Can Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Advertise on Microsoft Ads?

What this means for you

• Therapy, counselling and psychiatry practices advertise under Microsoft's general healthcare rules. Its US market rules add nothing specific to mental health.
• Every health ad must target 18+ and must not target people based on sensitive health information.
• Telepsychiatry that prescribes is a telemedicine provider selling prescription drugs, so it needs Microsoft's preapproval first.
• Addiction recovery ads run only in the US, need LegitScript certification for the landing pages and every URL in the ad, and can't be lead generation ads.
• Remarketing lists and UET tags can't carry extra personal data, and sensitive data can't be used to personalise ads.
• Counselling that addresses eating habits falls under Microsoft's weight loss rules.

MedScale Health, a paid acquisition agency for telehealth brands and clinics, runs paid acquisition for therapy practices, telepsychiatry brands and addiction treatment providers. Our answer on Microsoft Ads for telehealth covers the preapproval form and the rules for every health ad, and our behavioural health guide covers Meta and Google. This page is the Microsoft verdict for mental health, as read on October 8, 2026. This page is marketing guidance, not medical or legal advice. Platform policies change, so check the sources listed at the end before acting on a specific rule.

Therapy and psychiatry services

Microsoft's Healthcare and Pharmaceutical policy, last updated October 5, 2026, has no US rule written for therapy or psychiatry. The general requirements apply: follow the laws in each region where the ads show, keep current licences for each market, don't target consumers based on sensitive health information, and target users ages 18+. Claims must be supported by credible scientific evidence, with the study source and date where that applies, and a comparative such as "more effective than" needs a named third-party study in the ad or on the landing page.

One detail catches eating disorder and weight-focused counselling. Microsoft's weight loss policy lists behavioural therapy, such as counselling services addressing eating habits, among the services it covers. Those ads must target 18+, encourage people to consult a healthcare professional before beginning an intensive program, and avoid content that encourages negative body image or unhealthy eating habits.

Telepsychiatry that prescribes

A telepsychiatry service that prescribes online is a telemedicine provider that sells prescription drugs, which Microsoft requires to be preapproved through the Pharmacy and Telemedicine advertiser program form before its ads serve. Many ADHD medications, including amphetamine, methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine, are Schedule II controlled substances under 21 CFR 1308.12. Prescribing controlled medications by telemedicine without an in-person visit relies on the DEA and HHS fourth temporary extension, effective through December 31, 2026.

That date matters for copy. An ad or landing page that promises an ADHD prescription online with no in-person visit rests on a rule with an end date. We keep drug names out of mental health ads and describe the evaluation and the clinician instead.

Addiction treatment: US only, LegitScript, no lead gen

Microsoft's rule is short: "Advertising for drug and alcohol addiction recovery is only allowed in the United States." Rehab facilities, group therapy, sober living facilities, halfway houses and similar services must be certified by LegitScript, the landing pages and any URLs used in the ad must be certified, and lead generation ads are not allowed.

LegitScript's Addiction Treatment Certification is recognised by Google, Meta, Microsoft and Nextdoor, and covers licensed treatment in the US or Canada, in person or remote, including detox, residential, outpatient, counselling and medication-assisted treatment. LegitScript says lead generators, call centres and marketers paid to refer patients are explicitly disallowed, and that sober living homes without licensed clinical services do not meet its requirements. Read together with Microsoft's rule, a referral business has no route onto Microsoft for addiction recovery ads, and a certified Canadian program still can't run them on Microsoft, because Microsoft allows them only in the US.

Microsoft's publisher preferences add one more limit: Microsoft Casual Games excludes healthcare ads related to drug and alcohol recovery.

Targeting, remarketing and tracking

Microsoft's Privacy and Personalization policy says advertisers must not use Microsoft Advertising to process sensitive personal data in violation of applicable data protection laws, including to personalise advertising or to build user profiles, and may not associate additional personal data with remarketing lists or UET tags. Landing pages need a prominent privacy policy link, and advertisers using UET must disclose that Microsoft collects data, link to Microsoft's privacy statement and follow UET's safeguards for sensitive data.

For a mental health brand, a remarketing list of site visitors is a list of people who looked for care, so we don't build one. MedScale tracks server-side under a BAA with neutral event names, and no names, emails, phone numbers, IP addresses or browser IDs go to any ad platform.

Search copy for mental health

Microsoft's written rules are about targeting and claims. Meta's are stricter on wording: its personal attributes policy accepts "Depression counseling" and rejects "Depression getting you down? Get help now." The same landing pages and offers usually run on both platforms, so we write Microsoft search copy the Meta way, about the service and not about the searcher.

Importing from Google

Microsoft's Google Import brings campaign structure, keywords, ads, targeting, bids and budgets across, and Microsoft advises checking targeting, ad copy, URLs, conversion goals, tracking and audience settings after any import. For mental health accounts we set 18+ on every campaign, remove audience lists, keep addiction campaigns targeted to the US only, and leave lead generation formats out of addiction campaigns.

What MedScale does

MedScale Health builds paid campaigns for therapy, telepsychiatry and addiction treatment brands on Meta and Google, with every ad and page pre-checked before submission. When a brand wants Microsoft as well, MedScale's certification help covers LegitScript, Microsoft's preapproval form where the brand prescribes, and addiction treatment certification where it treats substance use, all on the same domain. Approval and results are never guaranteed. The free growth audit at medscale.health/audit says in writing whether your category can run on Microsoft and whether it is worth adding.