Advertiser Permit
The permit individuals need to publish advertising content on social media, issued federally.
The Advertiser Permit
The Advertiser Permit is not a Dubai trade licence and it does not come from the Dubai economic department. It is federal. The authority is the National Media Authority (الهيئة الوطنية للإعلام), which its own site describes as “a federal public authority established under Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2025”. It replaced the UAE Media Council; the former address, uaemc.gov.ae, now redirects to nma.gov.ae.
It sits on this hub for one concrete reason. Among the documents the authority lists for the permit is a commercial licence — so for most applicants the licence and the permit are the same piece of work, in order.
What the permit covers is narrow and worth stating plainly: it is for individuals publishing advertising or media content through their own social media accounts, websites and other digital platforms. The authority’s own description is “تصريح الأفراد لتقديم محتوى إعلاني وإعلامي عبر حساباتهم في مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي أو عبر شبكة الانترنت وغيرها من الوسائل التقنية الحديثة بمقابل أو بدون مقابل”.
What the service covers
- Checking that the individual permit is the right one for what you actually publish
- The commercial licence side, where you do not hold one yet, since the authority lists it among the documents
- Preparing the application and the documents the authority names
- Submitting through the authority's electronic services system and following it to a decision
- Telling you plainly which parts of this are not published, rather than filling the gaps
- Watching the file so a follow-up is a message from us rather than a discovery
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
Who this page is for
- Individuals publishing advertising or media content through their own social media accounts or websites
- Content creators asked for a permit by a platform, an agency or a brand
- Business owners who already hold a mainland licence and now need the permit alongside it
- Applicants who do not yet hold a commercial licence and need both pieces done in the right order
- Anyone who has read that the "UAE Media Council" issues this and wants to know what actually changed
- Applicants outside the UAE who need the work run from here
What we need from you
The authority lists four documents for the individual permit:
- Digital ID
- Passport
- Personal photo
- Commercial licence
From the National Media Authority's service page, checked 10 November 2026. That last item is the one that catches people out, and it is why this page exists on a licence hub. If you do not hold a commercial licence, that is the first piece of work, not the second.
The authority also sets conditions on the applicant, including good conduct and no conviction "in a felony or a dishonesty-related offense unless legally rehabilitated", that the content complies with the media content standards, completion of the awareness training programme, no previous permit under cancellation, and no outstanding financial obligations to the Authority.
The permit, step by step
- Tell us what you publish and whether you already hold a commercial licence. Those two answers decide the whole route.
- We confirm the individual permit is the right one for what you actually do.
- Licence first where you need one, because the authority lists it among the permit's documents.
- Written quote — the authority's published charge and our fee, itemised separately.
- Application through the authority's electronic services system, with the documents it names.
- Follow-up to a decision, and the file watched rather than forgotten.
Turnaround and fees
- The authority's own fee, as it publishes it: "First 3 years: Free of charge", and "After 3 years: AED 1,000" (National Media Authority, checked 10 November 2026). That is the government charge, quoted as published and attributed; our fee is quote on request and shown separately in writing.
- Processing time, as the authority publishes it: 3 working days.
- Validity period: not published officially. The authority's service page does not state one, so neither do we.
- Where a commercial licence has to be issued first, that work sets the real timetable rather than the permit itself.
Who issues it
The permit is issued by the National Media Authority (الهيئة الوطنية للإعلام), which describes itself as "a federal public authority established under Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2025" (nma.gov.ae, checked 10 November 2026). It replaced the UAE Media Council. The Council's address, uaemc.gov.ae, now redirects to nma.gov.ae. The UAE Government portal points the same way: its "Running a business on the mainland" page lists an Advertising permit under Related services and links it to the National Media Authority (u.ae, updated 27 October 2026). We state the change because a great deal of what is written about this permit still names the Council, and a permit application sent to the wrong body is not a small mistake.
Who the permit is for
Individuals. That is the scope of the service and it is worth being exact about it. The authority's own service name is the "Permit for an Individual to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media and Other Digital Platforms", and the Arabic service is listed as تصريح معلن للشخص طبيعي لتقديم محتوى إعلاني أو إعلامي في وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي (الأفراد). It covers publishing advertising and media content through personal accounts, websites and other digital platforms, whether or not you are paid for it. The authority also lists a separate "Permit for Visiting Individuals to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media". We name it as the authority names it and leave it there.
Why a commercial licence comes first
This is the practical heart of the page. Among the documents the authority lists for the individual permit is a commercial licence (NMA). So for an applicant who does not already hold one, the order of work is: licence, then permit. Not the other way round, and not both at once. That single requirement is the reason this card sits on a trade licence hub rather than somewhere else on the site. For most of the people who ask us about this permit, the real question underneath it is which licence they need first. If you already hold a mainland licence, that part is done and the permit is a short piece of work on its own.
The published fee and processing time
Quoted exactly as the authority publishes them, and attributed, because this is one of the rare places in the whole licensing world where a government figure is published plainly.
- Fee: "First 3 years: Free of charge". After that, "After 3 years: AED 1,000" (nma.gov.ae).
- Processing: 3 working days.
- Service type: government to individuals.
All from the National Media Authority's service page, checked 10 November 2026. Those are the authority's charges, not ours. Our fee for handling the application is quote on request, itemised in writing and shown separately from the authority's charge, as it is on every page on this site.
What is not published officially
Short list, and saying it is more useful than filling it in.
- The validity period of the permit. The service page gives the fee and the processing time but no duration. We will not infer one from the three-year fee structure, because that is a fee schedule and not a validity statement.
- What happens at renewal, and on what timetable.
- How the permit interacts with a free zone licence rather than a mainland one.
Where we cannot cite it, we check your case with the authority instead of publishing a confident guess. That is the whole editorial rule on this site and this page is a good example of why it matters: almost everything written about this permit elsewhere was written when the issuing body had a different name.
What opens the file
The four the authority lists:
- Digital ID
- Passport
- Personal photo
- Commercial licence
If the last one does not exist yet, send us the first three anyway and tell us what you publish. We will tell you which licence you need and what the two pieces of work cost together. Send it to WhatsApp on +971 4 223 6581, or use the form on this page.
Advertiser Permit questions, answered from the authority
Who issues the Advertiser Permit?
The National Media Authority (الهيئة الوطنية للإعلام), described on its own site as "a federal public authority established under Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2025" (nma.gov.ae). It replaced the UAE Media Council, and the former address uaemc.gov.ae now redirects to nma.gov.ae.
Is this a Dubai licence?
No. It is federal, and separate from the Dubai trade licence. It appears on this hub because a commercial licence is one of the documents the authority lists for it.
Who is the permit for?
Individuals. The authority's service is the "Permit for an Individual to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media and Other Digital Platforms", and it allows individuals to publish advertising and media content through personal social media, websites or other digital platforms (NMA).
What documents does it need?
Four, as the authority lists them: Digital ID, passport, personal photo, and a commercial licence.
I don't have a commercial licence. Can I still apply?
The authority lists a commercial licence among the documents, so in practice the licence comes first. That is a piece of work in its own right and the new-licence page covers it.
What does the authority charge?
"First 3 years: Free of charge", then "After 3 years: AED 1,000" (NMA, checked 10 November 2026). Our own fee for handling it is quoted separately on request.
How long does it take?
The authority publishes 3 working days for the service. Where a commercial licence has to be issued first, that is the part that sets the timetable.
How long is the permit valid for?
Not published officially. The authority's service page states the fee and the processing time but not a validity period, so we do not state one either.
What conditions are attached?
The authority names several, including good conduct and no conviction "in a felony or a dishonesty-related offense unless legally rehabilitated", content complying with the media content standards, completing the awareness training programme, no previous permit under cancellation, and no outstanding financial obligations to the Authority.
Is there a version for visitors?
The authority lists a second service, a "Permit for Visiting Individuals to Provide Advertising or Media Content on Social Media". We name it because the authority does; we are not describing its conditions here.
What about advertising on billboards, vehicles or property?
Other advertising permits exist and are issued by other authorities. We can advise on which one applies to you, but we are not going to describe them on this page without verifying each one officially first.
Can you handle it if I am outside the UAE?
The application runs through the authority's electronic services system, so usually yes. Tell us where you are and we will say whether anything needs doing in person.
Figures and rules on this page name the authority they come from and were checked on 10 November 2026. The AED 1,000 figure and the 3 working days are the National Media Authority's own published values for its service, not a price quoted by AL HUDHUD; our fee is quoted separately on request. Authority rules, charges and processing times can change without notice. AL HUDHUD Documents Clearing Services is a documents clearing and PRO services company, not a law firm; this is information, not legal advice.
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