UAE influencer regulations and advertising rules brands must know

As of October 2026, a brand advertising in the UAE answers to the federal media law enforced by the National Media Authority (NMA), to sector regulators, and to consumer protection, data protection and cybercrime law. Creators need an Advertiser Permit for paid and unpaid posts alike, and, according to the NMA, more than 15,000 had been issued by mid-June 2026.

This guide is for founders and marketing directors who brief creators, buy media or collect leads in the UAE. By the end you will know which permits a campaign needs, what each ad has to say, where the fines sit and what changes in Saudi Arabia. It is not legal advice: rules and fees change, so confirm details with the NMA or the relevant regulator before you launch.

Who regulates advertising in the UAE now?

The base is Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 Regulating Media, in force since 1 December 2023. It defines an advertisement as content shown to the public "for the purpose of marketing a product or service, for or without compensation". It covers all media activity in the country, media free zones included.

Cabinet Resolution No. 68 of 2024, the executive regulation, came into force on 31 October 2024 and sets the advertising conditions in its Article 33. Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025 lists the administrative fines and has applied since 29 May 2025.

The regulator changed on 1 January 2026, when the National Media Authority, created by Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2025, took over the functions of the UAE Media Council. The legislation portal still lists both Cabinet resolutions as active.

Article 23 of the media law sets the outer limits: an administrative fine of AED 1,000 to AED 1 million, doubled for a repeat violation up to AED 2 million, alongside warnings, renewable closures of up to six months and cancellation of licences and permits.

Under Article 7, a licence or permit from the media regulator does not replace the permits or approvals other authorities require.

The Advertiser Permit tells you a creator may advertise; it does not make your ad lawful.

Who needs a UAE Advertiser Permit?

Article 12 of the media law has the regulator issue permits to individuals who provide advertising or media content on social media, "whether for or without compensation". Unpaid posts count, so gifted products and barter deals are covered too.

The NMA lists two exemptions: people advertising their own products or services, or those of a company they own, on their personal accounts; and under-18s who produce educational, sports, cultural or awareness content that fits the age-classification rules. Check the scope with the NMA first.

The UAE Media Council extended the licensing deadline to 31 January 2026, Gulf News reported in October 2025.

What the National Media Authority Advertiser Permit requires

For a UAE resident, the NMA's service page lists a digital ID, a passport, a personal photo and a commercial licence. The conditions include good conduct, content that meets the media content standards, completion of the regulator's training programme, no previously cancelled permit and no outstanding dues. The permit is free for the first three years and costs AED 1,000 after that, with delivery in three working days. It lasts a year and can be renewed.

Holders must show the permit number on their accounts, advertise only through accounts registered to the permit, let no one else use those accounts for ads, check that whoever commissions an ad is not a fake company or an alias, and get any approval the law requires before publishing.

Creator marketing heads the list in our Dubai digital marketing trends for 2026, so the permit check belongs in procurement, not in a last-minute message.

What this means for brands: collect the permit number before the contract is signed, and check it is shown on the account the creator will post from.

The UAE visitor Advertiser Permit

Visiting creators apply through a licensed advertising agency in the UAE and must be at least 18. The permit lasts three months, and the NMA may extend it to six months in total. The fee is AED 500.

What must every influencer ad disclose and avoid?

Article 20 of the media law requires every advertiser to include in all advertising material something that "explicitly and clearly" shows it is an advertisement. Put the label in the post itself, not only in a profile bio.

Article 33 of the executive regulation adds that ads must be clearly identified and kept separate from editorial content. A creator who promotes or endorses a product must disclose any material return or commercial relationship with its owner.

It also limits content: ads must not be ambiguous or contain misleading claims, exaggeration, claims of exclusivity or disparagement of competitors. Ads that use the UAE flag, emblem or national anthem must observe the rules on their use. Promotion of alcoholic drinks, narcotics, tobacco or smoking is banned, "whether directly or indirectly".

The consumer protection law, Federal Law No. 15 of 2020, bars advertisers, providers and commercial agents from describing a product with false data or advertising it in a misleading way, and treats fake or untrue prizes and discounts as misleading advertising. Its Article 18 requires a provider to hold a prior licence from the competent authority before promoting goods or services or announcing general price discounts.

Article 26 of the same law says data, advertising and contracts related to the consumer must be in Arabic, with other languages allowed alongside it. Raise this with your lawyer before an English-only creative is approved.

The cybercrime law, Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021, adds a criminal offence in Article 48: promoting a product through a misleading advertisement carries imprisonment and/or a fine of AED 20,000 to AED 500,000.

The UAE media content standards

Article 17 of the law sets 15 media content standards, Article 28 of the executive regulation adds five, and the NMA publishes all 20 on its website. For advertising, the most relevant are the rule that ad content must respect the culture, identity and values of the UAE, and the standards on privacy, rumours and misleading news, age ratings and children's rights.

What is the brand responsible for?

The permit sits with the creator, but the brand carries risk of its own. The consumer protection law's ban on misleading ads names the advertiser and the provider, which is usually the brand. Under Article 12 of the media law, whoever is responsible for a digital media activity answers for what is published through it, permitted or not, and that includes a brand's own accounts.

The NMA's permit guide lists a brand's duties when it hires a creator: use only permit holders listed in the regulator's public database, make sure they meet the permit conditions, avoid unauthorised visiting advertisers and sign a written agreement the NMA can ask to see. Write the permit number, disclosure label and approval steps into it.

What the fines look like

Under Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025, advertising on social media without a permit earns a written warning first, then AED 20,000, then AED 50,000, and posting after a permit has expired costs AED 10,000, then AED 20,000. An ad shown without a required sector approval costs AED 10,000, and a breach of the Article 33 conditions AED 20,000, then AED 50,000. Content-standard breaches run from AED 5,000 to AED 1 million, graded by how serious they are. The resolution also allows a fine to be doubled when the same violation is repeated within a year.

AED 50,000

Third offence of advertising on social media without a permit

AED 10,000

Ad shown without a required sector approval

AED 1 million

Highest fine for breaching a media content standard

Source: Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025, annex of violations and penalties

The data behind lead forms and remarketing

Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, the personal data protection law, has applied since 2 January 2022. It bans processing personal data without the owner's consent, with listed exceptions such as performing a contract, and reaches businesses abroad that process the data of people in the UAE. Companies in free zones that have their own data protection legislation are excluded.

Consent has to be something you can prove, given in plain terms and easy to withdraw. People can also object to processing for direct marketing, including profiling related to it. In campaign terms, every lead form needs a consent line, and a remarketing audience built from those leads needs a working opt-out.

The law gives businesses six months to comply once its executive regulations are issued, so check their status with your adviser. The consent and objection rights themselves are in the decree-law.

People who appear in your content

Event photos, street interviews and reposted customer videos carry their own risk. Article 44 of the cybercrime law punishes using a network or device to invade someone's private life without consent, including by photographing people in any public or private place. The penalty is at least six months in prison and/or a fine of AED 150,000 to AED 500,000.

Get written releases from anyone identifiable, and blur bystanders who did not give one.

Which sectors need extra approval?

Article 33 lists the ads that need approval from the relevant authority before they run: real estate, medical products, clinics, hospitals, health and pharmaceutical services, securities and financial services, educational services, and food. The regulator can add others. Running one without approval is the AED 10,000 offence above.

Real estate in Dubai

In Dubai, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) at Dubai Land Department requires companies to apply for a permit through its Trakheesi system before publishing a real estate advertisement, and to put the permit number in the ad. Through its Madmoun service, every permit now comes with a QR code, which must appear on visual and written ads alike.

In February 2024 RERA fined 30 real estate companies for breaching its advertising conditions, at AED 50,000 per violation, and it has warned about unlicensed ads on electronic platforms and social media channels. Brief creators with the permit number and QR code before they film a property.

Health, food and education

For clinics, medical products, food and education, Article 33 requires approval from "the concerned authority" without naming one, so ask the regulator that licenses the business which approval applies. Promoting unlicensed medical products online is also a criminal offence under Article 49 of the cybercrime law.

Alcohol and tobacco

Because the Article 33 ban covers indirect promotion, hospitality brands should take advice before any creator concept that features drinks.

Financial products

Beyond the Article 33 approval, creators who give financial recommendations answer to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) under Board Chairman's Resolution No. 10/R.M of 2025, which covers people registered with it who recommend financial products or virtual assets. The CMA publishes a list of authorised finfluencers, so check a creator is on it before any finance brief.

Article 48 of the cybercrime law also punishes promoting a virtual currency or payment unit that is not officially recognised in the UAE, or doing so without a licence from the competent authority.

Outdoor and print

Billboards, mall screens and printed material are advertisements under the media law, which covers visual, audio and printed content shown "by any means". A media licence does not replace site permits, so ask the media owner to confirm in writing which permits cover the site and the creative.

How does Saudi Arabia's Mawthooq licence compare?

The General Authority for Media Regulation issues Mawthooq, Saudi Arabia's licence for individuals who provide advertising content on social media. Its service page, last updated in September 2026, lists a fee of SAR 15,000 for a three-year licence and 30 days to process.

Applicants must be at least 18, and the content on their accounts in the six months before applying must not breach media content controls. A resident or foreign investor needs a licence for an advertising or marketing office and must own at least 50% of that company. As in the UAE, ads that need another authority's licence need that approval as well.

A UAE resident permit, by contrast, is free for its first three years and quoted at three working days. Our Glitch World campaign for Aniline Studio combined influencer marketing, digital advertising and PR across the UAE and KSA, the kind of two-market brief where both apply.

What to check before a campaign goes live

Before the first post goes out, confirm:

• Permit numbers collected for every UAE creator and checked against the account they will post from
• Contract names the disclosure label, the approval steps and who answers if a post breaks the rules
• Sector approvals in hand before creators receive the brief
• Arabic copy planned for consumer-facing ads
• Consent wording on every lead form, with an opt-out that works
• Releases signed by everyone identifiable in the content

Build these checks into the first weeks of a launch plan, alongside the steps in our 90-day UAE launch playbook. Rules here have changed every year since 2023, so recheck the NMA's service pages before each campaign.

If you would rather hand the creator side to a partner, our influence marketing team runs creator campaigns in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.