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The UAE Advertiser Permit is a licence for individuals, not companies, who publish advertising content on social media or other digital platforms in the UAE, paid or unpaid. It is now issued by the National Media Authority (NMA), which replaced the UAE Media Council (uaemc.gov.ae): residents pay AED 0 for the first 3 years, then AED 1,000; visitors pay AED 500 for 3 months.
You apply online with UAE PASS on the NMA e-services portal, eservices.nma.gov.ae, and the NMA gives 3 working days for a decision. Posting advertising on social media without a permit means a written warning the first time, then AED 20,000 and AED 50,000 (Cabinet Resolution 42/2025). Questions go to the NMA: info@nma.gov.ae · +971 800 971.
Most articles stop there, and that is where the confusion starts. The permit is about who posts and from which account, not about who designs the ad. And for a large share of UAE businesses it is not even the first approval they need: real estate, healthcare, education and finance have their own regulator, and that approval goes before the ad.
Not legal advice. This is general information, checked against the official sources linked on this page on the dates above. Rules and fees change, and secondary sources disagree on several points (we flag each one). Confirm your own case with the National Media Authority before you rely on it: info@nma.gov.ae · +971 800 971 (contact page).
The short answer
- A company cannot hold an Advertiser Permit. It is issued to individuals (citizens, residents or visitors).
- You need one if you, as a person, publish advertising content on your social media accounts from inside the UAE, for a product, service or event in the UAE, paid or unpaid. The typical case: promoting someone else’s brand.
- You don’t need one to promote your own business from your own accounts (exemption in the former Media Council’s guide; not restated by the NMA).
- Paid ads run from the client’s own ad account and page are, on our reading of the rules, not the agency’s permit to hold. We explain the grey edge of that below.
- Sector approvals are separate. A Trakheesi permit (real estate), a MOHAP health-advertising licence (healthcare), KHDA approval (education) or a CMA licence (finance) is requested by the business, and nobody else can request it on their behalf.
Looking for the UAE Media Council (UAEMC) permit? It is now the NMA
If you searched for the “uaemc permit” or the Advertiser Permit on uaemc.gov.ae, this is what changed:
- The UAE Media Council has been replaced by the National Media Authority (NMA), a federal authority established under Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2025 (NMA FAQ), announced in December 2025 (Gulf News, Lexis).
- uaemc.gov.ae now redirects to nma.gov.ae, and the old e-services address, eservices.uaemc.gov.ae, redirects to the NMA’s services login. We checked both redirects on 2026-11-03. The “Apply” button on the NMA’s own service page still points to the old address; it lands in the same place.
- The press still calls it the “Advertiser Permit”. On the NMA site its official name is the “Permit for an Individual to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media and Other Digital Platforms”, plus a separate permit for visitors.
- Older articles, and some law-firm notes, still use the Media Council name. The fees and conditions below are the ones on the NMA’s service pages.
What the Advertiser Permit is
| Issued by | National Media Authority (NMA), formerly the UAE Media Council |
|---|---|
| Official name | “Permit for an Individual to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media and Other Digital Platforms” (residents and citizens) · “Permit for Visiting Individuals to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media” (visitors) |
| Legal basis | Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2025 (establishes the NMA); Article 12(2) of Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 on Media Regulation; Chairman’s Decision No. 9 of 2024 on the conditions for permits for individuals (cited in Cabinet Resolution 42/2025); Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025 (penalties) |
| Mandatory since | 1 February 2026 (press reports; not stated on the NMA service page) |
| Who holds it | A natural person: UAE citizen, resident or visitor |
| What it covers | Advertising or media content published on social media accounts, websites or other digital platforms, with or without payment |
| Fee | Residents: free for the first 3 years, then AED 1,000 · Visitors: AED 500 for 3 months |
| Decision | 3 working days |
| Where to apply | Online with UAE PASS on eservices.nma.gov.ae (the old eservices.uaemc.gov.ae redirects there) |
| Contact | info@nma.gov.ae · +971 800 971 |
Sources: NMA, resident permit · NMA, visitor permit · NMA FAQ · NMA legislation, including Federal Decree-Law 55/2023 · Clyde & Co on Cabinet Resolution 42/2025
The decision tree
Answer the four questions in order. Stop at the first one that settles your case.
Question 1: Who publishes, and from which account?
This is the question that decides the Advertiser Permit. Everything else decides other approvals.
| Situation | Advertiser Permit? | Whose name |
|---|---|---|
| A paid ad runs from the client’s ad account and the client’s Facebook/Instagram page | Not required for the agency or the freelancer running it (see grey areas) | — |
| A person posts a post, reel, story or affiliate link from their own accounts promoting someone else’s product to a UAE audience | Required before the first post | That person |
| A business promotes itself from its own accounts | Exempt (own business) (per the former Media Council’s guide; not restated on the NMA service page) | — |
| A founder promotes their own company from their personal accounts | Exempt (own business) (same source, unverified on nma.gov.ae) | — |
| A creator or influencer is hired to promote a UAE client | Required. Check their permit; a public register existed under the Media Council (unverified under the NMA) | The creator |
| A visiting creator (not a UAE resident) promotes a UAE client | Visitor permit, applied for by a UAE-licensed advertising agency | The creator, via a licensed agency |
Two practical consequences:
- Before you sign a creator, check their permit. A creator without a permit is a problem for the campaign, and the contract should say who is responsible. Put it in writing.
- A marketing agency’s trade licence is not an NMA accreditation. Ours, for example, is an IFZA licence for Marketing Services via Social Media, Web-Design and Advertising Researches & Consultancies. That lets us run campaigns for clients. It does not make us an NMA-licensed advertising agency able to apply for visitor permits, and we don’t claim it does.
Question 2: Who is the audience?
The NMA regulates advertising content in the UAE. If the campaign targets people outside the UAE (for example, a Dubai-based agency running ads for a Spanish business, aimed at customers in Spain), the content is aimed outside the NMA’s scope.
If the audience is in the UAE, go to question 3.
Question 3: Which sector is the advertiser in?
Regulated sectors need a sector approval in addition to whatever applies under question 1. It is requested by the advertiser (the licensed business), it comes before the ad goes to Meta or Google, and an agency cannot apply on the client’s behalf.
Skipping it also has an NMA price: Cabinet Resolution 42/2025 fines AED 10,000, doubled if repeated, for showing an advertisement without the approval of the authority concerned, or without meeting its conditions.
The permit is one line of the bill; for the rest of what Meta ads cost in Dubai, see our cost guide.
The table below covers Dubai. Other emirates follow the same pattern with a different authority.
Question 4: Does the platform add its own rules?
Meta and Google have their own policies on housing, employment, credit, financial products and social issues. These sit on top of UAE law, not instead of it. In Meta, the “special ad categories” remove some targeting options (age, postcode, and others) when they apply. Whether a given UAE campaign falls into a special category is decided in Ads Manager at set-up, so don’t build a plan that depends on age or postcode targeting for property, jobs or credit until you have checked.
Sector approvals table (Dubai)
| Sector | Authority | Unit | What happens | Fee and timing | If it’s missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate | Dubai Land Department (DLD), via Trakheesi | Per property, campaign or event: lead-generation campaigns also need a permit; ask your broker | A RERA-licensed broker applies through Trakheesi. The DLD lists 14 permit types, including “Electronic advertisements” and “Promotional campaigns”. A permit number is issued and must appear on the ad (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, portals). Since 15 April 2023, DLD Circular 02-2023 requires the Madmoun QR code on property ads “whether in print or audio-visual format” | “Other Permits: AED 1,000” + AED 20 fee; project launch event AED 5,000. One working day (DLD page) | In February 2024 the DLD fined 30 companies AED 50,000 each for advertising breaches |
| Healthcare (clinics, aesthetics, dental, pharmacy) | Licence: Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) · Content: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) | Licence for the facility + each piece of content | The facility’s official account must show its MOHAP medical advertisement licence number, and the Medical Director approves each piece of content under the DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media. No absolute claims, no misleading before/after, no bait pricing, no unproven treatments | MOHAP licence: 3 working days; the fee depends on the advertisement type | Fines and action against the medical licence |
| Education (schools, academies, training) | KHDA | Per campaign | Material submitted through the KHDA e-Service Portal. Approval valid 3 months. Only accredited courses; prize draws to recruit students are prohibited | Days | KHDA fines |
| Finance, investment, crypto | Capital Market Authority (CMA), formerly SCA | Per licence, not per ad | Only licensed entities may promote financial products. People who share investment opinions on social media with 1,000+ followers (according to press reports) need a finfluencer licence under CMA (formerly SCA) Resolution 10/2025 | Finfluencer licence reported free for 3 years | CMA fines; sanctions already issued |
| Food (unverified) | Dubai Municipality, Food Safety Department | Only with health/nutrition claims | “Gluten-free”, “low sugar”, “healthy” need prior certification; a restaurant advertising its brunch does not (not confirmed on an official page we could read) | — | DM fines (unverified) |
| Alcohol (unverified) | NMA content standards | Always | Listing a venue is tolerated; promoting drink prices or “free-flow” is reported to be an infringement (not confirmed on an official page we could read) | — | NMA fines (unverified) |
Other emirates: in Abu Dhabi, healthcare goes to DoH, real estate to ADREC and education to ADEK. In Sharjah and the northern emirates, start with the local economic department.
Sources: DLD Real Estate Ad Permit · MOHAP, health advertisement licence · DHA Standards (PDF) · KHDA advertising guidelines (PDF) · Chambers on Resolution 10/2025 (then SCA, now CMA) · Dubizzle on Madmoun · Bayut on Madmoun
Fee note on Trakheesi. Sources do not agree, so here is what each one says. The official DLD e-service page, read on 2026-11-03, lists “Project Launch Event Permit: AED 5,000”, “Other Permits: AED 1,000” and an “AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Fee”, with processing in one working day. Several broker and portal blogs quote around AED 220 per listing permit, and others give different ranges. Check the fee for your permit type in the DLD system before you budget for it. More on this in our Trakheesi guide for marketers.
How to apply for the Advertiser Permit (step by step)
If question 1 says you need one, this is the sequence.
- Check eligibility. Good conduct (no conviction for a felony or a crime of dishonesty, unless rehabilitated), no previously cancelled permit and no debts to the NMA.
- Have a trade licence. The NMA service page lists a commercial licence among the documents. Whether your specific free-zone licence is accepted is something to confirm with the NMA.
- Complete the mandatory training programme on media regulation. It is a requirement before the permit is issued.
- Prepare documents. UAE PASS (digital ID), passport, personal photo and commercial licence.
- Apply online with UAE PASS on eservices.nma.gov.ae. The “Apply” button on the NMA service page still links to eservices.uaemc.gov.ae, which redirects to the same NMA login.
- Wait for the decision. The official timeline is 3 working days.
- Publish within the rules. Content must meet the NMA’s Media Content Standards. Show your permit number on your accounts (an obligation under the former Media Council’s guide; unverified on nma.gov.ae).
Visitors apply differently: a UAE-licensed advertising agency submits the request. The visitor must be 18 or over, with full legal capacity and good conduct.
What it costs
| Applicant | Fee (NMA service pages, checked 2026-11-03) |
|---|---|
| Citizens and residents, first 3 years | AED 0 |
| After 3 years | AED 1,000 (the page doesn’t say whether this is per year) |
| Visitors | AED 500 for a 3-month permit, extendable to a maximum of 6 months in total, through a licensed agency |
Two things worth knowing:
- The free period counts from issue, not from first use (our reading of the former Media Council’s guide). If you don’t plan to publish paid or sponsored content yet, applying “just in case” uses up free time.
- Use the NMA’s figures, not older articles. A January 2026 law-firm note from Pinsent Masons matches the NMA: free for three years, then AED 1,000, which it describes as annual. The figures above are the ones on the NMA’s own service pages.
Timelines and validity
- Decision: 3 working days (NMA service page, both permits).
- Validity: 1 year, renewable (press reports; the NMA page doesn’t state it).
- Late renewal: Cabinet Resolution 42/2025 charges AED 150 per day, up to AED 3,000, for renewing a media licence more than 30 days late; it doesn’t say this applies to the individual permit.
- Posting after the permit has expired: AED 10,000, then AED 20,000 (Cabinet Resolution 42/2025).
- Under the former Media Council’s guide, holders also filed an annual report of their ads at renewal (unverified under the NMA).
Obligations once you hold it
Listed in the former Media Council’s guide; not restated on the NMA service page, so treat them as good practice until confirmed.
- Show the permit number on your registered accounts.
- Publish advertising only from the accounts you registered.
- Don’t lend your account to anyone else.
- Verify the advertiser is real before you promote them.
- Label sponsored content (#ad or #sponsored).
- Keep your TRN (tax registration) details in order where applicable.
- File the annual report at renewal.
Fines and penalties
Under Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025 (official PDF, Arabic, linked from the NMA legislation page), read again on 2026-11-03:
| Breach | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Providing advertising or media content on social media without a permit | Written warning first · AED 20,000 second · AED 50,000 third, doubled if repeated |
| Practising a media activity without a licence or permit | AED 10,000 first offence · AED 40,000 if repeated. 30 days to regularise, otherwise administrative closure |
| Continuing to post advertising or media content on social media after the permit has expired | AED 10,000 · AED 20,000 the second time, doubled if repeated again |
| Late renewal of a media licence (the resolution doesn’t say it applies to the individual permit) | AED 150 per day, up to AED 3,000 |
| Transferring a media licence, or changing partners or licence details without approval | AED 20,000 |
| Inaccurate or misleading information in the application | AED 5,000, doubled if repeated |
| Showing an advertisement without the approval of the authority concerned, or without meeting its conditions | AED 10,000, doubled if repeated |
| Ad that doesn’t respect the State’s culture, identity and values | AED 20,000 / 40,000 / 80,000 / 100,000 (rising with repeat offences) |
| Content violations in general | AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000, depending on the breach and how many times it is repeated |
Sector fines are on top of these. In real estate, the DLD fined 30 companies AED 50,000 each in February 2024 for advertising breaches (see the sector table above).
Grey areas, stated honestly
These are the points where the official texts don’t give a clean answer, or where secondary sources disagree. We tell you what we think and why, and you decide with the regulator.
1. An agency running paid ads from inside the UAE, from the client’s account. The guide talks about individuals publishing advertising content on social media from within the UAE. Some blogs claim any freelancer managing Facebook Ads for a UAE company needs a permit. Those blogs are not official sources. The structural elements of the permit (a natural person, their own registered accounts, a product in the UAE) don’t appear when an agency builds a campaign that is published by the client’s page from the client’s ad account. We read that as low risk. Low risk is not zero: if your agency is UAE-based and works for UAE clients, the simplest way to close the question is for the account lead to hold a permit (free for the first three years) or to contact the NMA (info@nma.gov.ae) with your exact set-up.
2. Free-zone companies doing “media activity”. A Dubai Development Authority circular (Circular 644, PDF) is addressed to “foreign media offices operating within the UAE”. It requires them to hold a licence from the competent authority or the UAE Media Council (now the NMA). It doesn’t mention UAE clients. Not every free zone is a media free zone. If your licence sits in another free zone, ask your free-zone authority whether anything similar applies to your activity. We are asking ours.
3. Whether a free-zone licence is accepted. The NMA service page asks for a commercial licence without saying which activities qualify. The former Media Council’s guide listed qualifying activities by emirate economic department. A free-zone licence with a social media marketing activity may well qualify; we have not seen that confirmed in writing.
4. Trakheesi fees and validity. As above: the official DLD page and portal blogs give different fees, and the DLD page doesn’t state validity. Ask your broker.
5. Madmoun QR on social media. DLD Circular 02-2023 requires the QR code on real estate advertisements “whether in print or audio-visual format” from 15 April 2023. It doesn’t name social media, but a social ad is visual: put the QR on every creative where the permit has one.
6. Meta’s special ad categories in the UAE (now settled). Meta’s documentation says businesses outside the US whose ads reach audiences outside the US, Canada and Europe can opt in or out of the audience restrictions. A UAE-only campaign falls there; one that also reaches Europe doesn’t. Ads Manager is still where you set it for your campaign.
What this means in practice (our own operating rules)
This is how we work, so you can compare it with how your agency works.
- Ads run from the client’s ad account and page. Accounts and pixels are in the client’s name from day one.
- No regulated-sector campaign goes live without the sector approval. For real estate, every creative carries the Trakheesi number before launch, lead-generation campaigns included. For clinics, the Medical Director signs off each piece of content.
- We never apply for a sector permit on a client’s behalf, and we don’t say we “handle permits”. The licensed business applies. We make sure the number or approval is on the ad.
- We don’t guarantee lead numbers. UAE consumer protection law prohibits misleading advertising (Pinsent Masons on the 2023 regulations), and a lead count depends on your product, price and market.
- If you hire creators, check they hold a valid permit and put responsibilities in the contract.
Onboarding checklist for a UAE advertiser
Copy this into your kick-off document.
- Sector and emirate. If regulated: “Do you have the advertising approval from your authority?” No number or approval, no launch. Online stores also need a trade licence before they advertise: see the ecommerce license in Dubai.
- Ads from the client’s ad account and page? If anyone will post from their own accounts, they need an Advertiser Permit first.
- Real estate: Trakheesi number (and QR where issued) on every creative, lead-generation campaigns included. Where a property ad comes from matters too: see real estate lead sources in Dubai and what Property Finder and Bayut cost a developer.
- Off-plan launches: the developer’s permits come first; the order is in how to sell off-plan property in Dubai.
- Creators: valid permit confirmed; written contract.
- Platform: special ad category checked in Ads Manager; #ad on sponsored content.
Frequently asked questions
Any individual who publishes advertising content on social media or other digital platforms in the UAE, paid or unpaid, typically for someone else’s product, service or event. A company cannot hold one. An agency that runs paid ads from the client’s own ad account and page is not, on our reading, the publisher that needs it. Under the former Media Council’s guide, promoting your own business from your own accounts was exempt; confirm with the NMA.
Online with UAE PASS on the National Media Authority’s e-services portal, eservices.nma.gov.ae. The old address, eservices.uaemc.gov.ae, redirects to the same NMA login. You need a passport, a personal photo, a commercial licence and the NMA’s training programme. Questions: info@nma.gov.ae or +971 800 971.
According to the National Media Authority’s service pages, it is free for citizens and residents for the first three years, then AED 1,000 (the page doesn’t say whether per year). Visitors pay AED 500 for a three-month permit, extendable up to six months, requested through a UAE-licensed advertising agency.
The National Media Authority’s service page gives three working days for both the resident and the visitor permit. Press reports say the resident permit is valid for one year and renewable.
Under Cabinet Resolution 42/2025, an individual who posts advertising on social media without a permit gets a written warning the first time, then AED 20,000, then AED 50,000, doubled if repeated. Practising a media activity without a licence carries AED 10,000, then AED 40,000, with 30 days to regularise. Posting after the permit has expired costs AED 10,000, then AED 20,000. Content violations range from AED 5,000 up to AED 1 million.
No. The Advertiser Permit is a National Media Authority licence held by a person who publishes ads on social media. Trakheesi is a Dubai Land Department permit issued per property or campaign to a RERA-licensed broker or the developer. A property ad can need both: Trakheesi for the listing, and a permit if a person posts it from their own account.
Yes, with a visitor permit: AED 500 for three months, extendable to six, requested by a UAE-licensed advertising agency. The creator must be 18 or over with good conduct. Sign a written contract that sets out who is responsible for compliance.
Related terms
- National Media Authority (NMA): the federal regulator that issues the permit since it replaced the UAE Media Council. Created by Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2025.
- UAE Media Council (UAEMC): the former regulator. Its websites, uaemc.gov.ae and eservices.uaemc.gov.ae, now redirect to the NMA.
- UAE PASS: the national digital ID you sign in with to apply.
- Visitor permit: the 3-month version for non-residents, applied for by a UAE-licensed advertising agency.
- Cabinet Resolution 42/2025: the list of media violations and fines, from AED 5,000 to AED 1,000,000.
- Trakheesi permit: the Dubai Land Department permit every real estate ad needs, held by the broker or developer. See Trakheesi permits for social media ads.