Compliance
Can doctors have a website in India? The NMC rules Page by page: what a doctor or clinic website may show under the 6 Oct 2026 notice and the 2002 regulations.
A doctor or a clinic in India may run a website. What goes on it is limited: factual details about the doctor and the clinic are allowed, anything that solicits patients or promotes the doctor is not. This post walks through a typical clinic website page by page against the NMC's 6 Oct 2026 advertising guidelines and the 2002 conduct regulations.
Published · Last reviewed · 6 min read
- Websites and blogs are a "medium of advertisement" under section 3.5 of the NMC guidelines, so the guidelines apply to them. A website directory of doctors with names, recognised qualifications, specialties, registration details and availability is treated as patient information, "materially distinct" from promotion (section 9.1).
- Every page that names a doctor should carry the doctor's name, qualifications, registration status and SMR/NMR registration number (section 3.2, Explanations III and IV). Only recognised degrees go after the name (regulation 1.4.2).
- Not allowed: patient testimonials and review feeds for promotion, before-and-after photos, "best", "No. 1", "100% success", offers and discounts that induce visits, the doctor's photo used as publicity, unlabelled AI content, and any patient-identifying detail.
Yes, doctors and clinics in India can have a website. It may show the doctor's name, recognised qualifications, specialty, registration number, the clinic's address, phone, timings, services, facilities and fees. It may not carry testimonials, patient reviews used for promotion, before-and-after photos, superiority claims such as "best" or "No. 1", or offers that pull patients in. Those limits come from the National Medical Commission's Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication, public notice No. R-13014/01/2024-Ethics dated 6 Oct 2026, read with the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.
For the full notice section by section, read our NMC advertising guidelines 2026 explainer. For Google and Practo listings, see Google Business Profile, Practo and your website. This post stays on your own website.
Is a doctor website advertising under the NMC rules?
It can be. Section 3.5 lists "websites and blogs" among the media of advertisement. Section 3.2 defines an advertisement as communication in any medium that directly or indirectly solicits or promotes a doctor's or institution's services, reputation, skills, qualifications, achievements or facilities. Explanation I to section 3.2 exempts information given to the public in the normal course, "without same being promotional and without any intent for commercial benefit".
Section 9.1 is the line that protects an ordinary clinic site. Clinics "may advertise only factual information": name, contact details, departments, diagnostic facilities, emergency services, accreditation status, other facilities and applicable fees. A website with a directory of its doctors, "containing the names, recognised qualifications, specialties, registration details and availability of its doctors, that serves a patient-information function", is "regarded materially distinct from a paid or promotional advertisement or inducement". Build the site as that directory and you are on the right side of the line.
What can each page of a clinic website show?
| Page or element | What is allowed | What to leave out | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Clinic name, address, phone, timings, holidays, a map | "Best clinic in the city", "most trusted", rankings you cannot verify | 9.1; 8.1(ix) |
| Doctors | Name, recognised degrees, specialty, registration number and council, OPD days and hours | Degrees not recognised, "specialist" without the qualification, success rates, number of patients treated | 9.1; 3.2 Expl. III, IV; reg 1.4.2, 7.20; 8.1(iii) |
| Services and facilities | Plain list: "ECG", "dressing", "nebulisation", equipment available | "Painless", "guaranteed", "latest", comparisons with other clinics | 3.2 Expl. II; 8.1(iii) |
| Fees | Consultation, follow-up and procedure charges, stated as they are | "Free check-up this week", coupons, cashback, festival discounts | 8.1(x); 8.2(ii)(g); 9.3 |
| Announcements | Starting practice, change of address, temporary absence, resumption, change of type of practice, fee revision | Anything framed as a promotion | 8.2(ii); 9.3 |
| Health articles | Education that does not promote your practice or solicit patients | Articles that end in "book now" or create fear to push tests | 5.1; 8.1(i) |
| Photos | The building, the waiting area, diagrams of the human body | The doctor's photo used as publicity; patients' faces | 9.2; reg 6.1.2; 6.1 |
| Reviews and testimonials | None | Testimonial videos, star ratings feed, "what our patients say" | 3.2 Expl. V; 6.2; 8.1(ii) |
What must every page that names a doctor carry?
Explanation III to section 3.2 says a doctor publishing electronic media posts should disclose name, qualifications, registration status and SMR/NMR registration number. Explanation IV puts the same duty on clinics for every doctor named. On a website the simplest way is a fixed doctor block on the Doctors page and in the footer: name, degrees, specialty, registration number, and the council that issued it. The state medical councils list helps you write the council name correctly.
Two older rules sit underneath. Regulation 1.4.2 lets a doctor display after the name "only recognized medical degrees" or certificates, diplomas and memberships that confer professional knowledge. Regulation 7.20 says a physician shall not claim to be a specialist without a special qualification in that branch. A certificate course listed as if it were a degree breaks the first; "diabetes specialist" without the qualification breaks the second.
What is not allowed on a doctor website?
- Testimonials and reviews used for promotion. Explanation V to section 3.2: no doctor or institution shall solicit, buy or publish fake, paid or misleading reviews, and a doctor "shall not request or share patient testimonials, recommendations, endorsements or reviews for professional promotion on social media". Section 6.2 adds that patient consent does not make a prohibited testimonial permissible. An embedded Google reviews widget is the same thing in software form.
- Before-and-after photos, case stories, celebrity patients and personal success stories, unless published strictly for scientific or educational purposes with anonymised patient consent (section 8.1(v)).
- Claims such as "Guaranteed cures", "Best doctors", "No.1 Specialist", "100% success", "painless treatment", "Miracle treatment" or success rates and patient counts (section 8.1(iii)). "Best", "leading", "most trusted" and "top" need an objectively verifiable, independently ascertainable basis (section 8.1(ix)).
- Discounts, limited-period offers, contests, coupons, gifts, cashback, referral benefits or free procedures likely to encourage unnecessary consultation, tests or treatment (section 8.1(x)).
- The doctor's photograph where it amounts to self-advertisement or publicity (section 9.2, which applies regulations 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 of the 2002 regulations to letterheads and signboards).
- Fear-based content that creates demand for procedures or tests (section 8.1(i)), and any endorsement of a drug, device or product (section 8.1(iv)).
- AI-generated promotional campaigns. Any AI-generated content that is otherwise allowed must carry a mark stating that it was made by AI (section 7.2).
- Bought traffic and ranking tricks: fake followers, likes, reviews or manipulating search rankings (section 8.1(xii)). An agency may not be paid per patient or per lead (section 8.1(viii)).
- Patient photos, videos, records or other identifiable information, except where the law permits it and consent and safeguards are in place (section 6.1).
Can the website have a booking button or WhatsApp link?
The notice does not mention appointment booking. Contact details and availability are part of the factual information section 9.1 allows, so a phone number, a WhatsApp number for appointments and the OPD timings fit. What turns a contact button into solicitation is the wording around it: section 8.3(ii) warns that "the form, medium or frequency of communication shall not convert otherwise factual information into solicitation". "Call to book: 10 AM to 1 PM, 6 PM to 8 PM" is information. "Only 5 slots left, book now and get 20% off" is not.
Checklist before the website goes live
- Every doctor named shows degrees, specialty, registration number and council.
- Clinic name, address, phone and timings match the signboard and your Google listing.
- Fees are written as fixed amounts, with no offers attached.
- No testimonials, no reviews widget, no star ratings, no "happy patients" gallery.
- No before-and-after images, no patient faces, no case stories.
- No "best", "No. 1", "advanced", "painless" or "guaranteed" anywhere, including image alt text and page titles.
- Any text an AI tool wrote is labelled as AI-generated.
- The agency contract has no fee per patient, per lead or per booking.
Questions
Can I put my photo on my clinic website?
Section 9.2 of the NMC guidelines says a doctor's photograph "shall not be permitted" where its use constitutes self-advertisement, solicitation or promotional publicity, and treats a self-photograph on a letterhead or signboard as unethical under regulation 6.1.2. The notice does not draw the line for a plain photo on a doctor directory page. Until the NMC clarifies, a directory without photos is the cautious choice.
Can I show my Google reviews on my website?
No. Republishing patient reviews to promote the practice is what Explanation V to section 3.2 and section 8.1(ii) bar, and section 6.2 says patient consent does not make a prohibited testimonial permissible.
Can I list my consultation fee on the website?
Yes. Applicable fees are part of the factual information clinics may publish (section 9.1), public declaration of charges is a permitted announcement (sections 8.2(ii)(g), 9.3), and the disclosure must be factual, transparent and not misleading (section 8.1(x)).
Sources
- National Medical Commission, Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners, Public Notice No. R-13014/01/2024-Ethics, 6 October 2026 (sections 3.2, 3.5, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.1 to 9.3) (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
- Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, as amended (regulations 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 7.3, 7.13, 7.20) (accessed 30 Oct 2026)
This is operational guidance for clinics, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with your state authority, council or CA.
Drafted with AI assistance; every fact checked against the sources listed; reviewed by the Vitels team.