HFEA response to CAP’s report on paid ads from fertility clinics

Published on 11 December 2025, the report found high levels of compliance in the sector after capturing 2,380 unique ads by more than 60 fertility clinics between September and October 2025.

The report found:

• 96.7% of ads assessed were compliant
• 3.3% of ads were identified as non-compliant in October, representing a total of 19 ads from six advertisers
• The proportion of non-compliant ads has dropped from 18.1% in September 2024 to 3.3% in October 2025

Clare Ettinghausen, Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, said:

“We welcome CAP’s latest update, which has found high levels of compliance in the sector, and that clinic advertising is mostly in line with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes, the joint ASA/HFEA enforcement notice for the fertility sector, and information provision set out in our Code of Practice.

“The fertility sector is a unique area of healthcare in that almost three quarters of patients pay for their own treatment. Undergoing fertility treatment can be a difficult experience and anyone advertising to patients should ensure that this is sensitively done, without giving any false hope about likely chances of success or costs of treatment.”

Ends

To read the full CAP report, click here.