For a long time, the question an agency asked before booking a creator was whether their audience was real and whether their rate was sensible. There is now a third question that comes before both: can this person legally publish advertising in the UAE? If the answer is no, the campaign exposes the client and the agency to penalties, however good the content is.
This article covers what to check and when. It is a practical summary, not legal advice, and the rules are still settling, so check the current requirements with the regulator before relying on any detail here.
Who issues the permit
The advertiser permit was introduced by the UAE Media Council in 2025. In December 2025 a federal law created the National Media Authority, which took over the functions of the UAE Media Council, the National Media Office and the Emirates News Agency. The permit is now issued through the National Media Authority's services. You will still see both names in contracts, articles and agency paperwork, and they refer to the same permit.
After a grace period that ran to the end of January 2026, the permit has been required since 1 February 2026.
Who needs one
The permit covers individuals who publish advertising content on social media, websites or other digital platforms, whether they are paid for it or not. That second part matters. A creator who receives free product, a hotel stay or a dinner in exchange for a post is advertising, and needs the permit just as a creator paid in cash does.
Some activities are exempt, such as promoting your own business on your own accounts. A creator booked by a brand, through an agency, to post about that brand is not in that category.
For residents, the regulator's service page lists the conditions: good conduct, content that follows the national media content standards, and completion of the authority's training programme on the relevant laws. The application asks for identity documents and a commercial licence. The permit is free for its first three years, then listed at AED 1,000.
Visiting creators are a separate permit
Creators who come to the UAE on a visit visa need a visitor advertiser permit, and they cannot apply for it themselves. The application goes through a licensed advertising agency in the UAE, with supporting documents. The regulator lists it as valid for three months, extendable to a maximum of six months in total, with a fee of AED 500 and a stated processing time of three working days.
In practice this is the permit that catches agencies out. A creator flown in from London or Riyadh for a Dubai launch needs the permit sorted before they post, which means before they travel. Build the lead time into the plan, and confirm early which licensed agency is handling the application.
What to check before you contract
Make the permit check a fixed step in onboarding every creator, not something done when a client asks. A workable routine:
- Ask for the creator's permit before the agreement is signed, and keep a copy on the creator's record.
- Note the expiry date, and check it covers the whole campaign, including any content that goes live late.
- For a visiting creator, confirm the visitor permit is in place, and that its dates cover their stay and the posting window.
- If the content is also aimed at Saudi Arabia, check the creator's Mawthooq licence as well. One country's permit does not cover the other.
- If you are unsure whether a permit is valid, check the current verification route with the National Media Authority rather than taking a screenshot on trust.
The content still has to follow the rules
A permit does not make every post acceptable. Advertising content must follow the national media content standards, which include respecting religious and national values, not misleading people and protecting children. Some categories, such as medicines, financial products, real estate, alcohol and tobacco, carry their own restrictions and may need separate approval.
Paid content must also be clearly identifiable as advertising. Use the platform's paid partnership tool where there is one, and a clear label such as "Ad" at the start of the caption or on screen, on every piece of paid content, including stories and gifted posts.
The permit tells you the creator is allowed to advertise. It does not tell you the post is allowed to run.
Write it into the agreement
The check protects you at the start. The contract protects you through the campaign. The influencer agreement should say that the creator holds the permit required where the content is published, will keep it valid for the term, will label paid content clearly and will follow the applicable content standards. It should also say what happens if the permit lapses mid campaign.
Keep a record of each check: the permit, the date you saw it, the approved content and the disclosure used. If a post is ever questioned, that record is what shows the agency did its part.
Where to find the detail
The influencer marketing rules guide on this site covers the UAE and Saudi rules side by side, with links to the official sources, and the templates library has an influencer agreement with a permits and disclosure clause. Fees, conditions and exemptions can change, so treat the regulator's own pages as the final word. Keep permit details and expiry dates on the creator record, wherever that lives, so the check becomes part of booking rather than an extra step.
