Health ads in the UAE need health-authority approval before they run: a MOHAP health-advertisement licence, DHA authorisation in Dubai, or logging on TAMM with DoH in Abu Dhabi. Since 1 Feb 2026 anyone promoting a clinic also needs a National Media Authority Advertiser Permit. Here is how the layers fit together.
This is a working summary for marketing teams, not legal advice. Every rule below names the instrument it comes from so you can read the source rather than take our word for it, and so you can tell when something here has gone out of date.
Who regulates healthcare advertising in the UAE
- MOHAP: Cabinet Resolution 7/2007 (Health Advertisement Regulations), Ministerial Resolution 430/2007 and the health-advertisement licence
- DHA (Dubai): Executive Council Resolution 49/2024 and the DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (v1.1, 2022), re-circulated in Aug–Sep 2026
- DoH (Abu Dhabi): “Request to Log a Health Advertisement” on TAMM, with an ADDED advertising licence for offers
- DHCR (Dubai Healthcare City): DHCR approval first, plus MOHAP for ads shown outside the facility
- National Media Authority: Federal Decree-Law 55/2023, Cabinet Resolutions 68/2024 and 42/2025, and the Advertiser Permit
- Federal Law 2/2019 on ICT in health fields, and the PDPL (Federal Decree-Law 45/2021)
More than one of these usually applies at once. A campaign can satisfy the advertising regulator and still breach the data-protection one, which is the failure mode that catches most practices: the creative gets reviewed and the tracking does not.
The rules that actually change what you can publish
- Get health-authority approval before publishing: a MOHAP licence, DHA authorisation, or a TAMM log with DoH. Advertising a facility's services without DHA approval carries a fixed AED 2,000 fine (EC Resolution 49/2024, Sch. 5).
- Show the facility's MOHAP medical-advertisement licence number on its official account, and get Medical Director approval for any post that names the facility, including staff and influencer posts (DHA standard §5.2–5.4).
- Banned words include “the best”, “unique”, “exclusive”, “safest”, “the only”, “100%”, “assured success” and “immediate results”, along with superiority claims and negative statements about competitors (DHA §6.11, §6.12, §8.1.9).
- Before/after: same person and lens, no retouching, and the “no guarantee” statement plus risks in the ad's font size (DHA §9.6). No filming in operating theatres or of patients under general anaesthesia (§9.7).
- Testimonials and patient images need written consent limited to a stated subject and period (DHA §6.10, §9.1), with parental consent for anyone under 18 (§8.1.12).
- Prices may be stated with their conditions, but no unachievable time-limited discounts or “trial” offers (DHA App. 2). Abu Dhabi offers need an ADDED advertising licence.
- Anyone promoting a clinic, paid or unpaid, needs an NMA Advertiser Permit, mandatory since 1 Feb 2026. A media permit does not replace health approval.
- Patient information may not be used for marketing without written approval, and health data generally must be stored and processed inside the UAE (Federal Law 2/2019, Arts 13 and 16).
At a glance: tactic by tactic
| Tactic | Where it stands | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| Patient testimonials | Allowed with conditions | Dubai: allowed only with the person's written consent, limited to a stated subject and period. Outside Dubai no federal rule clearly allows lay patient testimonials, so we treat them as needing regulator approval. Source: DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §6.10, §9.1, App. 2. |
| Before-and-after images | Narrow exceptions | Real patients only, same lens, no retouching, with the set “no guarantee” statement and the risks in the ad's font size. MOHAP also requires the “no guarantee” text. Source: DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §9.6; MOHAP (per IBA 2024). |
| “Best”, “No.1” and guarantee claims | Not permitted | Banned words include “the best”, “unique”, “exclusive”, “safest”, “the only”, “100%”, “assured success” and “immediate results”, plus superiority claims. MOHAP also bans “guaranteed” and “pain free”. Source: DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §6.11, §8.1.9; MOHAP (per IBA 2024). |
| Prices, discounts and offers | Allowed with conditions | Prices may be stated with their conditions. No fake urgency, “trial” offers or “seize the opportunity”. Abu Dhabi offers also need an ADDED advertising licence. Source: DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) App. 1–2; DoH TAMM health-ad logging. |
| Influencers and endorsements | Allowed with conditions | Anyone promoting a clinic, paid or unpaid, needs an NMA Advertiser Permit (mandatory since 1 Feb 2026). In Dubai, posts naming a facility need Medical Director approval and paid ties must be disclosed. Source: Federal Decree-Law 55/2023 (NMA Advertiser Permit); DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §5.3, §6.7. |
| A doctor promoting their own practice | Allowed with conditions | Allowed within DHA rules: separate personal and professional accounts, name and title exactly as licensed, no unlicensed titles, and the doctor is personally accountable. Source: DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §6.1, §8.1.1, §8.1.3. |
| AI-generated content | Narrow exceptions | No health-regulator AI rule found. AI-made or retouched “results” would breach DHA image rules, and depicting public figures with AI without approval is a fineable media violation. Source: DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §9.6; UAE Media Council warning (Sep 2025). |
| Patient images and data | Narrow exceptions | Patient information may not be used for marketing without written approval, and UAE health data generally must be stored and processed in the UAE. No filming in operating theatres. Source: Federal Law 2/2019 (ICT in health) Arts 13, 16; DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (2022) §9.7. |
| Regulator approval before publishing | Process | Required: a MOHAP health-advertisement licence, DHA authorisation in Dubai, or logging the ad on TAMM with DoH in Abu Dhabi. A media permit does not replace health approval. Source: Cabinet Resolution 7/2007; Dubai EC Resolution 49/2024 Sch. 4; DoH TAMM service. |
How Branding Pioneers handles it
- We map each client to MOHAP, DHA, DoH or DHCR, record the licence number, and nothing goes live until the approval or TAMM log is in place.
- Every asset that names the facility gets written Medical Director sign-off, and we keep a dated approval log with archived posts and edits.
- Captions and scripts are checked against the DHA and MOHAP banned-word lists before the client sees them.
- Before/after uses real patients only, same lens, no retouching and no AI, with the exact “no guarantee” sentence.
- We contract only creators who hold an NMA Advertiser Permit, and their copy is approved before it posts.
- Raw patient data and photos stay on the client's UAE-hosted systems. Our India team works only from consented, de-identified or final-approved assets.
Tracking deserves the same scrutiny as copy. Analytics, pixels and remarketing tags routinely collect more than a healthcare provider is permitted to share, and the default installation of most of them is not compliant in the UAE. Audit what your tags send before you audit your ad copy.
Before you run anything
- Can you substantiate every claim in the creative, today, from a document you can produce?
- Do you have written consent for every patient who appears, covering this specific use?
- Has the approval or licence this market requires been granted, and is its number on the creative where required?
- Does your tracking send anything that identifies a patient or their condition?
- Has someone qualified in the UAE reviewed the campaign, not just the marketing team?
If the answer to the last one is no, that is the gap worth closing first. We work inside these rules daily and will tell you when something you want to publish is not worth the exposure, but we are a marketing agency, and a regulated market deserves a qualified reviewer as well.
Not legal advice. A planning summary of published rules, last checked on 11 October 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current text with the regulator or local counsel before relying on it.
