Spravato Advertising Rules: Google Ads, Meta & LegitScript Compliance Guide

Sources:

Google Ad Prescription Drug Services Policy

Meta Ads for Drugs/Pharmaceuticals

Google Ads Rules for Spravato Advertising

Google treats the word “Spravato” as a restricted term under its Healthcare and Medicines policy. If you want to run certified Google Ads campaigns that use the Spravato brand name, your clinic must first be approved by a healthcare certification group.

LegitScript & Healthcare Advertiser Certification

Getting certified takes five steps:

1. Check that you qualify
2. Gather your licenses and clinic policies
3. Submit your application
4. Go through LegitScript’s review
5. Get your approval

LegitScript checks multiple things, including:

• Your license
• Your privacy practices
• Whether patients get valid prescriptions
• Whether your advertising is truthful

What Happens If You Skip Certification

If you’re not certified and your ad mentions “Spravato,” Google will usually reject the ad. Google won’t shut down your whole account right away, but will give at least a 7-day warning before suspension. However, if you are flagged for repeatedly breaking the rules, your entire account is at risk.

October 2025 Policy Update for Spravato Ads

Late last year, Google eased the rules a little bit, but only for no-ad uses of drug names. This includes things like public health notices or legal statements in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand. Actual ads aren’t affected, so if you’re bidding on “Spravato” as a keyword in a search ad campaign, you will still need full certification, just like before. Clinics that think that this update lets them skip certification end up being the ones who get their ads rejected.

Sources:

Google Ad Prescription Drug Services Policy

Google Cert for Prescription Drug Advertising

LegitScript Healthcare Certification

Meta Rules for Spravato Advertising

Meta’s Drugs & Pharmaceuticals policy addresses whether it is allowed to run ads for Spravato on Facebook and Instagram. The short answer is yes, you are technically allowed to do so in the U.S. or New Zealand, but only after Meta approves your accounts for their drug advertiser process.

Once you’re approved, your ads need to follow these rules:

• Show the risks along with the benefits
• Use both the brand name (Spravato) and generic name (esketamine)
• Talk about what the FDA actually approved the drug for
• Link out to the full prescribing information

Since Spravato is a controlled substance, most clinics find it easier to advertise the condition instead of the drug itself, things like marketing toward treatment-resistant depression or what interventional psychiatry involves. You can do this through Meta advertising for behavioral health clinics, then send prospective leads to a landing page to convert. Either way, you’ll need to finish Meta Business Verification first to confirm that your business is real and legitimate.

Source:

Meta Ad Standards for Drugs/Pharmaceuticals

Certification & Compliance Checklist for Spravato Clinics

Esketamine advertising compliance really just means you need to be aware of these steps in order before you think about running your first ad: 

• Get LegitScript certified
• Apply for Google’s healthcare advertiser certification
• Get Meta’s drug-advertiser approval and finish Business Verification
• Build compliant landing pages
• Check where you’re allowed to run these ads

Sources:

LegitScript Healthcare Certification

Google Ad Prescription Drug Services Policy

What Happens When Your Ads Don’t Comply

In one UK case, regulators (the MHRA and ASA) reviewed a hospital website promoting Spravato that showed a doctor “proudly pictured” with the drug’s box, calling it “safe.” They found three violations: no encouragement of safe use, promoting a prescription-only medicine to the public, and an improper doctor endorsement. The hospital agreed to fix its ads.

Even though this was a UK case and not a US one, the pattern holds everywhere. Claims like “safe” and doctor endorsements are what get ads flagged on any platform.

Source:

Spravato Advertising Case Ruling

FAQs

Can you advertise Spravato on Google Ads?

Yes, but only if you are certified with LegitScript (or NABP) plus Google’s healthcare advertiser certification, before mentioning Spravato by name.

Do you need LegitScript certification to advertise Spravato?

Yes, for Google Ads. LegitScript (or NABP) certification, plus Google’s own healthcare advertiser certification, is what is needed to confirm a clinic is licensed and advertises truthfully. Meta has its own drug-advertiser approval process plus Business Verification.

Can you promote Spravato on Facebook or Instagram?

Only with Meta’s written approval, and only in the US or New Zealand, with both risks and benefits shown as well as a link to the full prescribing info.

What happens if Google disapproves your Spravato ads?

When the ad gets rejected, it typically needs to be fixed (such as adding a certification or adjusting a claim) before it can be resubmitted.

Can a testimonial be used in Spravato advertising?

Testimonials are risky, as regulators have penalized ads that pair endorsements with claims like “safe.” Any testimonials need the same risk-and-benefit disclosure as the rest of the ad.

Get Spravato Advertising Right the First Time

The Spravato advertising rules for Google Ads and Meta won’t be going anywhere anytime soon; if anything, they’ll only get stricter. Staying certified requires ongoing attention that most regular teams don’t have time for, especially for multi-site and PE-backed groups managing multiple locations at once. Instead of tracking every policy change yourself, a full digital marketing assessment to see where your campaigns stand and to have our team take certification and compliance off your plate entirely.

Spravato® is a registered trademark of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.