Diligence
How to read a LegitScript addiction-treatment seal
A LegitScript mark on a rehab site is extra signal about advertising eligibility and commercial practices. It is not a state license, not a Joint Commission or CARF survey, not a bed hold, and not proof that the campus in the photo is the organization that was reviewed. Confirm the state list and FindTreatment.gov first. Then look the domain up on LegitScript’s own pages — not on the sales site alone.
Last reviewed 26 September 2026. Editorial desk. Who publishes this. Educational only.
License first, then the advertising seal
State licensure or certification at the street address where the person will sleep is the legal permission to operate a residential or hospital program. LegitScript Addiction Treatment Certification is a private program. Platforms such as Google have used it when they decide which addiction-treatment advertisers may run ads. That is a marketing gate. It is not medical necessity and it is not the same as the license lookup.
Use the license-lookup walkthrough first. Accreditation seals are a later step: Joint Commission and CARF.
What the mark usually means
LegitScript is a private certification body. It is not a regulator and it is not a law-enforcement agency. Its addiction-treatment program reviews organizations that apply, against its own standards, so some large ad platforms have a third-party check before they accept rehab ads.
- LegitScript — Website Certification Status (enter the domain)
- LegitScript — websites lookup
- LegitScript — Addiction Treatment Certification FAQ
A certified domain often has a public page at https://www.legitscript.com/websites/ plus that domain. Click a seal only if it opens that official host. A PNG in a footer with no live link is not a lookup.
What to write down before you search
- Exact website they gave you, including any extra landing-page host.
- Legal name on the state license, not only the marketing brand.
- Street address of the overnight building.
- Whether they claimed the seal covers that campus or only a call-center site.
If admissions will not name the address or the domain until you read an insurance card, stop. Use FindTreatment.gov and the state locator pages instead.
How to read a hit
- The domain on the official LegitScript page matches the site they asked you to use.
- Status is current certified, not expired, pending, or a different product line (pharmacy or CBD is not an addiction-treatment campus).
- The organization name is close enough to the state license that you can explain the difference, if any, without guessing.
- The sleep address still matches the state list. A certified website does not move a license across towns.
A match on those points is useful context for a family meeting. It still does not replace the state list.
How to read a miss
- The logo is on the website, but the domain is not certified on the official lookup.
- The certified site is a national call-center brand; the quoted stay is a house with a different license.
- The seal is a screenshot, a copied image, or a link that does not land on legitscript.com.
- The only number you have is a rented line that will not name the facility.
A miss is a reason to keep looking, not a reason to wire tonight. Patterns: red-flag glossary. First-call questions: first-call script.
What this page does not do
It does not sell certification. It does not rank programs. It does not invent facilities. It does not treat a LegitScript mark as medical advice or as proof of outcomes. Default public tools remain SAMHSA 1-800-662-HELP and FindTreatment.gov. We do not operate a rented tracking number and we do not take payment per admission.
Educational only. Default crisis line: SAMHSA 1-800-662-HELP. Locator: FindTreatment.gov and the state pages on this site. Citation-worthy text: llms.txt.