Healthcare advertising rules in Turkey (2026): can doctors and clinics advertise?

For audiences in Turkey, largely no. Under Turkey’s healthcare advertising rules, advertising by doctors and private health facilities to patients in Turkey is banned, and that includes paid, sponsored posts on social media and search engines. The Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Health Services, in force since 12 November 2025, allows only “promotion and information” limited to a closed list. There are three exceptions: the first month after a health facility opens, new medical technologies accepted by the Ministry of Health, and, under strict conditions, international health tourism. Breaches can lead to administrative fines of up to 2% of the previous month’s gross service revenue, with a minimum of TRY 100,000 (about €1,800).

This article summarises the regulation article by article, together with the law behind it, the professional bodies’ rules and Meta’s and Google’s policies. We work from this framework with our clients in aesthetics, urology, physiotherapy and optics. It is not legal advice; consult a lawyer about your own situation.

Short answer: Doctors and health facilities in Turkey may promote themselves only with their address, opening hours, specialties, titles and health-protective information. Paid advertising, prices and campaigns, patient testimonials and sponsored visuals are banned for domestic audiences. Health tourism facilities with a Ministry authorisation may run sponsored ads abroad, in languages other than Turkish, from separate foreign-facing accounts.

Which rules apply?

• The regulation: Sağlık Hizmetlerinde Tanıtım ve Bilgilendirme Faaliyetleri Hakkında Yönetmelik (Official Gazette, 12.11.2025, no. 33075). It repealed the regulation of the same name from 29 July 2023. Many online guides still rely on the 2023 text; don’t follow them.
• The law: a paragraph added in July 2025 to Article 11 (additional) of Basic Law No. 3359 on Health Services says private health facilities may not engage in “advertising-like activities” and limits promotion to address, opening hours, specialties, titles and health-protective information (Official Gazette).
• For doctors: Article 24 of Law No. 1219, unchanged since 1928, lets doctors announce only their practice address, hours and specialties and bans any other “announcement, advertisement and the like” (Law No. 1219). Article 40 says the same for dentists.

Who is covered?

Health professionals such as doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, opticians, physiotherapists and clinical psychologists; private health facilities such as hospitals, medical centres, polyclinics and private practices; and international health tourism intermediaries. According to the Ministry’s Q&A, Ministry hospitals are outside the scope, but the health professionals working there are covered (Ministry of Health Q&A). Beauty salons fall under municipal licensing rules instead; we cover them in our guide to beauty salon and spa marketing in Turkey.

What is allowed?

• Promotion and information: for facilities, address and contact details, opening days and hours, specialties accepted and staff titles; for doctors, their main and sub-specialty, academic titles, place and hours of practice, and health-protective information.
• Training within the diploma specialty: training, registered certificates, publications, awards and memberships may be listed, provided they fall within the specialty on the registered diploma (Art. 5/1-d).
• Free listings: facilities and professionals may register on social media platforms and search engines “provided it is not paid, sponsored or aimed at being featured”; keywords and result-page information must comply with the regulation (Art. 5/1-i). A free Google Business Profile can be seen in this light, but patient reviews must not be used as advertising.
• Websites: the date of the last update and the site editor’s contact details must be shown clearly (Art. 5/1-ı).

What is banned?

Practice	For audiences in Turkey	Article
Covert or open advertising	Banned	5/1
Paid, sponsored or boosted posts on social media and search engines	Banned (except in the first month)	5/1-i, 5/1-j
Prices, discounts, campaigns or promotions	Banned	5/1-m
Posts built on patients’ thanks or satisfaction	Banned	5/1-e, 7/1-ğ
Specialist titles based on certificates	Banned	5/1-d
Methods not scientifically proven	Banned	5/1-ç
Claims of superiority, misleading statistics	Banned	5/1-c, 5/1-ğ, 5/1-h
Promoting or linking to companies, products or brands	Banned	5/1-h
Steering patients to a specific doctor via check-ups or consultations	Banned	5/1-f, 5/1-g
Calls, SMS, e-mails or DMs without consent	Banned	5/1-k
Raffles, gifts and incentives	Banned	5/1-l
Footage of patients during surgery or procedures	Banned	7/1-h
Sponsored or paid distribution of visuals	Banned	7/1-j

One important detail: the regulation makes those who share non-compliant promotion “equally responsible” with those who create it (Art. 5/2), and visual posts made by others don’t remove the doctor’s or facility’s responsibility (Art. 7/1-i). An agency that prepares non-compliant content, or an influencer who shares it, is at risk too.

Before-and-after images: under what conditions?

Before-and-after images are not banned outright, but the conditions are strict (Art. 7):

1. The patient’s explicit consent must be obtained with the consent form in Annex 1; the patient can see the image beforehand and withdraw consent at any time.
2. No payment, discount or gift can be given in return for consent.
3. Before and after images must be taken in the same setting and technical conditions, with the procedure date and shooting dates shown.
4. No misleading make-up, and no editing afterwards.
5. It must be stated whether the image belongs to a real patient, and the source if it is quoted.
6. Comments, likes and reshares must be switched off.
7. The image cannot be distributed as sponsored or paid content.
8. Domestic posts must show, legibly: “Results may vary from person to person in every surgical or interventional procedure. It is recommended that you get detailed advice from your doctor before the procedure.” (in Turkish).

Three exceptions: the first month, new technologies and health tourism

• The first month after opening: health facilities may run sponsored promotion on all platforms during the first month after opening, provided it complies with the regulation (Art. 5/1-j). The separate ban on sponsored visuals (Art. 7/1-j) still stands, and Article 24 of Law No. 1219 has no such exception, so first-month campaigns also need care.
• New medical technologies: promotion of new technologies and methods accepted by the Ministry “may be permitted” (Art. 5/1-j); no application procedure has been published yet.
• International health tourism: facilities and intermediaries holding a Ministry health tourism authorisation may run sponsored promotion in languages other than Turkish, through a separate social media account or website aimed abroad. Domestic audiences may not be targeted and automatic audience definitions must be switched off; the authorisation must be published on the site and the “HealthTürkiye” logo used. In this channel, prices and campaigns are allowed, as are patient testimonials backed by documented consent; procedures banned in Turkey cannot be promoted (Art. 8).

What are the fines?

• Health facilities: under Law No. 3359, administrative fines of up to 2% of the previous month’s gross service revenue, with a minimum of TRY 100,000. The regulation’s Annex 2 sets 1% for breaches of the general principles (Arts. 5 and 6) and 2% for breaches of the visual content and health tourism rules (Arts. 7 and 8), with a deadline to correct.
• Repeat breaches: a repeat within a year doubles the fine; a third can suspend part or all of the facility’s activity for up to ten days. Governors impose the fines; the Ministry of Health imposes suspensions.
• Revaluation: under the Law on Misdemeanours, fixed minimums rise each year with the revaluation rate; at the 25.49% rate announced for 2025, the 2026 minimum is about TRY 125,490 (our calculation).
• Employed doctors: the penalties of Law No. 1219 apply, and their employer and professional body are notified (Art. 12/1-c). Other health professionals are referred to the Advertising Board (Art. 12/1-ç).
• Unlicensed providers: referral to the Advertising Board and a criminal complaint (Art. 12/1-d).

Enforcement is by the Ministry of Health and provincial health directorates, which, under the regulation, scan the press, social media and websites regularly (Art. 11).

Meta and Google rules

• Meta: ads must not assert or imply personal health conditions; “Do you have diabetes?” is given as an unacceptable example (Meta). Ads for cosmetic procedures and weight loss may only target people aged 18 and over (Meta). Where Meta allows before-and-after images, Turkish law still applies; the stricter rule wins.
• Google: health conditions, sexual health and invasive procedures such as cosmetic surgery and injections are restricted in personalised advertising; these advertisers can’t use customer lists or lookalike-style audiences (Google). This also affects legal health tourism campaigns.

Rules of professional bodies and the Ministry of Trade

• Turkish Medical Association (TTB): its guideline of 11 July 2025 says doctors’ websites must state that the content is for information only and that patients should consult their doctor for diagnosis and treatment; search keywords must be limited to the licensed specialty, and prices and the word “free” must not be used (TTB).
• Turkish Dental Association (TDB): its guideline of 4 March 2026 requires every post to state that the information doesn’t replace an examination, and bans posts labelled “sponsored” or “ad” except in the first month after opening (TDB).
• Commercial Advertising Regulation: an ad for a product may not show a doctor, dentist, pharmacist or health institution as if making a health claim for it (Art. 16/3). An amendment published on 1 July 2026 explicitly bans ads for human medicinal products (Art. 27/11) and the publication of consumer reviews containing unlawful health claims (Art. 28/B) (mevzuat.gov.tr).

How can a health brand grow within the rules?

An advertising ban doesn’t mean a ban on being visible. Four channels stand out:

1. Organic informative video: short, single-topic, subtitled videos in the doctor’s own words. As long as they aren’t sponsored and follow the principles above, they are the strongest tool. We cover the production side in our guide to video production costs in Istanbul.
2. SEO and the website: plain pages explaining the specialty, with the update date, editor details and the TTB notice. Organic search traffic is not affected by the advertising ban.
3. Google Business Profile: accurate address, hours and specialty, without showcasing reviews.
4. Health tourism: with an authorisation, sponsored campaigns in languages other than Turkish, from separate foreign-facing accounts, with domestic targeting switched off. See our digital advertising service.

Frequently asked questions

Can doctors advertise on Instagram in Turkey?

Not with paid or sponsored posts aimed at audiences in Turkey. Compliant, informative, organic posts are allowed. Health facilities can use the first-month exception, and authorised health tourism providers can advertise abroad from separate accounts.

Can clinics in Turkey use Google Ads?

Paid search ads aimed at Turkey conflict with the rule that listings must not be “paid, sponsored or aimed at being featured”; the exceptions are the first month after opening and health tourism campaigns aimed abroad. A free Google Business Profile and organic search results are allowed.

Are before-and-after photos banned?

No, but the conditions are strict: consent on the Annex 1 form, the same setting and technique, dates shown, no retouching, interactions switched off, a mandatory warning text and no sponsored distribution.

Is health tourism advertising allowed?

Yes, for authorised facilities and intermediaries, in languages other than Turkish, from separate foreign-facing accounts, with domestic targeting switched off. Prices, campaigns and patient testimonials backed by documented consent can be shared in this channel.

What is the fine for illegal healthcare advertising in Turkey?

For health facilities, up to 2% of the previous month’s gross service revenue, with a minimum of TRY 100,000; the fine doubles for a repeat, and a third breach can suspend activity for up to ten days.