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REQUIREMENTS FOR CLINIC ADVERTISING

  • Writer: Kinh Doanh Phòng
    Kinh Doanh Phòng
  • Dec 22, 2025
  • 6 min read

An advertising permit for clinics (also referred to as an application for confirmation of advertising content for medical examination and treatment services) serves as the legal basis for medical examination and treatment establishments and clinics to conduct advertising activities.



Legal grounds:

  • Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023

  • Law on Advertising 2012

  • Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP

  • Circular No. 09/2015/TT-BYT

  • Decision No. 3813/2023/QD-BYT


1. General Conditions

First and foremost, advertising for clinics must comply with the general conditions prescribed by the Law on Advertising, specifically:

  • The advertising content must be truthful, accurate, clear, and must not cause damage to producers, traders, or recipients of the advertisement;

  • Trademarks, slogans, brand names, and proper names in foreign languages or internationally standardized terms may not be replaced with Vietnamese;

  • In cases where both Vietnamese and foreign languages are used in the same advertising product, the font size of the foreign-language text must not exceed three-fourths of the font size of the Vietnamese text and must be placed below the Vietnamese text; when broadcast on radio, television, or other audiovisual media, the Vietnamese text must be read before the foreign-language text;

  • The advertisement must not violate the prohibitions set forth in the Law on Advertising.


2. Specific Conditions Applicable to Clinics

To obtain confirmation of advertising content for medical examination and treatment services, the clinic must fully satisfy the detailed advertising conditions prescribed in Point e, Clause 4, Article 20 of the Law on Advertising 2012, Article 9 of Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP, and Circular No. 09/2015/TT-BYT, specifically as follows:

  • The establishment must have been granted a License for Medical Examination and Treatment Activities;

  • Practitioners must possess a Certificate of Practice in medical examination and treatment, where required by the law on medical examination and treatment;

  • The language, lettering, and images used in the advertisement must be concise, commonly used, and compliant with applicable regulations. The smallest font size in the advertising content must be sufficiently large to be readable under normal conditions and must not be smaller than the font size equivalent to Vntime or Times New Roman 12 on A4-size paper;

  • The advertising content must comply with relevant legal requirements;

  • The application dossier must be complete and in accordance with regulations;

  • The entity requesting confirmation of advertising content must be the entity named on the License for Medical Examination and Treatment Activities or a legal entity authorized in writing by the entity named on such license.


3. Dossiers

► The dossier shall include the following components:

1) A written request for confirmation of advertising content in accordance with Appendix 01 issued together with Circular No. 09/2015/TT-BYT;

2) The enterprise’s Business Registration Certificate or the License for Establishment of a Representative Office of the foreign trader;

3) The advertising content to be confirmed:

  • For advertisements on radio or television, there must be 01 recorded copy of the proposed advertising content stored on a video disc, audio disc, or digital file, accompanied by 03 copies of the proposed advertising script, clearly describing the content, the intended advertising media, the visual component (for television), narration, and music;

  • For advertisements on media other than radio or television, there must be 03 color-printed mock-ups of the proposed advertising content, accompanied by a digital file containing the proposed advertising content;

  • For advertisements conducted through seminars, conferences, or events: In addition to the documents specified at this point, the dossier must include: advertising materials used in the program that have been approved and remain valid (if the advertising materials have been previously approved); the program agenda specifying the title of the report, time, and venue (including the specific address); the report content and presentation materials provided to participants; and a list of speakers specifying their names, scientific titles, and professional qualifications (Speakers must possess appropriate medical qualifications).

4) Product label samples or product label samples that have been approved by a competent health authority in cases where the law requires such labels to be approved by a competent health authority.

5) The License for Medical Examination and Treatment of the establishment providing the medical examination and treatment services being advertised, issued by the Minister of Health, together with the list of technical procedures approved by the Minister of Health.

6) The Practicing Certificates of the individuals performing the advertised medical examination and treatment services, in cases where the law requires possessing a Practicing Certificate.

► Other Requirements for the Dossier:

a) In cases where the entity requesting confirmation of advertising content is an authorized entity, the following documents must be provided:

  • A valid authorization letter;

  • The Business Registration Certificate or the License for Establishment of a Representative Office of a foreign trader of the authorized entity.

b) Reference materials, evidentiary documents, and documents verifying the information contained in the advertising content:

  • Documents in English must be translated into Vietnamese and accompanied by the original English documents. The Vietnamese translation must bear the certification seal of the entity requesting confirmation of advertising content;

  • Documents in foreign languages ​​other than English must be translated into Vietnamese and accompanied by the original foreign-language document. The Vietnamese translation must be notarized in accordance with the law.

c) The documents in the application file for advertising content confirmation must be valid, certified copies, or copies bearing the seal of the unit requesting confirmation of the advertising content. The documents in the file must also bear the seal and overlapping seal of the unit requesting confirmation of the advertising content.

d) The advertising content samples must be presented on A4-size paper. Samples of large-format outdoor advertising materials may be presented on A3-size paper or other paper sizes, with the scale ratio clearly indicated in comparison to the actual size.

4. Procedure for Implementation:

Step 1: The entity requesting confirmation of advertising content shall submit the application dossier to the competent authority as prescribed.

Step 2: Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, based on the incoming document receipt stamp of the receiving authority, the competent state authority shall issue the confirmation of advertising content using the prescribed form. In case the confirmation of advertising content is not issued, the competent state authority must provide a written response stating the reasons for not issuing the confirmation.

(In the event that the dossier is not valid, within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, based on the incoming document receipt stamp of the receiving authority, the receiving authority shall issue a written request for the entity to amend and supplement the dossier. The period for the entity requesting confirmation of advertising content to amend and supplement the dossier in accordance with the requirements shall be no more than 90 days from the date of receipt of the written notice requesting amendments and supplements from the receiving authority. Upon expiry of this period, the dossier requesting confirmation of advertising content shall no longer be valid.)

► For advertisements conducted through seminars, conferences, or events:

a) At least 02 working days prior to conducting the advertisement, the organization or individual whose products, goods, or special services falling under the management of the Ministry of Health have been granted a confirmation of advertising content for the form of seminars, conferences, or events by the competent authority of the Ministry of Health must submit a written notification to the Department of Health of the locality where the advertisement will be conducted. Such notification must include the form, time, and venue of the advertisement, together with a copy of the confirmation of advertising content and the approved advertising materials or scripts, for inspection and supervision when necessary.

b) In the event of any change in the venue or timing of the seminar, conference, or event compared with the information stated in the confirmation of advertising content, the organization or individual advertising the products, goods, or services must notify the local Department of Health.

► The procedure for registration of advertising content confirmation shall be restarted from the beginning in the following cases:

a) The applicant amends or supplements the dossier in a manner inconsistent with the written request for amendments and supplements issued by the receiving authority;

b) The applicant fails to provide supplements within the prescribed timeframe.

The authority may suspend acceptance of applications from violating entities until enforcement measures are completed.


5. Competent Authority

The Department of Health is responsible for managing and handling violations related to advertising of medical examination and treatment services.


6. Fees and Processing Time

  • According to Circular No. 59/2023/TT-BTC, the fee for confirming advertising content for medical examination and treatment services handled by the Department of Health is 1,000,000 VND.

Within 10 working days from receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Department of Health shall issue the confirmation.

 
 
 

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