Why the numbers online don't match
Search "UAE influencer fine" and you will find AED 10,000, AED 20,000, AED 40,000 and AED 50,000 quoted for the same offence. We went to the source: the Arabic text of Cabinet Resolution 42 of 2025, now hosted by the National Media Authority (NMA), which replaced the UAE Media Council on 1 January 2026.
The confusion has a simple cause. Table 1 of the resolution has separate rows for "media activity without a licence" (AED 10,000, then AED 40,000) and "advertising content on social media without a permit" (warning, then AED 20,000, then AED 50,000). Gulf News quoted the first row, Bird & Bird the second. Both were right about different things.
There is one real discrepancy. Bird & Bird gives AED 10,000 for ads that breach Article 33. The original text gives AED 10,000 for ads published without the approval of the sector authority (row 14) and AED 20,000, then AED 50,000, for breaching Article 33 conditions (row 15). We follow the original. The Arabic text prevails over any translation.
The resolution was issued on 16 April 2025 and has applied since 29 May 2025, to everyone working in media in the UAE, free zones included (Article 2).
Table 1: licences, permits and advertising
Our translation of the rows that matter to brands, agencies and creators. "Fix in 30 days" means the notice gives you 30 days to put things right.
| # | Violation | 1st time | 2nd time | 3rd time / note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Media activity without a licence or permit | AED 10,000, fix in 30 days | AED 40,000 | closure until fixed |
| 2 | Extra media activity not on your licence | AED 5,000, fix in 30 days | AED 16,000 | closure until fixed |
| 3 | Licence not renewed 30 days after expiry | AED 150 a day | capped at AED 3,000 | |
| 4 | Transferring, leasing or changing licence details without approval | AED 20,000 | licence cancelled if not fixed in 30 days | |
| 5 | False or misleading information in a licence application | AED 5,000 | doubled | |
| 7 | Publishing media content without the required permit | AED 20,000 | doubled | |
| 8 | Changing approved content without new approval | AED 20,000 | doubled | |
| 10 | Not updating your records with the regulator | AED 10,000 | doubled if not fixed in 30 days | |
| 11 | Advertising on social media without a permit (paid or unpaid, person or company) | written warning | AED 20,000 | AED 50,000, doubled on repeat |
| 12 | Advertising after the permit expired | AED 10,000 | AED 20,000 | doubled on repeat |
| 13 | Breaching the Advertiser Permit conditions (Chairman's Resolution 9/2024) | warning | AED 10,000 | |
| 14 | Ad without approval of the sector authority | AED 10,000 | doubled | |
| 15 | Breaching Article 33 advertising conditions | AED 20,000 | AED 50,000 | doubled on repeat |
| 16 | Obstructing an inspector | AED 15,000 |
Source: Cabinet Resolution 42/2025, Table 1. Rows 6 (book fairs) and 9 (foreign correspondents) are left out.
Row 14 links to Article 33(10) of the Executive Regulation: real estate, medical, financial, education and food ads need the approval of the relevant authority first. In Dubai that means a Trakheesi permit for property ads or DHA rules for clinics. Row 15 covers everything else in Article 33: misleading claims, "exclusive" and "best" without proof, attacks on competitors, ads not marked as ads, undisclosed payment, and any promotion of alcohol, tobacco or smoking.
Table 2: the 20 content standards
The second table prices breaches of the 20 media content standards. Each has four severity levels. A committee of 3 to 7 media specialists picks the level according to the media, economic, political and social impact of the content (Clyde & Co).
| Standard breached | Four levels, AED |
|---|---|
| Disrespecting God, Islam or other religions | 100,000 / 200,000 / 400,000 / 1,000,000 |
| Disrespecting the system of government, its symbols, institutions | 50,000 / 100,000 / 200,000 / 500,000 |
| Disrespecting state policy at home or abroad | 50,000 / 100,000 / 250,000 / 500,000 |
| Harming the UAE's foreign relations | 30,000 / 60,000 / 125,000 / 250,000 |
| Harming national unity and social cohesion | 30,000 / 60,000 / 125,000 / 250,000 |
| Sectarian or tribal strife, incitement to violence or hatred | 100,000 / 150,000 / 300,000 / 500,000 |
| Offending the legal, economic, judicial or security system | 30,000 / 60,000 / 125,000 / 250,000 |
| Glorifying hostile groups | 50,000 / 150,000 / 250,000 / 500,000 |
| Disrespecting heritage and national identity | 25,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 / 150,000 |
| Offending prevailing social values | 20,000 / 40,000 / 60,000 / 100,000 |
| Breaching privacy | 20,000 / 40,000 / 80,000 / 100,000 |
| Inciting crime or drug use | 30,000 / 60,000 / 80,000 / 150,000 |
| Harming the national currency or economy | 20,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 / 150,000 |
| Violating public morals, offending young people | 25,000 / 50,000 / 75,000 / 100,000 |
| False news or forged documents | 10,000 / 20,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 |
| Rumours and misleading news | 10,000 / 20,000 / 40,000 / 80,000 |
| Hosting unsuitable guests | 5,000 / 10,000 / 20,000 / 50,000 |
| Ad content that disrespects UAE culture, identity, values | 20,000 / 40,000 / 80,000 / 100,000 |
| Ignoring the age rating system | 5,000 / 10,000 / 20,000 / 50,000 |
| Disrespecting children's rights | 5,000 / 10,000 / 20,000 / 50,000 |
On top of the fine, Article 23 of the Media Law lets the regulator issue warnings, close an outlet for up to six months or withdraw the licence. Repeat within a year and the fine doubles, which is where the widely quoted AED 2 million ceiling comes from.
Worked example: one campaign, three violations
A clinic pays a creator without a permit to post a before/after reel that says "the best results in Dubai", with no DHA approval and no "ad" label. Assume the creator had already received a warning once:
- creator, social ad without a permit, second time (row 11): AED 20,000;
- clinic, ad without sector approval (row 14): AED 10,000;
- Article 33 breach for the superlative and missing label (row 15), first time: AED 20,000.
That is up to AED 50,000 for one reel, before DHA's own sanctions, and the regulator decides who carries which row. We built the example from the table; we have not seen an official breakdown of a real case.
What nobody tells you
- The first offence for an unlicensed influencer is a warning, not a fine. The money starts at the second. The warning is still on record, and a second one inside a year arrives doubled.
- The 30-day fix window matters more than the fine. For rows 1 and 2, ignoring the notice leads to administrative closure until you comply. For a company, closure costs more than AED 10,000.
- The fines stack per post and per party. The table prices violations, not campaigns.
- Privacy is cheaper here than in criminal law. A privacy breach tops out at AED 100,000 in this table, but filming people without consent is also a crime under the Cybercrime Law with fines up to AED 500,000 (Al Tamimi).
Vladimir Chernyshev, GM: most brands we talk to worry about the AED 1 million headline. That row is about religion. The rows that actually touch a restaurant or a clinic are 11, 14 and 15, and all three are avoided with a permit check, a sector approval and an "Ad" label.
How to stay out of the table
- Check the creator's NMA permit before you pay; use our permit checker to see what your campaign needs.
- Get the sector approval before the shoot, not after.
- Label every paid post and disclose the commercial relationship (Article 33(6) and (7)).
- Drop "best", "No. 1" and "exclusive" unless you can prove them.
- If a notice arrives, fix within 30 days and appeal within 15 if you disagree.
For the permit itself, see our guide to the UAE Advertiser Permit.
