Physiotherapy and Allied Health Advertising in Singapore: AHPC Code, Protected Titles and Clinic Rules

Last updated 6 October 2026 — by Adrian Tan, SDM. Marketing guidance, not legal advice. The AHPC Code quoted here is the 2013 edition, still the only one AHPC publishes; check with AHPC or your professional association before relying on any point for a campaign.

If you market a physiotherapy practice in Singapore, you have probably been told to follow “the healthcare advertising rules”: no testimonials, no superlatives, no before-and-after photos. That advice is borrowed from the rules for licensed medical clinics, and for most standalone physio, occupational therapy and speech therapy practices it is the wrong rulebook.

Allied health advertising in Singapore actually splits three ways. Five registered professions advertise under the Allied Health Professionals Council’s Code of Professional Conduct and a set of criminal title offences in the Allied Health Professions Act. Practices that operate inside a licensed medical clinic are also caught by the Healthcare Services Act’s advertising regulations, through the clinic. And a long list of professions, from dietitians to chiropractors to (for now) psychologists, sit outside both and answer mainly to general consumer law.

This guide sets out which bucket you are in, what each rulebook actually says about advertising, and what that means for your website, Google Business Profile, social media and packages. It also covers the 2026 changes: mandatory registration for psychologists, and MOH’s decision to leave chiropractors unregulated.

Which rules apply to you

The first question, then, is whether your profession is one of the five registered under the Act. The Allied Health Professions Act’s First Schedule lists ten allied health professions, but only the five in the Second Schedule are prescribed, meaning practitioners must be registered with AHPC and their titles are protected. AHPC’s own register page confirms that only those five are registered.

Protected titles: the criminal part

The Act’s Second Schedule protects specific titles for each registered profession:

• Physiotherapy: “Physiotherapist”, “Physical Therapist”.
• Occupational therapy: “Occupational Therapist”, “Ergotherapist”.
• Speech therapy: six variants, including “Speech Therapist” and “Speech Pathologist”.
• Radiation therapy: “Radiation Therapist”, “Therapeutic Radiographer”.
• Diagnostic radiography: “Diagnostic Radiographer”, “Radiographer”, “Radiologic Technologist”.

Section 29(1) makes it an offence for someone who is not registered to pretend to be a registered professional, to use one of those titles “or any other word in any language having the same meaning”, to use a title, uniform or badge implying registration, or, under limb (e), to advertise or hold themselves out as one. There is a defence where the person had no intention to deceive, but it does not apply to the advertising limb in prescribed circumstances.

Why clinic owners and agencies should care

The title offences do not stop with the individual. Section 31 makes it an offence to make such a representation about someone else, and section 31(3) makes the employer, principal or partner liable too, subject to a due-diligence defence. Section 32 catches anyone who causes or permits the representation. Section 33 catches a registered professional who enables someone else’s breach.

In marketing terms, that covers some very ordinary mistakes:

• A team page listing a rehab trainer or sports therapist as “physiotherapist” when they are not registered.
• Ad copy promising “treatment by our physical therapists” when some of the staff delivering sessions are assistants or exercise physiologists.
• A Google Business Profile category or service name using a protected title for a practice with no registered professional.
• A registered physio claiming to be a “speech therapist” because they run swallowing sessions; section 30 makes it an offence to claim a different prescribed profession.

The penalty under section 36 is a fine of up to S$25,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, rising to S$50,000 and 12 months for a second or subsequent conviction. We found no reported prosecution under these sections, but the provisions are clear enough that “we did not know” is not a strategy.

The fix is a one-line process: before any staff profile, ad or listing uses a protected title, check the person’s name on the AHPC register and keep a dated screenshot with the campaign files.

What the AHPC Code says about advertising

The Code of Professional Conduct is not just guidance. Regulation 3 of the Allied Health Professions (Professional Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 2013 requires every registered professional to observe the Council’s pronouncements on professional matters and ethics, so a breach can lead to disciplinary proceedings. Principle 5 is the advertising section:

Ensure that any information you provide, advertising you do or support is accurate and does not induce unnecessary demands for your services.

Its sub-clauses, in plain terms:

What the Code does not say

The Code is the 2013 edition (document reference AHPC-1304-COPC-01) and AHPC has not published a newer one or any separate social media guidance. It says nothing explicit about testimonials, reviews, influencers or before-and-after content. That cuts both ways. A registered physio is not bound by the HCSA testimonial ban just because it is a healthcare profession, so do not import that rule into the AHPC regime. But the principles in 5.2 and 5.3 still apply to any testimonial you publish: a cherry-picked review implying a typical outcome, or a recovery story that overstates what the treatment did, can be misleading or embellished.

A sensible reading for social media, based on the Code’s principles:

• Patient stories are acceptable when they are accurate, consented in writing, and do not imply that the outcome is typical or guaranteed.
• Exercise videos and educational posts are fine and are the strongest content most practices have.
• Paid influencer posts should be disclosed, and the influencer should not make claims you could not make yourself.
• Avoid “No.1”, “best” and “Singapore’s leading” in bios, ads and Google Business Profile descriptions; 5.2.3 is the clearest rule in the Code.

When the clinic rules apply

Allied health services are within the potential scope of the Healthcare Services Act, but MOH’s HCSA FAQs indicate it is not licensing them at present, so the professionals remain regulated under their own Act. A standalone physio clinic is therefore not an HCSA licensee, and the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations 2021 do not bind it directly.

That changes when the service sits inside a licensed clinic. The Advertisement Regulations apply to ads by a licensee in any medium with a Singapore link, and they are stricter than the AHPC Code:

• Reg 5(1)(e): no laudatory statements, including claims of prominence or uniqueness, and no superlatives.
• Reg 5(1)(f): no reviews, testimonials or endorsements, including about any healthcare professional or employee of the licensee, except as the regulations permit.
• Reg 5(1)(g): no soliciting.
• Reg 8: where a licensee advertises a non-licensable service on shared premises, it must be clearly distinguished and identified as not being a licensable healthcare service.

So a GP or orthopaedic clinic that adds a physiotherapy room should run its physio marketing to the stricter HCSA standard and label the service correctly, and its agency should not reuse testimonial-led creative from a standalone physio account. Our guides to social media marketing for clinics in Singapore and digital marketing for healthcare providers cover the licensed-clinic rules in more depth.

Professions outside the register

Dietitians, podiatrists and audiologists

These professions are listed in the Act’s First Schedule but are not prescribed, so their titles are not protected by the Act and AHPC’s Code does not bind them as registered professionals. Their advertising is governed by the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, the ASAS Singapore Code of Advertising Practice, and their professional associations’ own codes. In practice, following the AHPC Code’s Principle 5 is still the safest standard, because it is what a consumer, a referring doctor or a hospital partner will expect.

Psychologists: registration is coming

On 7 May 2026, MOH announced that psychologists in five sub-disciplines (clinical, clinical neuropsychology, counselling, educational and forensic) will be subject to mandatory registration under the Allied Health Professions Act. Once in force, unregistered people may not use those titles “in any context, including in advertisements”, there will be a public register, and AHPC will enforce. MOH’s announcement did not give a start date we could confirm. Until then, the Singapore Register of Psychologists is voluntary and the Singapore Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics covers advertising and public statements.

For practices marketing psychology or counselling services, the practical step now is a title audit. If your site, ads or directory listings describe anyone as a “clinical psychologist” or “counselling psychologist”, confirm they will qualify for registration, because the title rule will reach your existing content the day it starts, not just new ads.

Chiropractors and wellness practices

In a parliamentary answer on 8 September 2026, MOH said chiropractors are not considered high risk and remain self-regulated, but “remain subject to laws governing advertising and consumer protection”. MOH’s position since December 2023 is that only licensed healthcare providers may claim in advertising to treat or cure diseases or medical conditions. That is the key line for chiropractic, massage, fitness and wellness marketing: describe the service, not a cure. Our guide to massage establishment advertising rules covers that sector’s licensing side.

A note on “Dr”

MOH’s position is that a PhD holder may use “Dr”, but must not use it in a way that implies a medical degree, which would breach the Medical Registration Act. For a physio or psychologist with a doctorate, write “Dr Tan (PhD, Physiotherapy)” rather than a bare “Dr Tan” in health-related ads.

Worked example: a physio clinic’s Google Ads and website

A standalone physiotherapy practice in the east runs search ads and a services site. Here is how its draft copy fares against the rules.

None of the better versions is weaker as search copy. Specific, factual lines such as session length, conditions treated and who delivers the care tend to match what people actually type into Google, and they are what our SEO guide for clinics in Singapore recommends for service pages anyway.

How these rules are enforced

AHPC publishes its disciplinary grounds of decision, and the handful on its site do not include an advertising case. We found no reported prosecution under the title offences either. So the realistic exposure for a practice is a complaint to AHPC from a patient or competitor, a referral partner’s compliance review, or a platform rejection, rather than a court case. That is not a reason to relax: a complaint triggers a process you have to answer, and the protected-title offences carry criminal penalties for the clinic owner as well as the individual. Treat the rules as the baseline for every campaign, and keep the evidence that you checked.

Conclusion

The useful thing to know about allied health advertising in Singapore is that it is not one rulebook. Registered physios, OTs, speech therapists and radiographers work under a short professional code whose core rule is that advertising must be truthful and must not claim to be better than others, with criminal penalties behind the protected titles. Services inside a licensed clinic inherit the stricter HCSA regulations, including the testimonial ban. Everyone else answers to consumer law, with one firm line: only licensed providers may claim to treat or cure. And psychologists should prepare now for title protection that will reach their existing marketing.

If you run an allied health practice and want campaigns built to these rules from the start, that is the kind of work our performance marketing team in Singapore does; see our client case studies for results. Practitioners in related fields may also find our guides to TCM clinic advertising rules and health product advertising in Singapore useful. For the bigger picture, start with our complete guide to performance marketing in Singapore.

Dentists work under a separate register and a stricter ethical code: the Dental Council bars testimonials on media the dentist controls, and only dentists on the specialist register may advertise as specialists. We cover those rules in our guide to dental clinic advertising in Singapore.

Frequently asked questions

Can a physiotherapy clinic in Singapore use patient testimonials?

A standalone physio practice is not bound by the HCSA testimonial ban, and the AHPC Code does not mention testimonials. But the Code requires advertising to be truthful and free of embellished claims, so any testimonial must be accurate, consented and not imply a typical or guaranteed result. If the physio service operates inside an HCSA-licensed clinic, the clinic’s advertising rules generally prohibit testimonials.

Who can call themselves a physiotherapist in Singapore?

Only a person registered with the Allied Health Professionals Council. “Physiotherapist” and “Physical Therapist” are protected titles. Using them, or advertising as one, without registration is an offence under section 29 of the Allied Health Professions Act, with fines of up to S$25,000 or six months’ jail for a first offence.

Can I advertise as the best physiotherapist in Singapore?

No. Clause 5.2.3 of the AHPC Code says advertising must not give the impression that your skills, equipment or facilities are better than others’. Describe what you do, who you treat and who delivers the care instead.

Are physio session packages allowed?

Yes, but the AHPC Code says packages and coupon discounts must not induce more services than required, and a refund must be allowed if a package is not used. State the refund terms clearly in the ad or on the booking page.

Are dietitians and podiatrists covered by the AHPC rules?

Not as registered professionals. They are listed in the Act but not prescribed, so their titles are not protected by it. Their advertising is governed by consumer protection law, the ASAS code and their professional associations.

When will psychologists need to be registered?

MOH announced on 7 May 2026 that five types of psychologist will need to register under the Allied Health Professions Act, after which unregistered people may not use those titles, including in advertisements. We could not confirm a start date from MOH’s announcement, so check MOH and AHPC for the commencement date.