DHA Licence for Doctors: Steps, Exam, DataFlow, Fees

To practise medicine in Dubai you need a licence from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), unless your employer is in the Dubai Healthcare City free zone, which has its own regulator. If you trained outside the UAE, you check your eligibility against the unified Professional Qualification Requirements (PQR), have your documents verified by DataFlow, pass the DHA assessment if your title requires one and receive a DHA registration valid for one year. A Dubai healthcare facility then activates it into a licence when it employs you.

Step 1: check your eligibility under the PQR

DHA assesses applications against the Unified Healthcare Professional Qualification Requirements, published jointly by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DOH), DHA and the Sharjah Health Authority (SHA). Use the edition linked from DHA’s Sheryan portal (April 2025); older copies online are out of date. As a physician, you need:

a primary medical degree (MBBS, MBChB or equivalent);
a completed 12-month internship (without proof of one, two extra years of experience);
a valid licence or registration in your home country or country of last employment;
a good standing certificate from the regulator where you last worked, no older than six months.

Your title depends on your experience and the tier of your specialty qualification. The PQR assigns recognised specialty certificates, country by country, to tiers; the current edition lists, for example, the Polish specialist diploma issued by the Centrum Egzaminów Medycznych (CEM).

Title	Main requirements for non-UAE nationals
General Practitioner	Medical degree, internship and two years of clinical experience
Specialist	Recognised specialty qualification. Tier 1 or 2: no further experience. Tier 3: three years after the main specialty qualification
Consultant	Tier 1: two years after the main specialty qualification. Tier 2: five years. Tier 3: title not available

Shorter periods apply after a recognised sub-specialty qualification. After a break in clinical practice of over three years, you need CME/CPD credits and clinical training in an approved facility (for doctors, 80 credits and six months, or 120 credits and eight months after four years), and non-UAE nationals then sit the licensing exam. Beyond five years, non-UAE nationals cannot apply. Surgeons also submit a logbook for the last two years.

Start with the free Self Assessment Tool on DHA’s Sheryan portal. A “not eligible” result can be sent to DHA for a paid review.

Step 2: verify your documents with DataFlow

Sheryan is DHA’s online licensing system, and your application there is called “Get Registered”. DHA processes it only after Primary Source Verification (PSV): DataFlow Group, DHA’s verification partner since 2007, checks your qualifications, employment records, licences and good standing certificate with the institutions that issued them.

Time: usually 15–25 working days from payment and a complete submission, according to DataFlow. Slow replies from institutions add to this.
Cost: depends on the package and number of documents; the portal shows it before you pay.
Results: positive, “unable to verify” (two appeals allowed per document) or “discrepancy” (one appeal).
Reuse: DHA accepts PSV reports transferred from DOH, SHA and MOHAP.

PSV and the computer-based test may run at the same time, so you can book the exam without waiting for the report.

Step 3: pass the DHA assessment

Depending on title and specialty, DHA requires a computer-based test (CBT), an oral assessment or both. The Mode of Exam per Specialty lookup tells you which. All assessments are in English.

Computer-based test at Prometric

After you apply, Sheryan allocates an Eligibility ID, which you use to book on Prometric’s DHA page; your passport must match your Sheryan details. DHA uploads the result to Sheryan within two working days, as a pass or fail without a score. Read DHA’s CBT guide, linked from the same page, before you book. Exam fees are non-refundable, even for cancellations and no-shows.

Oral assessment

If your specialty needs one, booking opens after DHA has reviewed your application. A DHA panel assesses you by video call (DHA may ask you to attend in person) with at least five clinical scenarios over a minimum of 20–30 minutes; no translator is allowed. The result arrives within three to five working days. The fee for physicians is AED 500.

Attempts and exemptions

You have three attempts with no waiting period between them, and the PQR counts attempts across all UAE authorities. Failing the third blocks new DHA applications for two years, although one final attempt may be granted: with a different authority or, if you declare in writing that you have not failed with any other UAE regulator, with DHA itself. Three new attempts open after an additional recognised qualification or two years of licensed clinical experience since the last attempt.

Some doctors are exempt from the exam under the PQR’s equivalency criteria, which cover certain international examinations and registrations; the exemption never covers PSV or experience.

Step 4: receive your DHA registration

With PSV complete and any required CBT passed, DHA processes “Get Registered” within five working days; the fee is AED 200. Approval (after the oral assessment, where one is required) adds you to the Dubai Medical Registry and gives you a registration certificate, which DHA’s pages also call the “eligibility letter”.

The registration is valid for one year. It is not a permit to practise: within that year a licensed Dubai facility must activate it, so this is your window for the job search. You can renew it in the last 90 days before it expires.

Step 5: licence activation by your employer

The facility activates your licence through its Sheryan account, and you accept its invitation. Before that, check that:

the facility’s licence is active and covers your specialty;
you have medical malpractice insurance for that facility;
you hold a valid labour card (non-UAE nationals);
you hold a valid CPR, BLS or ACLS certificate.

The licence is issued for one, two or three years. To keep it, physicians need 40 CPD points a year.

Typical costs and timeline

Step	Fee	Official time
Self Assessment Tool	Free	Automated result
DataFlow PSV	Depends on package and documents (DataFlow’s 2023 DHA guide quoted AED 1,235 for doctors)	Usually 15–25 working days
Prometric CBT, if required	Paid to Prometric when booking (USD 220–280 in DataFlow’s 2023 guide)	Result within 2 working days
Oral assessment, if required	AED 500	Result within 3–5 working days
Get Registered	AED 200	5 working days
Licence, paid by the facility at activation	AED 3,000 for a one-year full-time licence (DHA service catalogue, 2023); renewal: AED 3,000, 5,000 or 7,500 for one, two or three years	After you accept a job

PSV is usually the slowest stage. Confirm every fee on the official page before paying.

DHA vs DOH vs MOHAP

Each regulator licenses doctors for the facilities it oversees, so you apply to the one that regulates your future employer.

	DHA	DOH	MOHAP
Covers	Dubai, except the Dubai Healthcare City free zone (regulated by DHCA)	Abu Dhabi	The Northern Emirates, apart from the Sharjah facilities licensed by SHA
Online channel	Sheryan	TAMM	MOHAP website or app, with UAE PASS
Qualification rules	Unified PQR	Unified PQR	Unified PQR
Verification	DataFlow	DataFlow	DataFlow
Exam	Prometric CBT and/or DHA oral assessment	Pearson, booked through TAMM	MOHAP test, unless exempt

In Sharjah, a July 2025 Executive Council decision made SHA the licensing body for local government and private facilities, free zones included. Changing emirate is easier than starting again: PSV reports can be transferred, and MOHAP’s “Transfer License from DHA/DOH” service (August 2025) spares doctors with an active DHA or DOH licence a full re-evaluation. Failed exam attempts, however, also follow you between authorities. MOHAP announced a national licensing platform with the other authorities in February 2025; DHA’s pages still describe the Sheryan route, so check dha.gov.ae before you start.

How MedMigrant can help

MedMigrant offers help with the DHA licence and individual consultations on the recognition of medical qualifications as part of its recognition services. MedMigrant is independent of DHA, DataFlow and Prometric, and the licensing decision always rests with DHA.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a job offer before applying to DHA?

No. You obtain the registration first and then look for a job; the employing facility activates it into a licence within the registration’s one-year validity.

How many times can I take the DHA exam?

Three times, counted across all UAE authorities. After a third failure DHA bars new applications for two years, although one final attempt may be granted by another authority or, on a written declaration, by DHA.

Can I work in Abu Dhabi or the Northern Emirates with a DHA licence?

Not automatically: DOH, MOHAP and SHA license doctors for the facilities they regulate, although MOHAP offers a transfer route for doctors with an active DHA licence.

What if I have had a career break?

After more than three years away, you need CME/CPD credits, clinical training and, as a non-UAE national, the licensing exam. After more than five years, non-UAE nationals cannot apply.

How long is a DHA licence valid?

One, two or three years, as chosen at activation. Renewal requires completed CPD points (40 a year for physicians) and valid malpractice insurance.

Sources

Last updated: 28 October 2026. Licensing rules and fees change, and the official DHA, DOH and MOHAP pages are always decisive.

DHA Licence for Doctors in Dubai: A Step-by-Step Guide