Influencer License UAE: the Advertiser Permit, Fees and Trade Licence

What people call an influencer licence in the UAE is now two things: the Advertiser Permit from the National Media Authority (NMA), which replaced the UAE Media Council in December 2025, and a trade licence for an electronic media activity. This guide sets out who needs them, what they cost, how to apply and what the fines are, from the regulator’s own pages and legal texts as read on 21 September 2026.

Who needs the Advertiser Permit

The NMA’s rule is short: the permit is required for individuals who advertise on social media platforms, whether for financial compensation or not. Its Advertiser Guide adds that this covers citizens, residents and visitors who produce advertising content from within the UAE, and that the permit must be obtained before publishing any advert for a product, service, event or activity. The NMA service card extends the same permit to websites and other digital platforms.

Two groups are exempt:

• people advertising their own products or services, or those of a company they own, through their personal accounts;
• people under 18 doing educational, sports, cultural or awareness activities.

The exemption names only your own products or a company you own. It says nothing about employees promoting their employer’s products, so if that is your situation, ask the NMA before you post.

Fees and validity

The regulator gives no calendar end date for the free three years; its fee table simply lists the AED 1,000 renewal from the fourth year. Permits issued under the earlier rules stayed valid until they expired, with renewal under the new system after that.

The trade licence you need as well

For citizens and residents the permit sits on top of an economic licence: the NMA requires a trade licence to practise electronic media from the relevant authority, and the service card lists the commercial licence among the documents. The Advertiser Guide names the licence activities it accepts in each emirate. In Dubai, the Department of Economy and Tourism rows are a sole establishment or a professional trader licence for blogging or marketing management, or a professional licence for marketing management. In Abu Dhabi, the accepted routes include a freelance licence for advertising services via websites or social media account management.

A free zone licence also works, from any free zone, for the electronic media activity, provided it is issued as a sole establishment. The guide lists free zone activities such as content creator, social media marketing services and online advertising services.

Selling products online is a different activity: it needs a commercial licence that includes e-commerce, covered in our guide to the e-commerce licence cost in Dubai. The Advertiser Guide also asks permit holders to register for tax and obtain a tax registration number.

How to apply

1. Get the trade licence for an electronic media activity, from your emirate’s economic department or a free zone.
2. Complete the NMA training programme. Finishing it is a condition of the permit.
3. Apply on the NMA e-services portal with your digital ID, passport, a personal photo and the commercial licence. The Apply link on the NMA permit page still points to the old UAE Media Council address, whose security certificate expired on 15 September 2026; the working portal is eservices.nma.gov.ae.
4. Wait for the decision. The NMA reviews a complete application within 3 working days; under the Executive Regulation, no decision after 15 working days counts as a refusal.
5. Receive the permit electronically, and show the permit number on your social media accounts.

The applicant must be at least 18, with exceptions at the regulator’s discretion (the guide sets extra conditions for applicants aged 15 to 18), must be of good conduct with no conviction for a felony or a dishonesty offence unless rehabilitated, and must have no previously cancelled permit or unpaid dues to the authority.

Visitors and tourists

Someone in the UAE on a visit visa needs the Visitor Advertiser Permit to advertise, paid or not. The application can be filed only by an advertising or talent management agency accredited by the NMA, together with the contract between the visitor, the agency and the advertiser’s client. The permit lasts three months and can be extended, with fees, up to six months in total. The accredited agencies listed on the NMA page in July 2026 were New Media Academy, Imfluence Digital Marketing, The Agency 971 Marketing Management and Creative Storm Products for Promotion Purposes.

Rules once you hold the permit

• show the permit number on your accounts, and publish adverts only through the accounts registered with the permit;
• do not let anyone else advertise through your registered account;
• get the approval of the relevant authority first for adverts about real estate, medical or health products and services, securities and financial services, education and food;
• disclose clearly when an advert involves a paid commercial relationship with the brand;
• submit an annual report of published adverts when you renew, or whenever the NMA asks for one.

Brands are told to contract only with permit holders listed in the NMA’s public database.

Fines

Penalties are set by Cabinet Resolution No. 42 of 2025:

Many articles say fines for advertising without a permit start at AED 10,000; the official table starts with a written warning and then AED 20,000. Under the media law itself, a fine can reach AED 1 million, doubled on repetition up to AED 2 million.

What changed and when

• 2018: the old National Media Council licensed only social media accounts doing commercial, paid activity.
• 1 December 2023: Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 on media regulation came into force.
• 30 July 2025: the Advertiser Permit was launched for paid and unpaid content, with three months to comply.
• 9 December 2025: the visitor route opened through accredited agencies; about 5,000 permits had been issued.
• 18 December 2025: the National Media Authority replaced the UAE Media Council.
• June 2026: more than 15,000 permits had been issued.

Related licences

UAE and GCC nationals who sell through social media can look at the e-trader licence in Dubai. If you are weighing a freelance permit against a company for content work, see freelance permit vs company formation in Dubai.