Effective May 1: New Measures Against Violations in Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities
A new version of Article 86¹ of the Code of Administrative Offenses has been adopted in Turkmenistan. This article is dedicated to issues involving the illegal practice of private medicine and private pharmaceutical activities. The corresponding law was signed by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov on April 11, 2026, and will come into force on May 1, 2026.
The previous version of the article, enacted in November 2022, only covered cases where illegal activity resulted in actual harm to health—whether minor or of moderate severity. The updated regulation fundamentally changes this approach: administrative liability now arises from the very fact of the illegal activity itself, regardless of the consequences.
Consequently, conducting private activities without a license or with a deliberate violation of licensing conditions—even in cases that do not result in harm to health—carries a fine ranging from five to ten calculation units, as well as the confiscation of medicines and medical products to the state. For a repeat violation within a year or an offense committed by a group of persons, a fine of ten to twenty calculation units, the seizure of property, or administrative arrest for up to seven days is provided.
If illegal activity results in minor harm to health due to negligence, a fine of twenty to thirty calculation units is imposed, along with the seizure of property or arrest for up to ten days. In cases involving moderate harm to health, a fine of thirty to forty calculation units, the seizure of property, or arrest for up to fifteen days is stipulated. This represents an escalation of liability compared to the previous norm, which provided for a "fine of twenty to thirty calculation units or administrative arrest for a period of up to fifteen days."
This legislative change is aimed at improving the quality of private medical services in the country and ensuring the total cessation of operations by unlicensed and unverified facilities. These measures signify a further strengthening of state control in the field of public health protection.
