, licenses, websites, products or services go into the renewal questionnaire, or sooner |
| Staff discipline within 30 days | Certified businesses must tell LegitScript within 30 days of learning that any staff member faces disciplinary action |
| Ongoing monitoring | Reports of non-compliance lead to required remediation; ignoring them can mean suspension or revocation |
| The seal is optional | You may display it, and it links to your public verification page, but it is not required |
| Ads still need approval | Certification unlocks eligibility on Google, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok; every ad must still pass that platform’s own rules |
6. A clinic’s own LegitScript checklist, in the order that works
Do the website and the partners first, the paperwork second, and pay last.
| Week | Do this | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audit the website: states served, services listed, claims removed, privacy policy current | The site says nothing the application will not |
| 1 | Check every partner pharmacy and telehealth group for certification or accreditation | Each one has a status you can screenshot |
| 1–2 | Collect licensure for every prescriber in every state; fill all licensure tabs | No blank tab |
| 2 | Write or tidy the SOPs; gather the ten-year disclosures from every principal | Each principal has signed off on their own history |
| 2 | Create the account, pay, complete the questionnaire in one sitting | Status reads Submitted |
| 3 onward | Answer analyst questions the same day | Approved, or preliminary while the site finishes |
Starting a prescribing clinic from scratch? The full order of operations is in how long it takes to open a cash-pay clinic.
7. Frequently asked questions
How long does LegitScript certification take?
LegitScript screens a new submission within about two business days. After that, the length is mostly decided by how complete the application is and how quickly you answer analyst questions. Typical timelines and fees are on our LegitScript cost page.
Can I get LegitScript certified before my website is live?
Yes, usually as preliminary certification. You submit wireframes or screenshots and a go-live date; the full certification and the seal follow once LegitScript reviews the live site.
Do my partner pharmacies need to be LegitScript certified?
LegitScript’s guide says partners that fill prescriptions for your patients are generally required to be LegitScript-certified or accredited by another recognized body. Check each partner’s status before you list it.
What is the Corporate Holdings tab?
The ownership section of LegitScript’s licensure spreadsheet. Every applicant has to complete it, whatever the business type.
Does LegitScript certification let me run Google or Meta ads for GLP-1 or telehealth?
It makes you eligible to apply for those ad categories. Each platform still reviews every ad against its own rules on claims, prohibited content and landing pages.
What happens if I do not renew?
Certification is valid for one year. It stays continuous only if the renewal is completed on time; a lapse can affect both your advertising eligibility and payment processors that rely on it.