You have heard that advertising on social media without a permit can cost up to a million dirhams. You post offers on your own Instagram, your team appears in your reels, and now and then you pay a creator or give one a free treatment. Which of those needs a permit, and who is fined if it is missing?
Most coverage was written for creators and disagrees on brand accounts, staff and fines. This guide goes back to the regulator's own texts, checked on 28 October 2026, and marks where they leave a question open.
Note: This article is general information, not legal advice. The regulator changed at the end of 2025 and the old Media Council website no longer loads, so some sources below are archived copies or the Council's 2025 guide, which the NMA still publishes in Arabic. For a decision that matters, get the answer from the National Media Authority in writing or ask a UAE lawyer.
What is the UAE Advertiser Permit, and who issues it in 2026?
It is a permit individuals need before they advertise on social media or other digital platforms in the UAE, paid or unpaid, and it is now issued by the National Media Authority (NMA). The Media Council's permit page (archived January 2026) said it is "required for individuals who engage in advertising activities on social media platforms, whether for financial compensation or not".
The legal basis is Article 12 of Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 on media regulation, under which permits go "to the natural person who provides advertising or media content, whether for or without compensation, on social media". The detailed rules sit in a decision of the Council's chairman: the Council's 2025 Advertiser Permit guide (Arabic, in the NMA's Media Guidelines download) cites Decision No. 3 of 2025, while the fines regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025, cites Resolution No. 9 of 2024.
The Council launched the permit on 30 July 2025 (archived news) and extended the deadline to 31 January 2026 (Gulf Business), so it has been mandatory since 1 February 2026 (Gulf News). The NMA, "established under Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2025" (NMA FAQ), replaces the Media Council under a decree-law announced in December 2025 (Gulf News).
As of October 2026, the NMA's service page lists the permit as free for the first 3 years and AED 1,000 after that. The guide prices the fourth-year renewal at AED 1,000, lists no later years, and gives citizens and residents a permit that runs one year at a time. A visitor permit costs AED 500 for three months, up to six in total, through a licensed UAE advertising agency (NMA).
Applicants need good conduct, a commercial licence, the regulator's training programme and no previously cancelled permit (NMA service page). The guide lists the licence activities each emirate accepts, allows a free zone licence held as a sole establishment, and lets 15 to 17-year-olds hold a permit for commercial ads under extra conditions.
Does your business need an Advertiser Permit to promote itself?
Not for promoting your own business, according to the regulator, but you become responsible for anyone else who advertises for you. The Media Council's FAQ answers: "No, unless the business owner uses other advertisers. In such cases, the advertiser must be licensed by the UAE Media Council, and the business owner is responsible for compliance."
The permit page words the exemption more narrowly: "Individuals advertising their own products or services or those of a company they own via their personal accounts". If you own the salon or cafe, posting its offers from your own Instagram is covered. A manager who does not own the company is an employee, so the staff rules below apply.
What about your brand account?
The official texts do not say clearly. The NMA's e-services list offers advertising permits only for individuals and visiting individuals, and the licence table in the Council's guide lists only individual trader licences, sole establishments and single-owner LLCs. Yet Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025 fines "a natural or legal person" who advertises on social media without a permit (our translation of the Arabic), and the NMA does not explain how that applies to a company posting about itself. Pinsent Masons tells in-house teams to "ensure their businesses' official social media channels are also covered".
The content rules apply to your brand account either way. Article 20 of the media law says: "All advertisers must include in all advertising materials something that explicitly and clearly indicates that it is advertising material."
Do your staff need a permit to appear in or post your promotions?
Usually not: the Media Council's FAQ says "employees do not need a permit to promote matters related to their workplace". Real estate brokers and staff of brokerages or developers are the exception: they "must obtain a permit to advertise on behalf of their company regardless of commission outcomes".
The FAQ does not draw the line, so this is our reading:
| Situation | Permit for the staff member? |
|---|---|
| Staff in videos on your brand account as part of their job | Not addressed; the workplace exemption suggests no |
| Staff sharing your offers, events or job adverts on their own accounts, unpaid | No |
| Brokers or agents advertising for a brokerage or developer | Yes |
| Staff paid per post, or given a personal promo code or sales commission | Unclear; anyone promoting promo codes needs a permit |
| Freelancers or commission-only "ambassadors" off your payroll | Yes; they are not employees |
If a staff arrangement looks like an influencer deal, treat that person as needing a permit or ask the NMA first; Pinsent Masons gives similar advice for employees acting as brand ambassadors.
Who must hold a permit when you hire someone to promote you?
Anyone outside your business whom you pay, gift or otherwise reward to promote you on social media in the UAE needs a permit, and so does anyone sharing your promo code. The Media Council FAQ covers promotion "for monetary or non-monetary compensation, or free of charge", lists "money, gifts, free services" as compensation to disclose, and says people "promoting discounts or promo codes on social media must obtain a permit".
Your duties apply "whether the advertisement is published through the entity's official account or the individual advertiser's account". You must contract only with listed permit holders, tell them the rules, make sure they comply, avoid visiting creators without a permit, and put the agreement in writing so you can give the regulator a copy on request. Otherwise you "shall be subject to administrative penalties".
The Council's guide adds that, when preparing ad content, you must take care to preserve the UAE's national identity and cultural heritage "by using an Emirati citizen or someone fluent in the Emirati dialect" (our translation). It does not say whether this applies to every ad, and the fines table has no row for it.
If the checks outweigh the benefit, paid Meta and Google ads from your own ad account are another route. Hoorax sells that service and runs those ads for UAE businesses; our guides to a Meta and Google ads budget in Dubai and to Meta leads that never answer cover sizing a first test and turning its leads into bookings.
How do you check that a creator's permit is valid?
Ask for the permit, match it to the accounts they will post from, and check the number on their profile, because "Companies must verify an individual's permit status before contracting" (Media Council FAQ). On 28 October 2026 we found no public permit search on the NMA's e-services list, so check by hand:
- Get the permit and trade licence, with name, permit number and expiry date. A citizen's or resident's permit lasts one year and is "considered cancelled if not renewed within 30 days after expiration" (FAQ).
- Look at the profile. Holders must "clearly display the permit number on their social media accounts" (permit page), in the FAQ's example as "Ad Permit: 65834".
- Match the accounts. Holders may "only publish advertisements through accounts registered with the Council and linked to the issued permit".
- For a visitor, see the visitor permit and the licensed UAE advertising agency that applied for it (NMA).
- If anything does not match, use the NMA's Request an Inquiry e-service (no fee listed, 3 working days) before the post goes live.
What must every ad show and avoid, with or without a permit?
Every ad must be clearly marked as an ad and must not mislead, exaggerate or run down competitors, whoever posts it. Creators must disclose payment or gifts in a way that is "clear, in the same language as the ad" (FAQ).
Article 33 of the law's executive regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 68 of 2024, sets ten conditions for people, businesses and media outlets. In our summary of the Arabic, an ad must:
- Be clear, not vague or ambiguous.
- Make no false or misleading claims, exaggeration, claims to be the only one, or attacks on competitors.
- Use no forged or unauthorised marks or images.
- Be truthful, not exaggerated, and not confusable with other names, products or businesses.
- Involve no offence, and respect the media content standards and age ratings.
- Be identified as an ad, separate from editorial content.
- Disclose any material return from a commercial relationship behind an endorsement.
- Follow the rules on the UAE flag, emblem and anthem.
- Not promote alcohol, banned drugs, tobacco or smoking.
- Carry the sector authority's approval where required (next section).
Breaking these conditions is fined AED 20,000 for a first offence (Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025). Language is a separate law: Article 26 of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection says "The data, advertisements, and contracts related to the Consumer shall be made in Arabic, and other languages may be used in addition to Arabic". Our guide to whether a UAE business needs an Arabic website explains what that means online.
Which ads need another authority's approval before they run?
Real estate, health, finance, education and food ads need the sector authority's approval before they run, and the Advertiser Permit does not replace it. Article 33 of Cabinet Resolution No. 68 of 2024 lists real estate; medical products, clinics, hospitals and health or pharmaceutical services; securities and financial services; education; food; and any others the regulator specifies.
Running such an ad without approval, or without meeting its conditions, is fined AED 10,000, doubled for a repeat (Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025). Two Dubai examples:
- Real estate. Dubai Land Department issues a Madmoun QR code for every Trakheesi advertising permit, and real estate companies must show it on ads, "visual or written" (DLD, 24 April 2025).
- Clinics. The Dubai Health Authority's Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media require the medical director's approval for posts naming a facility, rule out words such as "the best", "unique" and "100%", and make the facility liable for content filmed on its premises, including by influencers. Gulf News reported a DHA circular on these rules on 1 September 2026.
Outside Dubai, check with that emirate's regulator for your sector. If your ads send people to a WhatsApp chat, our guides to Click-to-WhatsApp ads and to bookings and reminders for salons and clinics cover the follow-up.
Who needs a permit, and what does each breach cost? The October 2026 checklist for businesses
Anyone you pay, gift or reward to promote you needs a permit, and the fines for the breaches below run from a written warning to AED 50,000, doubled for repeats. The tables set out the regulator's answers and the gaps between them, checked on 28 October 2026; you may reuse them with a link to this page.
Who needs a permit: the decision table
| Who is promoting your business | Permit needed? | What the official text says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| You, the owner, on your personal account | No | Exempt: own products "or those of a company they own" | Permit page |
| Your company's brand account | Unclear | No company permit, but the fines regulation names legal persons | Res. 42 |
| Employees promoting their workplace | No | "employees do not need a permit" | FAQ |
| Real estate brokers advertising for their company | Yes | Brokers "must obtain a permit" | FAQ |
| Creator paid in money, gifts or free services | Yes | "monetary or non-monetary compensation, or free of charge" | FAQ |
| Anyone sharing your promo code | Yes | Promo code promoters "must obtain a permit" | FAQ |
| Creator in a video on your own account | Yes | Duties apply on "the entity's official account" | FAQ |
| Visiting creator | Visitor permit via a licensed agency | AED 500 for three months, six at most | NMA |
| Creator abroad targeting UAE customers | Yes | Use "authorized UAE nationals, residents, or visitors" | FAQ |
| Creator aged 15 to 17 in a paid ad | Yes, with extra conditions | Ad suits their age, nothing harmful to children | Guide |
| Under-18s in educational, sports, cultural or awareness activities | No | Exempt under the age classification | Permit page |
| AI or virtual influencer | Yes | Must "clearly disclose their virtual identity" | FAQ |
What each breach can cost
From Table 1 of Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025, issued on 16 April 2025. The descriptions are our translation; the Arabic text is the authority.
| Breach (Table 1 row) | First offence | Second offence | Third offence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising on social media without a permit, by a natural or legal person (11) | Written warning | AED 20,000 | AED 50,000, doubled for repeats |
| Advertising after the permit expires (12) | AED 10,000 | AED 20,000, doubled for repeats | |
| Breaching the chairman's Resolution No. 9 of 2024 on advertiser permits (13) | Warning | AED 10,000 | |
| Ad without the sector authority's approval (14) | AED 10,000, doubled for repeats | ||
| Breaching the Article 33 conditions (15) | AED 20,000 | AED 50,000, doubled for repeats | |
| Media activity without a licence or permit (1) | AED 10,000, fix within 30 days | AED 40,000, closure until fixed |
Under Article 3 of the resolution, a fine doubles when the breach is repeated within a year of the last one. Breaches of the 20 media content standards are fined separately, from AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000 by standard and severity (Table 2); an ad that does not respect the UAE's culture, identity and values runs from AED 20,000 to AED 100,000. Article 23 of the media law caps a fine at AED 1,000,000, or AED 2,000,000 for a repeat.
News coverage tied AED 10,000 to creators without a permit (Pinsent Masons; Gulf News, for "operating without a licence"). That matches row 1, on media activity without a licence or permit, whereas row 11, written for advertising without a permit, starts with a written warning. The regulator has not said which row it applies in practice.
Before any campaign: the checklist
- Decide who will appear and who will post, using the decision table.
- Get every outside creator's permit number, expiry date, registered accounts and trade licence in writing.
- Check the number on their profile and that they will post from a registered account.
- For visitors, see the visitor permit and the licensed agency behind it before they arrive.
- Get any sector approval first and show its reference where the authority requires.
- Check the script for "best", "only" or "100%" claims you cannot prove, and for knocks at competitors.
- Label every paid or gifted post as an ad, in the language of the post.
- Keep the agreement, permit, approvals and published posts on file.
Ready-to-use wording in English and Arabic
| Use | English | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| Profile line for a permit holder (the FAQ's own format) | Ad Permit: ___ | تصريح معلن: ___ |
| Caption label for a paid or gifted post | Ad: paid partnership with ___ | إعلان: شراكة مدفوعة مع ___ |
Clause for a creator agreement (have your lawyer adapt it):
English: The Creator confirms that they hold a valid Advertiser Permit, number ___, issued by the National Media Authority (formerly the UAE Media Council) and valid until ___, and will publish the Content only from the accounts registered under that permit. The Creator will label every post under this agreement clearly as an advertisement, in the language of the post, and will not publish it before the Business confirms any approval the law requires for the Content.
Arabic: يقرّ صانع المحتوى بأنه يحمل تصريح معلن ساري المفعول رقم ___ صادراً عن الهيئة الوطنية للإعلام (مجلس الإمارات للإعلام سابقاً) وينتهي في ___، وبأنه سينشر المحتوى من الحسابات المسجلة بموجب هذا التصريح فقط. ويلتزم صانع المحتوى بتوضيح أن كل منشور بموجب هذه الاتفاقية إعلان بشكل واضح وبلغة المنشور نفسها، وبعدم نشره قبل أن تؤكد الجهة المعلنة الحصول على أي موافقة يتطلبها القانون لهذا المحتوى.
What is still unclear
Note: As of 28 October 2026, the official texts leave these questions open. Put any that affect you to the NMA through its Request an Inquiry service.
- Does a company's own brand account need a permit or licence?
- Where does the employee exemption end and the broker rule begin?
- Which fine applies to a business that uses an unlicensed creator? The FAQ promises penalties, but the fines table has no row for it.
- Where is the public database of permit holders that the FAQ and the guide mention?
- Which chairman's decision governs the permit: No. 3 of 2025 (the guide) or No. 9 of 2024 (the fines table)?
- Are the fees current? The archived FAQ gives a free first year, then AED 1,000 a year, and a 1 January 2025 start; the permit page, the guide and the NMA give three free years.
- Does the guide's Emirati identity guidance apply to every ad?
Can someone set this up for you?
For paid ads, yes. Hoorax is a web studio in Al Barsha 1, Dubai, that builds and runs Meta and Google ads for UAE businesses from the business's own ad accounts, with a monthly report on enquiries and where they came from. No creator's account is involved, although the content rules and sector approvals above still apply.
We do not manage influencers or apply for permits, and we are not lawyers, so take open legal questions to the NMA or your adviser. Plans are on our pricing page. Send us a WhatsApp message with your sector, what you plan to promote and any approvals you already hold.