Law No. 17 of 2026 created the Dubai Longevity Authority and says that no person may carry out longevity activity in Dubai without its permit, and that activity includes providing therapeutic, preventive and medical services in the field of longevity. The DHA keeps its role in licensing the professionals who provide those services, and the two authorities will agree a shared protocol on patient data.
What the law created
Dubai's Ruler issued Law No. 17 of 2026 on 6 June 2026, establishing the Dubai Longevity Authority as a public corporation with its own legal personality.1 Its stated aim is to make Dubai a hub for regulated longevity, wellness and advanced healthcare, and to open channels for investment in the sector.2
The authority moved from law to plan within four months. On 27 September 2026 its strategy and budget were approved, with a target of more than AED 35 billion in contribution to Dubai's economy over the next decade and annual growth of around 31%.3 Dubai already had about 5,800 licensed health facilities in 2025, up more than 8% in a year.4 Longevity is the part of that market the government has now given its own regulator.
How the law defines longevity
The law defines longevity as the process of improving, promoting and sustaining a person's healthspan and health-related quality of life.1 It names five routes to that goal, including preventive and therapeutic interventions that address the markers of ageing, measuring and detecting biological markers of ageing early, and the continuous monitoring of conditions linked to age, lifestyle and environment.1
An activity under the law covers five things. Developing, evaluating and disseminating advanced treatments, research and clinical trials, providing therapeutic, preventive and medical services and interventions in the field, promoting or selling longevity products, and any other activity the board adds by resolution.1 For a clinic, the third item is the one that matters. A practice that offers biomarker testing, preventive programmes or regenerative treatment under a longevity name should assume the definition may reach it until the authority publishes its classification of activities.
What the authority will do
Article 6 gives the authority a long list of duties, carried out in coordination with the DHA and the other entities involved. They include writing the regulations, standards and protocols for longevity activity, classifying which activities may be carried out, regulating research trials and pilot programmes, overseeing the safe use of advanced therapeutic products, and building an integrated longevity database with clinical indicators, drawing on data held by the other entities.1
Who issues which permit
Article 7 says no natural or legal person may conduct the activity in Dubai without a permit from the authority, and that this applies in the special development zones and in the Dubai International Financial Centre as well.1 Permits are issued through the Unified Digital Window, in coordination with the other entities involved, and according to the classification and type of activity.1
The DHA keeps a central role. Article 8 gives it the power to supervise, regulate and issue permits to the individual professionals who provide longevity services, under Executive Council Resolution No. 49 of 2024 and in coordination with the new authority.1 Those individuals need the authority's approval before they obtain their permits, and where the powers of the two bodies overlap, the board refers the question to the competent authorities.1
Patient data and the unified protocol
Article 14 asks the authority and the DHA to agree a unified protocol that covers how the information of people receiving longevity services is managed and protected, how media briefings are handled, health education programmes, and the digital systems used in the sector.1 The law applies without prejudice to the powers the DHA already holds, so its existing rules on consent, records and NABIDH continue to apply in the meantime.1
Advertising longevity services
The DHA's social media standard already shapes how longevity is sold. Licensed staff may not use titles that differ from their DHA licence, and the standard names Anti-Aging Specialist or Consultant as an example of a title to avoid.5 It bars absolute and exaggerated claims such as miraculous, assured success and immediate results, and requires every claim about the outcome of treatment to be substantiated and to state the risks.5
Claims about years gained or a lower biological age are claims about the outcome of treatment. Under the standard, each one must be substantiated and state the risks, so a clinic should hold the evidence before it posts.5
Penalties and appeals
Fines for breaching the law will be set by a resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council.1 On top of a fine, the authority may suspend a permit for up to six months, revoke it and ask the licensing authority to cancel the commercial licence.1 In the public interest it may also stop issuing permits, suspend an establishment's activity in exceptional circumstances, and coordinate with the DHA to suspend the permits of individual professionals.1
A clinic affected by a decision may file a written grievance with the authority's executive director within 30 days of being notified. A committee decides it within 15 days of referral, and its decision is final.1
What a clinic can do now
- List every service you offer that touches the five parts of the definition, from biomarker panels to regenerative treatment.
- Check that each professional's DHA licence title matches how the service is described on your website and social accounts.
- Write down the evidence behind each outcome claim you make, with its source.
- Ask each technology vendor for its hosting location and NABIDH status in writing, so you are ready when the unified protocol is published.
- Follow the authority's announcements and the Unified Digital Window for the board's decisions on permit requirements and classes of activity.
Where wai fits
wai Clinicians writes the note while the doctor talks and sends nothing until it is signed, and wai Profile gives each longevity patient their results, records, bookings and check-in in their own app. Every programme visit leaves a signed record, and the patient can see their own numbers between visits. wai hosts your clinic's records in the UAE, under the UAE's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Questions
What is the Dubai Longevity Authority?
It is a public corporation created by Dubai Law No. 17 of 2026 to regulate and grow the longevity, wellness and advanced health sector. Its strategy and budget were approved on 27 September 2026.
Do longevity clinics in Dubai need a permit from the Dubai Longevity Authority?
Article 7 of the law says no person may carry out longevity activity in Dubai without a permit from the authority, including in DIFC. The board sets the permit requirements, so check its published decisions before you apply.
Does the DHA still license doctors who provide longevity services?
Yes. Article 8 gives the DHA the power to supervise and issue permits to individual professionals, in coordination with the new authority and after the authority has given its approval.
When did the Dubai Longevity Authority law take effect?
The law was issued on 6 June 2026 and comes into force on the day it is published in the Official Gazette. The authority's strategy was approved on 27 September 2026.
Sources
- 1Government of Dubai, 2026Law No. (17) of 2026 Establishing the Dubai Longevity Authority, Dubai Legal Portal, issuedRead source
- 2Gulf News, 2026Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issues law establishing Dubai Longevity AuthorityRead source
- 3The National, 2026Sheikh Hamdan says Dubai longevity drive can improve health and deliver Dh35bn economic boostRead source
- 4Dubai Media Office, 2026Dubai's healthcare ecosystem posts record growth in 2025Read source
- 5Dubai Health Authority, 2022Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media, version 1.1, effectiveRead source
Written and reviewed by the clinical team at wai. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
