Advertiser permit
Definition
The Advertiser Permit is the UAE permit for anyone posting promotional content on social media, paid or unpaid. It is issued by the National Media Authority and has been mandatory since 1 February 2026, with narrow exemptions for people promoting their own products or a company they own.
The permit was announced on 30 July 2025, its deadline was extended to 31 January 2026, and it has been mandatory since 1 February 2026, so guides giving an October 2025 deadline are out of date. Pinsent Masons reported that it is free for the first three years for UAE citizens and residents, renewing at AED 1,000 a year from the fourth, but ties that to registering before the deadline, so a new applicant shouldn't assume it is free.
On penalties, Pinsent Masons reported that fines can reach AED 10,000. The media school at the American University in Dubai describes AED 10,000 as a starting fine for a first offence. The sources conflict, no official schedule could be found, and no report of an enforcement case after the deadline was found as of November 2026. Reports also differ on details such as whether a trade licence in electronic media is needed too, so brands should ask each creator to show their permit and confirm the position with the National Media Authority.
The reported exemptions are narrow: promoting your own products or services, or those of a company you own, from a personal account, and some activities by under-18s. Nothing reported covers brand partnerships. It is separate from the Dubai Land Department's property ad permit and from any permit for sales promotions. This isn't legal advice.
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