The rule: Florida requires a 72-hour notice
Florida has a fixed script. Any ad for a free, discounted or reduced-fee "service, examination, or treatment" by a practitioner licensed under the listed chapters must carry this statement "in capital letters clearly distinguishable from the rest of the text" (Florida Statutes 456.062):
"THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT HAS A RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL PAYMENT, OR BE REIMBURSED FOR PAYMENT FOR ANY OTHER SERVICE, EXAMINATION, OR TREATMENT THAT IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF AND WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE FREE, DISCOUNTED FEE, OR REDUCED FEE SERVICE, EXAMINATION, OR TREATMENT." (Florida Statutes 456.062)
What this means for a Florida practice:
- Who it covers: the chapters listed include chapter 466 (dentistry), 460 (chiropractic medicine), 458 (medical practice) and 486 (physical therapy), among others (Florida Statutes 456.062).
- What triggers it: "free" is not the only trigger. A "$49 new patient exam" that is below your normal fee is a discounted or reduced fee.
- Where it goes: "any advertisement". The statute's only exception is a classified directory whose main purpose is discounted offers, where the statement appears prominently at least once.
- What it does to your front desk: for 72 hours after a patient responds to the ad, they can refuse to pay, cancel or get back payment for any other service done as a result. If the free exam leads to a same-day cleaning or X-rays, that charge can be undone.
The statement is 58 words long. The statute has no exception for short ad formats, so check how each ad (search ads, social posts, landing pages) will carry it before you run the offer.
Other states: say what's included and what isn't
Texas and California have no fixed script, but both ban misleading versions of a special, and the FTC's rule on "free" applies everywhere in the US.
| Where | Rule | What it means for a new-patient special |
|---|---|---|
| Texas (dentists) | Lists as misleading "communicating an implication or suggestion that a service is free or discounted when the fee is built in to a companion procedure provided to the patient and charged to the patient" (22 TAC 108.57(c)(13)) | A "free exam" paid for through required X-rays priced higher is the case this rule names. |
| California (healing arts licensees) | "Any price advertisement shall be exact, without the use of phrases, including, but not limited to, 'as low as,' 'and up,' 'lowest prices'" (B&P Code 651(c)) | "As low as $49" is out, and "from $49" may count as a phrase "of similar import". Price advertising also may not be misleading "including statements or advertisements of bait, discount, premiums, gifts". |
| All US (FTC) | Conditions of a "free" offer "should be set forth clearly and conspicuously at the outset of the offer" and "in close conjunction with the offer" (16 CFR 251.1(c)) | Put "new cash patients only, X-rays $95" next to "Free exam", not in a footnote. The FTC guide says an asterisked footnote is not disclosure "at the outset". |
This page checked Florida, Texas and California only. In another state, read your dental or chiropractic board's advertising rule before you run the offer.
Free exams and Medicare or Medicaid patients
If the patient has Medicare or Medicaid, a free service can raise a separate federal issue. The HHS Office of Inspector General says "remuneration" under the Beneficiary Inducements law includes "transfers of items or services for free or for other than fair market value". OIG allows incentives "nominal in value", which it currently reads as "no more than $15 per item or $75 in the aggregate on an annual basis" (HHS-OIG General Compliance Program Guidance, 2023). The same guidance says this law applies only to items and services paid by Medicare or a state program such as Medicaid. If you plan to offer a free exam to Medicare or Medicaid patients, get healthcare legal advice first.
Canada: Ontario dentists can't advertise free services
The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) lists "incentive programs, including giveaways, contests, draws or free products or services" among the things not to include in an ad (RCDSO Advertising Guidelines). Its 2025 article adds "reduced rates, bonuses, or tiered programs" to the incentives to avoid (RCDSO, July 28, 2025).
You may still advertise a fee. RCDSO says the fee must be clearly stated, is the maximum fee including lab costs unless you say otherwise, and applies to all patients "whether or not they were aware of the advertisement and whether or not they had dental insurance coverage" (RCDSO Advertising Guidelines). So "New patient exam: $95" can work; "Free exam for new patients" can't. The rest of the Ontario rules are in RCDSO advertising rules. Other provinces and professions have their own colleges; this page covers Ontario dentists only.
Example
Florida dentist, free exam with paid X-rays
A Tampa practice advertises "Free new patient exam" on Meta and its landing page. Both carry the 58-word statement in capitals. A patient comes in, gets the free exam and a $150 cleaning the same day. Two days later they ask for the $150 back. The notice in the ad gives them that right for a service done as a result of the ad, within 72 hours.
Texas dentist, $49 special
A Houston practice runs "New patient exam and X-rays: $49". It charges $49 and nothing else for those items. If it had raised the X-ray fee for these patients to cover the exam, that would be the "built in to a companion procedure" case Texas lists as misleading.
Ontario dentist
A Toronto clinic wants to run "Free consultation". Under RCDSO's guidance, it posts "New patient exam: $95" instead and charges that fee to every patient, ad or no ad.
Different for you?
- Running the special on Google Ads and it was disapproved: disapproved landing page.
- Building the page the ad sends people to: Google Ads landing page.
- Advertising implants instead of exams: dental implant Google Ads.
- Med spa or cosmetic offers: med spa ad rules.
- Want the ads run and checked against these rules: see the Paid Ads Agent.