Fertility clinic marketing: success rate claims

People looking for a fertility clinic compare carefully and often for months. They read success rates, pricing pages, reviews and forums, and they ask detailed questions before a first consult. That makes honest, specific marketing especially valuable, and it also means the most tempting claims in this field, such as success rates, guarantees and baby photos, carry the most rules.

This guide covers those rules for IVF and fertility clinics, reproductive endocrinology practices and egg freezing programs. It does not discuss treatment choices or anyone’s chances of success. Those belong in a consult with a physician.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Sources cited were checked on October 28, 2026: 42 U.S.C. 263a-1, the CDC pages ART Success Rates (updated February 7, 2025) and How to Interpret ART Success Rates (updated December 10, 2024), 16 CFR 255.2, 16 CFR 239.3, 45 CFR 164.508, the Meta health and wellness ad policy and the Washington My Health My Data Act (RCW 19.373). State laws on advertising, consumer health data and medical records vary. Have a health care attorney review your marketing.

Success rates are reported to CDC under federal law

Under 42 U.S.C. 263a-1, each assisted reproductive technology (ART) program must report annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services through CDC its pregnancy success rates for each ART method and the identity of each embryo laboratory it uses, including whether the laboratory is certified. The statute requires success rates to take into account age, diagnosis and other significant factors.

CDC publishes the results in its ART Success Rates tool, with clinic-specific and national rates for reporting clinics. Its main page says the chances of success may vary according to age, type of infertility diagnosis, history of previous pregnancy and the ART procedures used, and that average chances may not reflect actual success rates for an individual or couple.

How to talk about your success rates

CDC’s page How to Interpret ART Success Rates is unusually direct. It says comparisons between clinics should be made with caution, that comparing success rates across clinics may not be meaningful because clinics have different patient populations and treatment methods, and that clinic success rates do not reflect any one patient’s chance of success.

CDC also lists reasons published rates can mislead if presented without context:

The data come from ART cycles performed more than a year earlier, and personnel, equipment and training may have changed since then.
Rates vary between clinics for reasons tied to the patients, such as age, egg and sperm quality and the cause of infertility, and some clinics are more willing than others to accept patients with low chances of success.
Rates vary from year to year. Clinics with few cycles in a category vary more, and CDC notes that a clinic reporting a single cycle in a category would show either 0% or 100%.
Rates are shown in different ways, such as per intended retrieval, per actual retrieval and per transfer for patients using their own eggs, and per transfer for donor eggs or embryos.

A practical approach follows from that. If you publish a number, say which measure it is, which year and patient group it covers, and that it comes from CDC reporting. Link to your clinic’s page in the CDC tool rather than restating a figure that will age. Avoid best, highest or top success rates claims and side-by-side comparisons with other clinics, which CDC warns may not be meaningful and which you would have to substantiate. Never present an average rate as a patient’s personal chance.

Refund programs and guarantees

Some clinics offer multi-cycle packages or programs that refund part of the fee if treatment does not lead to a birth. The FTC Guides for the Advertising of Warranties and Guarantees apply to the advertising of any warranty or guarantee. Under 16 CFR 239.3, terms such as money back guarantee should be used only if the seller refunds the full purchase price at the purchaser’s request, and an ad that mentions a guarantee or similar representation should disclose any material limitations or conditions clearly and prominently enough to be noticed and understood.

So if your program refunds only part of the fee, applies only to some patients, or depends on eligibility criteria, do not call it a guarantee, and put the conditions next to the offer rather than in a separate document. Describe what the program costs, who qualifies, what is refunded and when. If you advertise monthly payments, our guide to advertising payment plans and patient financing covers the federal credit advertising rules.

Patient stories, baby photos and reviews

Under 16 CFR 255.2(b), an ad that shares a consumer’s experience on a central attribute of a service is likely to be read as saying that experience is what people will generally achieve. If you cannot substantiate that, the ad should clearly disclose the generally expected results. In fertility care, a single success story is exactly the kind of experience most readers will apply to themselves.

Patient information also needs permission. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule at 45 CFR 164.508(a)(3), a covered entity must obtain a patient’s written authorization for any use or disclosure of protected health information for marketing, with narrow exceptions. A photo of a baby born after treatment, a thank-you card or a birth announcement identifies a patient and their treatment. Do not publish any of them without a signed authorization reviewed by counsel, and keep in mind that a patient may later change their mind. Our guide to patient testimonials and before-and-after photos covers the consent steps in more detail, and replying to patient reviews explains why a reply must never confirm someone was your patient.

Ads on Meta and Google

Meta’s health and wellness ad policy covers reproductive health products and services. It allows ads that promote reproductive health and wellness products or services as long as the focus is on health and the medical efficacy of the product or service, and requires those ads to target people 18 years or older. Prescription fertility medicines fall under Meta’s separate drugs and pharmaceuticals policy.

Plan ads around your clinic, your physicians, what a consult covers and how pricing works, rather than around the reader’s personal situation. Our Google Ads management for practices includes a policy check before launch, and healthcare ad policy basics covers personalized ad restrictions for health topics.

Reproductive health data on your website

Fertility websites collect sensitive signals: which treatment pages someone reads, cycle tracking tools, consult requests and location. Washington’s My Health My Data Act defines consumer health data to include reproductive or sexual health information, and defines that to include efforts to research or obtain reproductive or sexual health services and information inferred from nonhealth data. Other states have their own consumer health data laws.

Keep advertising pixels and session recording off treatment, intake and booking pages unless counsel has approved the setup, and collect clinical details only in a tool your practice has vetted for that purpose. See our guides to tracking pixels on practice websites and the Washington My Health My Data Act.

What your website should answer

Patients comparing fertility clinics want plain answers. A clear site, built as part of your practice website, usually covers:

Who you are: your physicians, embryology lab and team, with credentials exactly as held.
What you offer: the services you actually provide, and which you refer out.
How a first visit works: what the consult covers, what testing may be discussed and how long it takes.
Costs: what is and is not included in each package, insurance you work with, and refund program conditions next to the offer.
Your CDC data: a link to your clinic page in CDC’s ART Success Rates tool, with CDC’s caution that rates do not predict an individual’s chance.
Privacy: how you handle information submitted through the site.

Frequently asked questions

Can we advertise our IVF success rate?

You can share data you report to CDC under 42 U.S.C. 263a-1 if you state the measure, year and patient group and avoid presenting it as an individual’s chance. CDC says clinic rates do not reflect any one patient’s chance of success and that comparisons between clinics may not be meaningful.

Can we say we have the highest success rates in our city?

That is a comparative claim you would need to substantiate, and CDC cautions that differences in patient populations and methods can make clinic comparisons misleading. A link to your CDC clinic page is a safer way to show your data.

Can we call our refund program a money back guarantee?

Under 16 CFR 239.3 that wording should be used only if you refund the full purchase price at the patient’s request. Any material limits or conditions must be disclosed clearly and prominently with the offer.

Can we post photos of babies born to our patients?

Only with a signed HIPAA authorization for marketing under 45 CFR 164.508, and with clear context because a success story will be read as a typical result under 16 CFR 255.2(b).

Do Meta fertility ads need age targeting?

Yes. Meta’s health and wellness policy requires ads that promote reproductive health products or services to target people 18 or older and to focus on health rather than the reader.

For outcome claims beyond CDC data, such as your own rates, comparisons and the disclosure model we suggest, see our success rates and outcome claims guide.

Fertility clinic marketing: success rates, guarantees and privacy