Doctors may face suspension upto 12 months, removal from medical register for upto 3 years: NMC specifies penalties for advertising guidelines violations
New Delhi: Doctors violating the ethical advertising and communication guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC) may face penalties ranging from a warning and ethics training to suspension of registration for up to 12 months or removal from the medical register for one to three years.
Under the newly released Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by hospitals/medical institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners, NMC has prescribed graded action that doctors may face in case of non-compliance.
In the case of a first violation, the doctors will receive only a warning from the concerned State Medical Council along with mandatory ethics training. Thereafter, they may face censure and a monetary penalty if the violation is repeated a second time.
However, for a third violation, their medical registration may get suspended for a period of 3 to 6 months. In the case of serious violations such as misleading cure claims, inducement for patients, digital mass solicitation, etc., the period of suspension may be extended up to 12 months. For repeated violations, the names of doctors may be removed from the medical register for a period of 1 to 3 years.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the NMC Ethics Board released these guidelines on 06.10.2026 to regulate advertisements and digital communications relating to medical practice and healthcare services in an ethical, truthful, transparent, and responsible manner.
Under Chapter V of these guidelines, NMC has specified the regulatory procedure for oversight and enforcement mechanisms, including penalties and corrective measures.
♦ Penalties / Corrective Measures:
NMC has specified that in case of violation of the ethical advertising and communication guidelines, actions will be taken by the concerned SMC against the erring RMP in accordance with the provisions ofthe NMC Act and Regulations made thereunder.
The following graded action may be contemplated by the SMC concerned;
i. First Violation: Warning and mandatory ethics training.
ii. Second Violation: Censure and monetary penalty.
iii. Third Violation: Suspension of registration (3-6 months).
iv. Serious Violation (Misleading cure claims, inducement for patients, digital mass solicitation, etc.) Suspension of 6-12 months.
v. Repeated Violations: Removal from medical register for 1-3 years.
"Any violation of these Guidelines by an RMP may, where applicable, constitute professional or ethical misconduct and shall be dealt with by the competent authority in accordance with the NMC Act, 2019, the applicable Ethics Regulations and the principles of natural justice. The competent authority may, where legally permissible, impose such disciplinary or corrective measures, including censure, direction for corrective compliance/ethics sensitization, restriction or suspension of registration, removal from the register for a specified period or otherwise, and monetary penalty, as may be authorized under the NMC Act and applicable Regulations," states the guidelines.
NMC clarified that Hospital/medical institutions engaging in unethical advertising shall be dealt with in accordance with applicable Clinical Establishment Act and Rules framed thereunder/ any other State Act as applicable.
The Commission has further clarified the following:
√ The penalties shall be imposed only after issuing a show-cause notice to the defaulting RMP and providing an opportunity to explain or clarify the alleged violation, in accordance with the applicable laws.
√ Where an RMP is found to be in violation of these Guidelines, the SMC shall issue a reasoned and speaking order setting out:
i. the specific violation identified;
ii. the contentions of the defaulting RMP/ and reasons for acceptance/rejection of the same;
iii. the reasons and basis for imposing the penalties.
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