# What Are the Rules for Advertising an Online Pharmacy?

Reviewed October 6, 2026 · By Michael Borgia, MedScale Health

## Short answer

As of October 2026, a US online pharmacy needs third-party certification before it advertises on Google, Meta, Microsoft or TikTok: LegitScript or NABP for Google, Microsoft and TikTok, and LegitScript only for Meta, then each platform's own approval. On TikTok, ads for prescription medicine also need proof of FDA approval. MedScale Health, a paid acquisition agency for telehealth brands and clinics, helps telehealth brands and their pharmacy partners through certification and launch.

## What this means for you

- Google, US: online pharmacies must be accredited by LegitScript or NABP, then certified by Google before prescription drug service ads serve.
- Meta: online pharmacies must be actively certified with LegitScript, then request Meta's authorization. Ads may only target people 18 and over in the United States, Canada or New Zealand where the pharmacy is certified.
- Microsoft, US: online pharmacies advertising prescription drugs must be accredited by NABP or LegitScript, and preapproved through Microsoft's form.
- TikTok, US: pharmacy ads may be allowed with proof of NABP or LegitScript certification. Ads for prescription medicine need proof of FDA approval and certification, for 18+ audiences.
- NABP accreditation alone does not open Meta. Choose the certifier from the platforms you need.

MedScale Health, a paid acquisition agency for telehealth brands and clinics, helps telehealth brands and the pharmacies that fill for them get certified and advertise. This page compares what each major platform asks of an online pharmacy today, and where the .pharmacy domain fits. This page is marketing guidance, not legal or medical advice. Platform and certification rules change, so check the sources listed at the end before acting on a specific rule.

## Who counts as an online pharmacy

The platforms draw the line in slightly different places. Meta's Business Help Center defines an online pharmacy as "a person, entity, or internet site that delivers, distributes, or dispenses, or offers or attempts to deliver, distribute or dispense a controlled substance legally by means of the internet." Google restricts services related to the online prescribing, dispensing and sale of prescription drugs, and says it errs on the side of caution with landing pages that appear to facilitate online prescription, dispensing or sale. Microsoft says brick-and-mortar pharmacies are not subject to the same restrictions as businesses that sell prescription drugs online.

In practice, a telehealth brand whose site has a checkout for medication can be read as an online pharmacy, and a telehealth provider that facilitates prescribing needs certification either way.

## Google

Google says advertisers must be certified by Google to serve ads for prescription drug services, and lists the United States among the locations where those services can be promoted. Its US location specifics accept online pharmacies accredited by either of two bodies:

- LegitScript's Healthcare Merchant Certification Program, through its internet pharmacy certification, for websites that accept refills, transfers or new prescriptions, or pharmacies that fill by mail order or other remote ordering.
- NABP, through Digital Pharmacy Accreditation, or through a .pharmacy domain as part of its Healthcare Merchant Accreditation Program.

Telemedicine providers are different: in the US Google accepts LegitScript's Healthcare Merchant Certification for them. After accreditation, the pharmacy applies through Google's online form at the child account level, not the manager account, with the customer ID and the certified domain, and an agency applying for a client sends documentation of the relationship. Each location or group of locations needs its own application.

Drug names follow Google's restricted drug terms policy. In the United States, Canada and New Zealand, advertisers can use prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages without certification, but must be certified to keyword-target those terms, and online pharmacies need certification regardless.

## Meta

Meta requires online pharmacies to be actively certified with LegitScript before they apply, with no NABP alternative. The request is filed in the Authorizations and verifications tab of Meta Business Suite with the business type Online Pharmacy and the certified URL, and Meta says the result comes right away. Authorized advertisers may target only the United States, Canada or New Zealand, only countries where they are certified, and only people 18 or older. Meta's help page lists what they may then do: show drug prices, offer delivery, use sales calls to action and say a drug is in stock.

## Microsoft

Microsoft Advertising requires online pharmacies to be preapproved through its Pharmacy and Telemedicine advertiser program form before ads serve. Its US section says online pharmacies, including pet pharmacies, that advertise prescription drugs to US customers must be accredited by NABP or LegitScript, and that prescription drug ads making a product claim must disclose risks under FDA guidelines.

## TikTok

TikTok's Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals policy, last updated September 2026, says US ads for brick-and-mortar and online pharmacies may be allowed with proof of certification by a third-party organization such as NABP or LegitScript. Ads for prescription medicine itself may be allowed only with proof of approval and certification from regulators such as the FDA, restricted to people 18 and over. Compounded drugs are compounded, not FDA-approved, so they cannot meet that line. MedScale keeps TikTok to awareness and non-prescription offers.

## The .pharmacy domain

NABP runs the .Pharmacy Registry. It compares a .pharmacy domain to .gov and .edu, a sign of a limited group in a specialized market, and calls it a seal of approval that meets accreditation requirements for online advertising and card-not-present payments. NABP says its Healthcare Merchant Accreditation is currently the only credential that qualifies a business to register one, and that the accreditation begins once the approved business obtains and activates its .pharmacy domain. It renews every year with a compliance review and annual fees.

NABP's Digital Pharmacy Accreditation is a separate three-year accreditation for licensed US pharmacies whose website offers at least one interactive pharmacy service, such as refill requests or a patient portal. It requires an active .pharmacy domain. NABP says it makes a pharmacy eligible to advertise on Google, Yahoo, Reddit, TikTok, Bing, Snapchat and Twitter. Meta is not on that list, which matches Meta's LegitScript-only rule.

## Choosing a certifier

- Need Meta: LegitScript, because Meta accepts no alternative for online pharmacies.
- Google, Microsoft and TikTok only, and a .pharmacy domain suits the brand: NABP works on all three.
- A telehealth brand that facilitates prescribing rather than a pharmacy: LegitScript, which Google requires for US telemedicine providers.
- Budget: LegitScript's Healthcare Certification is $975 to apply and $2,150 a year per website. Check NABP's own fee policy for its programs before you compare.

Whichever certifier you choose, the pixel matters as much as the ads. Event names and page addresses should never carry a drug name. 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.

## What MedScale does

MedScale Health helps telehealth brands and their pharmacy partners choose the certifier that fits the platforms they need, prepares and files the LegitScript application, then files Meta's authorization and Google's certification on the certified domain. It builds landing pages that read as a clinic first and a checkout second, with server-side tracking from day one. Certification and approval are never guaranteed. Price LegitScript with the calculator at medscale.health/tools/legitscript-cost-calculator, then book the free growth audit at medscale.health/audit.

## FAQ

**Does Meta accept NABP accreditation for online pharmacy ads?**

No. Meta's policy says online pharmacies must be actively certified with LegitScript before they apply for authorization. Only pharmaceutical manufacturers have another route, through Meta's internal review. NABP accreditation alone does not meet Meta's requirement.

**Do I need a .pharmacy domain to advertise an online pharmacy on Google?**

No. In the US, Google accepts LegitScript's internet pharmacy certification or NABP accreditation, either Digital Pharmacy Accreditation or a .pharmacy domain under Healthcare Merchant Accreditation. Google's own certification is still needed on top.

**Can an online pharmacy advertise on TikTok in the US?**

TikTok's US section says pharmacy ads may be allowed with proof of certification by NABP or LegitScript. Ads promoting prescription medicine also need proof of FDA approval and certification, and must be restricted to people 18 or older.

**Can a pharmacy name prescription drugs in Google ads without certification?**

In the US, Canada and New Zealand, Google lets advertisers use prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages without certification, but keyword-targeting those terms needs certification, and online pharmacies need certification to serve ads.

**Is a telehealth brand with a medication checkout treated as an online pharmacy?**

It can be. Google says it errs on the side of caution with landing pages that appear to facilitate online prescribing, dispensing or sale. A telehealth provider that facilitates prescribing needs LegitScript and platform certification either way.

## Sources

- [Google Ads policy: Healthcare and medicines (United States location specifics)](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/176031?hl=en) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [Google Ads policy: Prescription drug services](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15598647?hl=en) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [Google Ads policy: Restricted drug terms](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15595717?hl=en) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [Meta Business Help Center: About Meta's Prescription Drugs advertising policy (eligibility and authorization steps)](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/263390265553560) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [Microsoft Advertising: Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Ad Policy (last updated July 1, 2026)](https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us/policies/restricted-categories/pharmacy-and-healthcare-products-and-services) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [TikTok Ads policy: Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (last updated September 2026)](https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-ads-policy-healthcare-pharmaceuticals) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [NABP: Healthcare Merchant Accreditation](https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/accreditations/healthcare-merchant/) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [NABP: Digital Pharmacy Accreditation](https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/accreditations/digital-pharmacy/) (checked October 5, 2026)
- [NABP: .Pharmacy Registry](https://nabp.pharmacy/programs/accreditations/dotpharmacy-registry/) (checked October 5, 2026)

## Related

- [Does a Compounding Pharmacy Need LegitScript Certification?](https://medscale.health/answers/legitscript-for-compounding-pharmacies)
- [LegitScript vs Google Certification: Which Do You Need?](https://medscale.health/answers/legitscript-vs-google-healthcare-certification)
- [Can You Advertise GLP-1 on TikTok?](https://medscale.health/answers/can-you-advertise-glp-1-on-tiktok)
- [What Makes a Telehealth Landing Page Pass Meta and Google Review?](https://medscale.health/answers/telehealth-landing-page-compliance)

Canonical page: https://medscale.health/answers/online-pharmacy-advertising-rules