Yes, your clinic can have a website under the NMC's October 2026 guidelines. Keep it factual: each doctor's name, qualifications and registration number, your services, facilities, timings, fees and contact details. Leave out patient testimonials and reviews, before-and-after photos, words like "best" or "No. 1", guaranteed results, discount offers and promotional photos of the doctor.
What changed in October 2026?
On 6 October 2026, the National Medical Commission published its Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners. They came into force the same day.
They apply to every registered medical practitioner, and to hospitals and medical institutions. They're read alongside the NMC Act, 2019, the professional conduct regulations and the clinical establishments laws.
Dentists got their own advisory a week later. It's covered further down.
Does this cover my clinic's website?
Yes. The guidelines name "websites and blogs" as a medium of advertisement. The list also includes social media, messaging platforms, podcasts, influencer and sponsored posts, AI-generated promotion and online healthcare platforms.
There's an important carve-out. Information shared with the public in the ordinary course, without promotional content or commercial intent, isn't treated as advertising. So ask one question of every line on your site: does it inform patients, or does it sell to them?
What your website must show
For every doctor on your site, show:
- Full name
- Qualifications
- Registration status
- State or National Medical Register number
The guidelines require these details in electronic media, and clinics must give them for each doctor they feature. If you use AI to write or illustrate anything, label it as AI-generated.
What your website can show
| What | How to show it |
|---|---|
| Clinic name, address, phone and timings | The basic facts patients need to find and visit you. |
| Services and treatments | Described as facts, with no promises about results. |
| Fees | A "public declaration of charge" is one of the announcements the guidelines allow. |
| Facilities and equipment | Allowed as factual information, with no claim to be better than others. |
| Announcements | Starting practice, a new address, a temporary absence or resuming practice. |
| Health information | Evidence-based and general, not a pitch in disguise. |
What to leave out
- Patient testimonials and reviews, including ones copied from Google. A patient's consent doesn't make a promotional testimonial acceptable.
- Before-and-after photos and "results" galleries.
- Superlatives: "best doctor", "No. 1 specialist". Words like "leading" or "most trusted" are allowed only if they can be objectively verified, so it's safer to drop them.
- Guarantees: "100% success", "guaranteed cure".
- Discounts and offers: limited-period offers, coupons, gifts, contests and cashback.
- The doctor's photo used to promote the practice. The guidelines don't permit a doctor's photograph where it amounts to self-advertisement.
- Anything that identifies a patient, such as photos, videos or names, unless the law allows it and you have specific, documented consent. Simpler to leave it out.
- Fake engagement: paid or fake reviews, bought followers, or paying to push up search rankings.
- AI-made endorsements: synthetic testimonials, voices or "results".
For dentists: the National Dental Commission's advisory
On 14 October 2026, the Ethics and Dental Registration Board of the National Dental Commission issued an advisory to all registered dentists. It warned against:
- recording and broadcasting consultations and procedures
- patient testimonials and before-and-after photographs
- misleading treatment claims and inaccurate health information
- self-aggrandising publicity and oversized signboards
The advisory points to the Revised Dentists (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014. That code is clear about websites: Websites can also carry details of treatment facilities available and the fees for the same.
It also asks dentists to display their registration number in the clinic and not to print their own photograph on letterheads or signboards. Announcing new equipment or services is allowed, without claiming to be the "best" or "first".
What happens if a doctor breaks the rules?
The NMC's penalties are graded. The State Medical Council issues a show-cause notice before any penalty.
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| First | Warning and mandatory ethics training |
| Second | Censure and a monetary penalty |
| Third | Registration suspended for 3 to 6 months |
| Serious | Registration suspended for 6 to 12 months |
| Repeated | Removed from the medical register for 1 to 3 years |
A doctor can appeal to the NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board within 60 days. For dentists, the advisory warns of show-cause notices, suspension or removal from the register.
A two-minute check for your website
- Every doctor shows their full name, qualifications and registration number.
- Fees and facilities are stated as plain facts.
- No testimonials or review widgets.
- No before-and-after photos.
- No "best", "No. 1", "guaranteed" or "100%".
- No discounts, gift packages or limited-time offers.
- No promotional portrait of the doctor.
- No patient photos, unless you have documented consent.
- Anything made with AI is labelled.
How we build council-safe clinic websites
Every Studio Footfall site is written to these rules from the first draft. Each doctor gets a details block with qualifications and registration number. Fees and facilities are written as facts. There are no testimonials, ratings, offers or portraits. See an example site, or get a free preview of your own.
This guide explains the rules in plain words. It isn't legal advice. Read the full guidelines, and check with your State Medical or Dental Council if you're unsure about anything on your site.
Sources
- National Medical Commission, Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners, public notice of 6 October 2026, ref. R-13014/01/2024-Ethics. Copy hosted by Medical Dialogues.
- The South First, Doctors on Instagram: NMC says no to patient testimonials, paid ads, AI promotions and guaranteed claims, 7 October 2026.
- Medical Dialogues, NMC prohibits promotional use of doctors' photographs, bars paid rankings on healthcare platforms, October 2026.
- Medical Dialogues, National Dental Commission warns dentists against unethical social media advertising, October 2026.
- Dental Council of India, Revised Dentists (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014. Copy hosted by the Tamil Nadu Dental Council.