TRW & Co · Media and advertising
UAE Media Law and the Advertiser Permit: Rules for Brands and Influencers
The advertiser permit UAE regime requires creators who promote other people's products or brands from inside the UAE to hold a UAE Media Council permit, whether the promotion is paid, gifted or unpaid. Residents need a licence for the underlying activity; visitors must apply through a licensed agency. Brands are expected to check permits and contract on them.
Key pointThe permit shifts risk onto brands as well as creators: the practical fix is contractual. Verify permit numbers before signing, route visiting talent through a licensed agency, and make permit maintenance a warranty with a termination right.
At a glance
Federal media law
Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 brings digital and social media advertising within a licensing system run by the UAE Media Council.
Paid, gifted or unpaid
Promoting someone else's products or brand from the UAE can require a permit even where the creator receives gifts or nothing at all.
Residents and visitors
Residents receive an annual renewable permit and generally need an underlying media activity licence; visitors use a short-term permit via a licensed agency.
Own-business exemption
Business owners promoting their own products or services through their own accounts are reported to be exempt from the advertiser permit requirement.
Fines and suspension
Cabinet Decision No. 42 of 2025 sets administrative fines for content and licensing violations, and permits can be suspended or cancelled.
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The advertiser permit UAE rules mean that anyone who promotes a product, service or brand for someone else on social media or another digital platform from inside the UAE needs a permit from the UAE Media Council. That applies whether the promotion is paid, gifted or done as a favour, and it applies to residents and visitors. Brands are expected to check that the creators they hire hold one.
This article explains where the permit sits within the federal media law, who needs it and who is exempt, how residents and visitors obtain it, what it means for brand contracts and campaign approvals, and which sector rules sit on top. For the wider regulatory picture, including media company licensing, see our practice page on media regulation in the UAE.
The short answer: who needs an advertiser permit
According to the Media Council's announcements, reported widely in the UAE press, the permit became mandatory from the start of February 2026 after a transition period. In summary:
- Covered: creators, influencers and individuals who publish advertising content for third parties from the UAE, including sponsored posts, brand collaborations, gifted products and unpaid promotions.
- Exempt: people promoting their own products or services through their own accounts, and minors producing educational, cultural, sports or awareness content within the applicable rules.
- Residents and citizens: apply through the Media Council, generally need a valid licence for the underlying electronic media activity, and receive a one-year renewable permit, reported to be free for the first three years.
- Visitors: may obtain a short-term visitor permit, valid for three months, but only through a licensed UAE advertising or talent agency.
- Brands and agencies: should work only with permit holders and keep evidence that they checked.
The permit number must be displayed on the creator's profile, and advertising should be published only through the accounts registered under the permit.
What counts as advertising
The practical test is whether the content promotes someone else's commercial interest and the creator receives, or expects, some benefit. Obvious cases are sponsored posts and paid reels. Less obvious ones include affiliate links with commission, discount codes, free stays or meals in exchange for coverage, long-term ambassador arrangements and "organic" posts that follow a gifted product shipment. Genuine personal opinion with no connection to the business is not advertising, but the line can blur quickly once a relationship with the brand exists. When in doubt, treat the content as advertising, hold the permit and label it clearly.
The legal framework: media law, the Media Council and penalties
The foundation is Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 Regulating Media, which replaced the older federal media legislation and brought digital and social media activity squarely within the licensing system. It applies to individuals, media institutions and platforms, including those operating from free zones.
The UAE Media Council is the federal regulator. It issues licences and permits, sets media content standards and enforces them. The UAE Government portal summarises the content standards that apply to all media activity: respect for religions and for the state, its symbols and institutions; no content that harms foreign relations, social cohesion or national identity; respect for privacy; and no rumours, false or misleading content.
Cabinet Decision No. 42 of 2025 set out a schedule of violations and administrative fines for breaching media content standards and licensing rules. Fines run from the low thousands of dirhams for minor breaches to very large sums for the most serious content violations, and can increase for repeat offences. Operating without the required licence or permit is itself a violation, and permits can be suspended or cancelled.
Two other regimes often apply at the same time. The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority works with the media regulator on online content and internet access management, including categories of prohibited advertising. And consumer protection law prohibits misleading advertising, which we cover in our guide to UAE consumer protection law.
Residents, visitors and businesses: how the permit works
UAE citizens and residents
A resident creator applies to the Media Council online. Reported eligibility conditions include being at least 18 (with a separate, stricter route for 15 to 18-year-olds), having no previous media violations, and holding a valid licence for the electronic media activity. In practice, that means a trade licence from an emirate economic department or a media free zone that permits influencer or digital content activity. Our guides to Dubai Media City and the TECOM free zones and the UAE freelance permit explain the usual structures.
Visiting creators
Visitors cannot simply post sponsored content during a trip. They need a visitor advertiser permit obtained through a licensed UAE advertising or talent agency. The permit is short-term and renewable only on limited terms. For brands flying in international talent for a launch, the agency route has to be built into the project timeline.
Brands, agencies and platforms
Businesses do not need an advertiser permit to market their own products from their own accounts. They do need to confirm that the individuals they pay or gift to promote them hold valid permits. Agencies that represent talent, buy influencer media or produce advertising content need the appropriate media and advertising licences for their own activities.
How to obtain an advertiser permit UAE-wide: step by step
- Check whether you are in scope. If you promote anything other than your own business, in return for money, products, services or other benefit, assume you are covered. Promotion done as a favour can also be caught.
- Put the underlying licence in place. Residents need a licence that covers electronic media or content creation activity. Choose between a mainland licence, a media free zone licence or a freelance permit based on how you will invoice brands and whether you will hire staff.
- Apply to the Media Council. Submit the application through the Council's online channel with identification, licence details and the social media accounts you will use.
- Visitors apply through an agency. A visiting creator's permit is processed through a licensed UAE advertising or talent agency, which should confirm the permit before any content is produced.
- Display the permit number. Add the permit number to each registered profile and use only those accounts for advertising.
- Clear sector approvals. Before publishing health, financial, education, real estate, alcohol-adjacent or virtual asset content, check whether a separate approval from the sector regulator is required.
- Diarise renewal. Resident permits are annual. Renew before expiry, because publishing on an expired permit is treated as unlicensed activity.
Advertiser permit UAE: who needs what
| Role | Advertiser permit? | Other licence | Key obligation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident influencer promoting third-party brands | Yes, annual and renewable | Trade or freelance licence covering digital content activity | Display permit number; follow content standards |
| Visiting creator on a brand trip | Yes, short-term visitor permit | Must be processed through a licensed UAE agency | No sponsored posting before the permit issues |
| Business owner promoting own products on own account | No (own-business exemption) | The business's trade licence | Advertising must still be truthful and lawful |
| Brand hiring creators | No | Its own trade licence | Verify creators' permits; approve content; keep records |
| Talent or advertising agency | Depends on activity | Advertising or media licence for its own activities | Process visitor permits; manage contracts and compliance |
| Under-18 creator | Restricted route, with conditions | Guardian involvement | Child protection rules; no harmful product promotion |
An advertiser permit UAE holder still has the whole rulebook to follow. Content standards, consumer protection, intellectual property and sector-specific rules all continue to apply to every post.
Sector rules that sit on top of the permit
Several regulated sectors impose their own advertising controls, and a valid advertiser permit UAE holder is still bound by them.
- Healthcare and medicines. Health products, clinics and treatments are subject to approval regimes run by federal and emirate health authorities. See our note on healthcare advertising rules in the UAE.
- Financial products. Promoting investments, trading platforms or other financial products can require approval or licensing from the financial regulator. Our guide to financial promotions and finfluencer rules explains where the line sits.
- Virtual assets. In Dubai, marketing of virtual assets and related services is subject to the virtual asset regulator's marketing rules; see virtual asset marketing rules in Dubai.
- Prohibited categories. Gambling, prohibited goods and unlawful medical practices cannot be promoted at all under the internet access management framework.
An illustrative scenario
Illustrative only; the parties are generic. A cosmetics brand plans a Dubai launch with six creators: four UAE residents and two visitors from Europe. Its marketing team has already agreed fees by direct message.
Before contracts are signed, the brand asks each resident creator for their permit number and licence details. One resident has a permit but no current trade licence; another posts through a secondary account that is not registered under her permit. The brand requires both issues to be fixed before content goes live. For the two visitors, the brand's UAE agency applies for visitor permits and builds the processing time into the launch date.
The influencer agreements now include warranties that the creator holds and will maintain a valid permit, an obligation to use only registered accounts, content approval rights, a clear disclosure requirement, a ban on unsubstantiated claims about skincare results, and a right to terminate and recover fees if the permit lapses. The brand keeps a copy of each permit in its campaign file. None of this is costly, and it turns a regulatory risk into a contractual one the brand controls.
Risks and common mistakes
Assuming gifted or unpaid promotion is outside the rules
The permit regime is not limited to cash-paid posts. Gifted products, free services, affiliate arrangements and favours can all be advertising if the creator is promoting someone else’s business. Brands should treat any seeded product campaign as an influencer campaign for compliance purposes.
Hiring visiting talent without the agency route
A visiting creator posting sponsored content on a personal trip, without a visitor permit processed through a licensed agency, exposes both the creator and the brand. Build the agency step into the brief and do not release content until the permit is confirmed in writing.
Contracts that are silent on permits and claims
Many influencer agreements are still informal. A good agreement allocates responsibility for the permit, content approvals, disclosure, intellectual property in the content, usage rights after the campaign, exclusivity, and what happens if the creator breaches content standards. See our guide to content licensing and media production contracts.
Making claims the brand cannot substantiate
Before-and-after images, health claims, investment returns and comparative claims are where most complaints arise. Misleading advertising can breach consumer protection law and the media content standards at the same time. Keep the evidence for every objective claim, and brief creators on what they may and may not say.
Letting the underlying licence lapse
For residents, the advertiser permit sits on top of a licence for the underlying activity. If the trade or freelance licence expires, the creator may be operating unlawfully even with a permit. Track both renewal dates.
Building advertiser permit UAE compliance into contracts
Most of the practical work under the advertiser permit UAE regime happens in contracts, not in applications. A brand cannot control a creator's licensing, but it can make the permit a condition of the deal and keep the right to walk away.
- Conditions precedent. No content brief, product shipment or payment until the creator provides a current permit number, the licence details and the list of registered accounts.
- Warranties and undertakings. The creator warrants that the permit and underlying licence are valid and undertakes to maintain them for the campaign and any usage period.
- Content controls. Brand approval of scripts and final posts, a list of prohibited claims, and a requirement to identify the content clearly as advertising.
- Intellectual property. Who owns the content, how long the brand may reuse it in paid media, and whether music, fonts or third-party footage are cleared.
- Remedies. Takedown on request, fee claw-back and termination if the permit lapses or a post breaches content standards.
Keep a short campaign compliance file for each activation: copies of permit numbers checked, the approved content, the substantiation for any objective claims and the sector approvals obtained. If a complaint or regulator query arrives months later, that file is the fastest way to show the advertiser permit UAE checks were done.
Cross-border campaigns
The advertiser permit UAE requirement is triggered by advertising activity from the UAE, not by the nationality of the creator or the location of the brand. A UK or Singapore brand hiring a UAE-based creator needs the creator to be permitted; a UAE brand hiring a creator who posts from abroad must consider the rules where that creator is based, and UAE content standards may still matter if the content targets UAE audiences.
For regional campaigns across the GCC, check each market. Saudi Arabia, for example, operates its own licensing regime for social media advertisers. Running a single campaign across several countries usually means one master agreement with country-specific compliance schedules.
What to do next
- Map every creator, ambassador and affiliate who promotes your brand from the UAE, paid or not.
- Collect and verify permit numbers and underlying licences before contracts are signed.
- Route visiting creators through a licensed UAE agency and build lead time into launches.
- Update influencer agreements: permit warranties, approvals, disclosure, claims, IP and termination.
- Identify sector approvals needed for health, finance, virtual asset or other regulated content.
- Train marketing teams on media content standards and keep a campaign compliance file.
TRW & Co advises brands, agencies and creators on advertiser permit UAE compliance, licensing structures, influencer and agency agreements, and regulatory queries. Where proceedings are required, we work alongside locally licensed advocates. To review a campaign or your creator contracts, contact our Dubai team or email info@trw.co. Licensing questions about the business itself can also be checked against the Ministry of Economy and Tourism services.
Frequently asked questions
01Do I need an advertiser permit to post sponsored content in the UAE?
If you promote another person's or company's products, services or brand from inside the UAE, including through paid posts, gifted products or brand collaborations, you should assume you need a UAE Media Council advertiser permit. Promoting your own business through your own accounts is reported to be exempt. Residents also generally need a licence for the underlying electronic media activity, such as a trade licence or freelance permit.
02How much does the UAE advertiser permit cost?
The Media Council's announcements, as reported in the UAE press, state that the resident permit is free for the first three years and is issued for one year at a time. The underlying trade licence or freelance permit has its own cost, which varies by emirate or free zone. Visitor permits are processed through licensed agencies, which charge for their services.
03Can a tourist or visiting influencer advertise in the UAE?
Yes, but only with a visitor advertiser permit obtained through a licensed UAE advertising or talent agency. The permit is short-term, reported as three months, and renewable on limited terms. Visiting creators should not publish sponsored content made in the UAE until the agency has confirmed the permit in writing.
04What are the penalties for advertising without a permit?
Cabinet Decision No. 42 of 2025 sets administrative fines for media violations, including unlicensed activity and breaches of media content standards. Fines depend on the type and severity of the breach and increase for repeat violations, and the regulator can suspend or cancel permits. Misleading claims may also breach consumer protection and sector-specific rules.
05Are brands responsible if their influencer has no permit?
Brands and agencies are expected to confirm that the creators they work with hold valid permits. Beyond regulatory exposure, an unpermitted campaign can be taken down, harm the brand's reputation and complicate disputes with the creator. Brands should verify permits before signing, keep records, and include warranties and termination rights in the agreement.
06Does the advertiser permit cover health or financial promotions?
No. The permit is a general licence to advertise; it does not replace sector approvals. Health products and services, financial and investment products, and virtual assets have their own advertising rules and, in some cases, separate approval or licensing requirements. Check the sector rules before any regulated content is produced.
Sources and official materials
- Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 Regulating Media — The federal media law on the UAE Legislation portal
- UAE Government portal: Media regulation — Regulators, media content standards and online advertising controls
- Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority — Internet access management and online content controls
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism — Business licensing and consumer protection
- The Official Portal of the UAE Government — Government services and licensing guidance
General information only, current as at 27 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. UAE law differs between the onshore jurisdiction, the DIFC, ADGM and the free zones, and changes frequently; check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.
