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Doctor or surgeon · India

Website advertising rules for doctors and surgeons in India

Doctors and surgeons answer to their regulator's advertising and conduct rules as well as to privacy law. This is what NMC Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication (6 Oct 2026) and IMC Regulations 2002 means for your website: testimonials, claims, fees, titles and the details you must show. It applies only to sites of that profession, and only where you are licensed. For the general laws every site in India must follow, see India's laws.

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NMC Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication (6 Oct 2026) and IMC Regulations 2002

Public notice dated 6 Oct 2026, in force with immediate effect, read together with the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002.

Who it covers: Registered medical practitioners, hospitals and medical institutions in India, and online platforms hosting them. Hospitals are also subject to the Clinical Establishments Act, which prevails over the guidelines. Set by the National Medical Commission and the State Medical Councils.

What it requires of a website or app (10)

  • A website or post discloses the doctor's name, qualifications, registration status and State or National Medical Register number; a clinical establishment lists its doctors with the same detailsAI reviewGuidelines para 3.2 Explanations III-IV; IMC Regs 1.4.1
  • No fake, paid or misleading reviews, ratings, testimonials or endorsements, and no requesting or sharing patient testimonials for promotionAI reviewGuidelines para 3.2 Expl. V; 8.1(xi), (xii)
  • AI-generated promotional campaigns for commercial interest are not used; permitted AI content carries a mark of its AI origin, and AI never creates patient images, testimonials, voices or clinical outcomes (if the site uses AI-generated promotional content)AI reviewGuidelines para 7.2(a)-(d)
  • Patient information, photos, videos and records appear in ads only where the law permits and with specific, informed, documented consent; consent does not legitimise otherwise-prohibited testimonialsAI reviewGuidelines paras 6.1-6.4, 7.4
  • No guaranteed cures or superlatives ("Best doctors", "No.1", "100% success", "miracle"), no success rates or patient counts; comparative claims only if objectively verifiable with disclosed methodology; awards independently verifiableAI reviewGuidelines para 8.1(iii), (ix)
  • No endorsement of any drug, device or health product by name, photo, voice or professional statusAI reviewGuidelines para 8.1(iv)
  • No promotional case posts, advertised surgical results, before-and-after photographs, celebrity patients or personal success stories, except strictly scientific use with anonymised consentAI reviewGuidelines para 8.1(v)
  • No discounts, limited-period offers, contests, coupons, gifts, cashbacks, referral benefits or free procedures that encourage unnecessary care; fees may be published if factual and transparentAI reviewGuidelines para 8.1(x)
  • Hospital ads are factual and verifiable, with no inducement, superiority claim, guarantee or promotional portrayal of an individual doctor; a doctor directory is patient information (if it is a hospital or institution site)AI reviewGuidelines paras 8.3, 9.1
  • No paid ranking of doctors and transparent listing on healthcare platforms (if the site is a marketplace or platform listing doctors)AI reviewGuidelines para 9.4

Sources:NMC Guidelines on Ethical Advertising (public notice, 6 Oct 2026), nmc.org.in IMC Regulations 2002 on nmc.org.in

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A plain-language summary of what each law requires of a website or app, from the SafeLaunch rulebook, with the provision and official sources. It is not legal advice and not every duty in each law is listed.