The NMC advertising guidelines, and what they stop you doing
On 6 October 2026 the National Medical Commission issued guidelines on ethical advertising and public communication, in force immediately. They reach your website, your social posts, your listings and your agency. This page sets out what they permit, what they prohibit, and what it costs to get it wrong.
Penalty range as reported. Search volume: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, India, pulled 22 October 2026 — twelve-month averages, so a sixteen-day-old query cannot yet register volume. We publish the zero because it is true, not because it helps us.
One notice, three audiences, immediate effect
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners |
| Issued by | Ethics and Medical Registration Board, National Medical Commission |
| Signed | NMC Secretary Dr Raghav Langer |
| Date | 6 October 2026, by public notice |
| Force | Immediate. No transition period reported |
| Binds | Registered medical practitioners; hospitals and medical institutions; healthcare platforms hosting practitioners |
| Enforced by | State Medical Council under the NMC Act 2019, on show-cause notice and reasoned order |
| Appeal | To the Board within 60 days (s.30(3), NMC Act 2019); second appeal within 60 days (s.30(4)) |
| Sits under | Regulations 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 of the 2002 Code, which remain in force. The 2023 NMC regulations stay in abeyance |
The NMC notice of 6 October 2026 is quoted here from three independent reports of it — Medical Dialogues, BestMediaInfo and The South First — which agree on the date, the issuing body, the intermediary rule and the penalty schedule. We have not yet obtained the notice itself. Where only one report carries a point, we say so on the line. The 2002 Regulations are quoted from the text. This is a marketing practitioner’s reading of published regulation, not legal advice.
You may teach. You may not be the subject.
That single line separates almost everything permitted from almost everything prohibited. Content about the disease is allowed and always has been. Content about the doctor is where registrations are lost.
| Permitted | Prohibited |
|---|---|
| Writing and broadcasting in your own name on matters of public health — advances, disease trends, causes, prevention | Making yourself the subject of publicity that invites attention to your skill, qualifications, achievements, attainments, specialties, appointments, associations, affiliations or honours |
| Public declaration of your consultation fees | Claims of guaranteed cure, 100% success, painless treatment |
| Factual, objective, verifiable information about a hospital: name, location, contact, departments, facilities, emergency services, accreditation, charges | Superiority claims — best, leading, No.1, most trusted — unless objectively verifiable |
| A hospital website directory of doctors with names, qualifications, specialties, registration and availability — treated as patient information, not promotion | Advertising personal achievements, success rates or patient numbers |
| Health awareness programmes, public health campaigns, academic discussion, educational content | Testimonials, patient stories, before-and-after images. Patient consent does not make these permissible |
| Health-education material for patients, carrying no cure guarantee or unsubstantiated claim | Endorsing drugs, devices or health products using your name or photograph |
| Formal announcements: starting practice, change of address or practice type, temporary absence, resumption | Commissions, referral fees or lead-generation payments tied to procuring patients |
| Public lectures, and talks on radio, television or internet chat for the same purpose | Manipulating search rankings, visibility or algorithms to create a misleading impression of standing. Fake followers, likes, reviews or ratings |
| Scientific or educational case publication, with anonymised patient consent | Promotional case publication, surgical result advertising, discounts, contests or free procedures likely to induce unnecessary care |
Permitted column drawn from Regulations 7.11, 7.12, 6.1.1 (formal announcements) and 5.1–5.2 of the 2002 Code, and from reports of the 6 October guidelines. Prohibited column from Regulations 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 and the same reports.
Hiring an agency does not move the risk
The most common defence in Indian healthcare marketing is that the practice only paid for placement, and the channel is responsible for its own content. Until three weeks ago that was arguable. It is not arguable now.
The guidelines close the gap in terms, and the liability they describe sits with the practitioner and the institution — not with the agency, which holds no registration and has nothing to suspend.
Using an intermediary to do indirectly what is prohibited directly is not allowed.
Guidelines on Ethical Advertising, 6 October 2026, as reportedPublishing through an agency or platform does not absolve a doctor or institution of responsibility.
As reported, BestMediaInfo, 8 October 2026Using a third party does not shield a doctor or institution where the content was authorised, commissioned, sponsored, adopted, or knowingly permitted by them.
As reported, The South FirstNote the word commissioned. A retainer under which someone places content on your behalf is the arrangement that clause describes.
The penalties are graded, and they are yours
| Violation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| First | Warning and mandatory ethics training |
| Second | Censure and monetary penalty |
| Third | Registration suspended, 3 to 6 months |
| Serious — misleading cure claims, patient inducement, digital mass solicitation | Suspension, 6 to 12 months |
| Repeated | Removal from the medical register, 1 to 3 years |
| Hospitals and institutions | Dealt with separately under the Clinical Establishments Act or applicable state law |
“Digital mass solicitation” is listed among the serious violations, carrying six to twelve months’ suspension. That is a reasonable description of a paid social campaign promising a fixed number of patients a month.
Penalty schedule as reported by Medical Dialogues and The South First, which agree on all five steps. Enforcement under the NMC Act 2019; appeal within 60 days under s.30(3) and s.30(4).
Nine things to check before anything else
- Every patient testimonial and review quote on your site, your Google listing and your social accounts. Consent does not save these.
- Every before-and-after image used for anything other than anonymised scientific or educational purposes.
- Every superlative. Best, leading, No.1, most trusted, most experienced, pioneer — unless you can objectively verify it.
- Every success rate and patient count. “5,000 surgeries performed” is a personal achievement claim.
- Every award and ranking you display. If it is used in advertising it must be independently verifiable. Ask who funded it.
- Every agency contract. Look for payment tied to leads, enquiries, walk-ins or patients procured.
- Every paid listing and ranked directory you appear in. Platforms are now barred from offering paid ranking of doctors.
- Every AI-generated asset. Promotional AI campaigns are prohibited, and AI content must carry a mark stating it is AI-generated.
- Every photograph of a doctor used promotionally, including on letterheads and signboards — which Regulation 6.1.2 already covered.
Item 8 and the photograph rule are reported by Medical Dialogues; the photograph prohibition also appears in Regulation 6.1.2 of the 2002 Code, which is quoted in full on our India page.
We will tell you what to take down before we tell you what to publish.
A review of what is already live, against the guidelines and the 2002 Code. If nothing needs changing we will say so and charge you nothing for the review.
- Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication, NMC Ethics and Medical Registration Board, public notice dated 6 October 2026 — as reported by Medical Dialogues, 7 October 2026, BestMediaInfo, 8 October 2026 and The South First
- Photograph prohibition and paid-ranking bar — Medical Dialogues, 9 October 2026
- Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002, Regulations 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 7.11, 7.12, 5.1 and 5.2 — text
- National Medical Commission Act 2019, s.30(3) and s.30(4), on appeals
- Search volume and difficulty: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, India locale, pulled 22 October 2026
Not legal advice. We are a marketing practice, not a law firm. This page exists so that you know which questions to put to a lawyer, and so that your marketing does not create them. Page published 22 October 2026 · last reviewed 22 October 2026.